5 December 2016 will mark exactly 100 years since 35 women died in an explosion at the Barnbow Filling Factory, east Leeds, the country’s most productive shell factory during WW1. Of course, the work of the 15,000 women employed there was top secret, and it was years before full details of the tragedy were made public. Leeds Central Library is marking the contribution of all the ‘Barnbow Lasses’ with an exhibition of photographs showing daily life at the factory, and recognising the sacrifice of those who lost their lives on that winter night.
