The annals of Tipton Needless loss of life marked with Tipton plaque The 19 girls who sadly lost their lives, were as follows: Elizabeth Aston age 14 Died later, no address given. Gladys May Bryant age 14 15 West Street, Dudley Port. Margaret (Maggie) Burns age 15 Sheepwash Lane, West Bromwich. Laura Dalloway age 15 36 Upper Church Street, Tividale. Edith Drew age 15 No1 House, 1 Court, Boat Row, Tipton. Annie Eliza Florence Edwards age 15 77 "A" Block, Munitions Huts, Dudley. Lucy Edwards age 14 Died some weeks later. 3 Sheepwash Street, Tipton. Elsie Follows age 15 196 Dudley Port. Violet May Franklin age 15 17 Cleton Street, Tipton. Annie Freeth age 15 42 Farley Street, Great Bridge. Lily Griffiths age 15 Railway Street, Horseley Heath. Hannah Hubbard age 16 No.1 House, 5 Court, Dudley Port. Ethel May Jukes age 15 Died some time later, no address given. Nellie Kay age 15 Dudley Port, Tipton. Priscilla Longmore age 13 337 Dudley Port. Annie Naylor age 14 162 Dudley Port. Edith Richards age 14 Factory Road, Tipton. Mabel Weaver age 14 3 Victoria Terrace, Tipton. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Williams age 13 Cross Street, Tipton. The five survivors listed on the memorial were: Florence Bryant, Florence Masters, Mary Luker, Nellie Warmer and Gladys Williams Monday the 6th March, 1922, began like any other day in the workshop. It was a cold morning and so a good fire was burning in the stove and the girls happily worked, sitting on the ammunition boxes while separating the lead and the copper in the 0.22 caliber cartridges and tipping the gunpowder into open boxes, that would be emptied into the canal at the end of the day. At about a quarter to twelve, something terrible happened. A spark, either from the stove, or possibly from one of the girls’ hobnail boots on the concrete floor, caused a massive explosion that blew the roof off the building. The explosion sounded like a clap of thunder, as a thick cloud of black smoke rose above the badly damaged building and the pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air. After a short silence, the screams and cries of the injured girls could be heard, as people rushed to the factory to help. They came across a terrible scene of death, injury and destruction. The survivors were left with horrible burns and injuries. Some were naked because their clothes had been blown away. They were carefully covered with bags and sacks and conveyed to nearby Dudley Guest Hospital for treatment. Within twelve hours of the explosion, twelve of the girls were dead.
