National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell

At the beginning of World War I shells were filled with Lyddite, but this needed imported raw materials, and so trinitrotoluene (TNT) was adopted.

The Chilwell site was apparently selected as it was close to a railway line from which a siding connection could be constructed, and sheltered from surrounding areas by hills.

Winston Churchill, then Minister of Munitions, sent a telegram:[3] "Please accept my sincere sympathy with you all in the misfortune that has overtaken your fine Factory and in the loss of valuable lives, those who have perished have died at their stations on the field of duty and those who have lost their dear ones should fortify themselves with this thought, the courage and spirit shown by all concerned both men and women command our admiration, and the decision to which you have all come to carry on without a break is worthy of the spirit which animates our soldiers in the field.

[3] In a speech reported in The Times, on 9 July 1918, Mr F. G. Kellaway, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions speculated that, as the French had apparently given an honour to the Citadel of Verdun, perhaps the factory should be awarded the Victoria Cross.

However, the more likely explanation is lax safety standards as the workforce competed to meet increasingly challenging production targets, coupled with the instability of the TNT compound on an unseasonably warm day.

Unveiled on 30 June 1968 by MT James Boyden MP Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for the Army on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the explosion at Chilwell the V.C.

Factory in recognition of the bravery and fortitude of the employees[11] At the end of the war, in 1919, the site became a Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) storage depot.

[13] On the centenary of the explosion in 2018, the mass grave at Attenborough Church was renovated to a design by members of the Royal Engineers based at Chetwynd Barracks.