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List of munition workers who died of TNT poisoning

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B&W photo of women working
Lilian Barker OBE supervising munition workers working with TNT

These are munition workers who died of TNT poisoning during the manufacture of ammunition for the front lines of World War I. Working with TNT caused many health issues, commonly called TNT poisoning, the most serious of which was a liver disease called toxic jaundice. According to historian Anne Spurgeon, during the First World War, there were 400 cases of the disease of which about 100 were fatal.[1] Munition workers were sometimes called Canary Girls, British women who worked in munitions manufacturing trinitrotoluene (TNT) shells during the First World War1 (1914–1918). The nickname arose because exposure to TNT is toxic, and repeated exposure can turn the skin an orange-yellow colour reminiscent of the plumage of a canary. [2]

Effects of working with TNT

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Shells were filled with a mixture of TNT (the explosive) and cordite (the propellant),[citation needed] and even though these ingredients were known to be hazardous to health, they were mixed by hand so came into direct contact with the workers' skin. The chemicals in the TNT reacted with melanin in the skin to cause a yellow pigmentation, staining the skin of the munitions workers. Although unpleasant, this specific side effect was not dangerous and the discolouration eventually faded over time with no long-term health effects.

A more serious consequence of working with TNT powder was liver toxicity, which led to anaemia and jaundice. This condition, known as "toxic jaundice", gave the skin a different type of yellow hue.

A medical investigation was carried out by the government in 1916, to closely study the effects of TNT on the munitions workers. The investigators were able to gather their data by acting as female medical officers posted inside the factories. They found that the effects of the TNT could be roughly split into two areas: irritative symptoms, mainly affecting the skin, respiratory tract, and digestive system; and toxic symptoms, including nausea, jaundice, constipation, dizziness, etc. [3] It is possible that the irritative symptoms were also partly caused by the cordite in the shell mixture, although this was not established until years later.[4]

Partial list of those killed by TNT poisoning

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Name Date of death Photo Notes References
Annie Holmes 28 June 1916 [5]
Gladys Pritchard 1914-1918 [6]
Florrie Chandler 1914-1918 [7]
Mrs Florence Portman 1914-1918 [8]
Dorothy Willis 7 July 1916 [9]
Elsie Oates 1914-1918 [10]
Kate Hill 1914-1918 [11]
Mary Anne Kelly 1914-1918 [12]
Lottie Meade 1914-1918 [13]
Helen Garvine 4 August 1917 [14]
Margaret Silcock 1914-1918 [15]
Alice Williams 18 May 1916 [16]
Mary I Turner September 3, 1917 [17]
Maria Haverly 28 May 1917 [18]
Louisa Preston 1914-1918 [19]
Agnes Deane 1914-1918 [20]
Annie Bell 2 May 1917 [21]
Lizzie Jones 23 October 1916 [22]
Mrs Elizabeth Walsh 31 July 1917 [23]
Miss Marion Constance Lotinga 1914-1918 [24]
Mrs Abbot 7 May 1917 [25]
Lily Maud Leaver 28 December 1917 [26]
Margaret Roscoe 4 October 1917 [27]
Annie Evelyn Baron 1914-1918 [28]
Annie Flynn 6 May 1917 [29]
Edith Perkins 20 January 1917 [30]
Alice Post 16 January 1916 [31]

Bibliography

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Notes

  1. ^ Potts & Rimmer 2017.
  2. ^ Rosser 2008.
  3. ^ Livingstone-Learmonth & Cunningham 1916, p. 1.
  4. ^ Weiner & Thomson 1947.
  5. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Annie Holmes - IWM WWC M33". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Gladys Pritchard- IWM WWC M27". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Florrie Chandler - IWM WWC M36". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  8. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Mrs Florence Portman - IWM WWC Z-9". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  9. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Dorothy Willis- IWM WWC M47". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Elsie Oates- IWM WWC M3". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  11. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Kate Hill- IWM WWC M2". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Mary Anne Kelly - IWM WWC M19". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  13. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Lottie Meade - IWM WWC M15". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  14. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Helen Garvine- IWM WWC M51". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  15. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Margaret Silcock- IWM WWC M5". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  16. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Alice Williams- IWM WWC M49". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  17. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Mary I Turner- IWM WWC M7". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  18. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Maria Haverly- IWM WWC M39". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  19. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Louisa Preston- IWM WWC M32". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  20. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Agnes Deane- IWM WWC M44". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  21. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Annie Bell- IWM WWC M6". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  22. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Lizzie Jones- IWM WWC M74". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  23. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Mrs Elizabeth Walsh- IWM WWC M19". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  24. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Miss Marion Constance Lotinga- IWM WWC M38". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  25. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Mrs Abbot - IWM WWC M42". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  26. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Lily Maud Leaver- IWM WWC M1". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  27. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Margaret Roscoe- IWM WWC M17". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  28. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Annie Evelyn Baron- IWM WWC M13". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  29. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Annie Flynn- IWM WWC M18". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  30. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Edith Perkins- IWM WWC M22". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  31. ^ Imperial War Museum (2021). "Alice Post- IWM WWC M11". IWM. Retrieved 10 July 2021.

References