The Great War - Zenith

"The Tropenas Steel Converter at Woolwich Arsenal", William Hyde

The Arsenal reached its Zenith late in 1917. In addition to around 74,000 workers employed in the Ordnance Factories, the Naval and Army Ordnance Departments, Research Department, Inspection Department and Equipment and Stores departments employed a further 27,000. The site extended to around 1,300 acres, served by its own rail system with 150 miles of track. The stockyards and stores were piled with thousands of tons of munitions, and the piers and moorings were crowded with shipping.

In the town, new tram and bus lines were introduced to cope with the mass of workers, as was a new ferry service across the Thames; the shortage of housing meant that the Arsenal could never move to a 3-shift system, so twice a day something like 40,000 workers would change shifts. Shopworkers struggled to keep pace with demands; on payday, the Arsenal's pay office would pay wages to 420 men a minute.

In one of those strange ironies that haunt the history of Woolwich, to borrow the words of Mr Macmillan, Woolwich had never had it so good. Barge and lighter men, transport workers, tailors, cobblers, grocers, butchers, bakers, builders and publicans had all shared in the wartime wealth of the Arsenal, but a terrible price had been paid. The sheer exhausting effort, the food shortages, the slow and awful dawning of understanding of the scale of the losses and the uncertainty of social upheaval may account for the absence of smiles in group photos.

Raids by Zeppelins and Gotha bombers were never very deadly - more Londoners would die of 'flu in October 1918 alone (2,225) than had been killed by enemy air action throught the whole war - but for a nation utterly unfamiliar with warfare on its home soil, the psychological impact was great. Diaries and war records show significant absenteeism from the Arsenal following an air raid warning; the bugle sounding among the hutments would cause many a sleepless night.

"In the Gun Factory at Woolwich Arsenal, 1918" Sir George Clausen

1914-1918 Guns made Guns repaired Gun carriages made Gun carriages repaired Shells made Shells filled Gun cartridges filled Fuzes made Fuzes filled Small arms bullets made

Arsenal output 4,326 5,434 2,165 1,217 5,847,400 19,910,300 46,121,200 3,368,200 59,251,400 1,718,813,228