Barnbow Royal Ordinance Factory

Barnbow was a munitions factory situated near the city of Leeds during the First World War. It was officially known as National Filling Factory No. 1. In 1916 a massive explosion killed 35 of the women who worked there.
After the declaration of war with Germany in August 1914, there was suddenly an urgent need for large volumes of arms and munitions. Shells were already being filled and armed at Leeds Forge Company, based at Armley, which by August 1915 was filling 10,000 shells per week. However new factories were required to dramatically increase production. A committee, chaired by Joseph Watson the Leeds soap manufacturer, was established for the purpose and decided to build a munitions factory from scratch. A governing board was organized to oversee construction on the new site, which was earmarked for Barnbow, situated between Cross Gates and Garforth.Barnbow became the most productive British shell factory of the First World War.
Railway tracks were laid directly into the factory complex to transport materials in and transport goods out. Platforms of over 800 feet (240 m)were added to the nearby railway station to transport workers to and from work at the site. Massive factory buildings were quickly built, power lines were erected to bring power, and shell filling operations began in December 1915.