Faversham Munitions Explosion Memorial

The Faversham explosives industry remained important at the time of the First World War, when the Explosives Loading Company established factory number 7 on the salt marsh at Uplees nearby, to make TNT charges for shells and mines.

The cause of the fire remains unclear: an initial report delivered on 17 April, just two weeks later, attributed it to sparks from a fault at a nearby boiler house setting light to empty linen sacks used to transport explosives which had been piled up against the shed.

This attribution was later upheld in the official report by a committee headed by the Minister of Munitions, David Lloyd George.

At least 108 men and boys were killed - none of the plant's female workers were present at the weekend - the youngest aged 17 and 18 and the oldest in their 60s.

The dead included all of the factory's fire brigade, 20 workers from the neighbouring Cotton Powder Company who came to assist, and six soldiers from the 4th Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), that formed the site's military guard.

In the centre of the block is a free-standing granite Celtic cross standing on three steps, about 3.8 m (12 ft) high, with an inscription "SACRED TO THE / MEMORY OF THE MEN / WHO DIED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR / COUNTRY 2ND.