Margaret Noble

Margaret Noble worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Chilwell near Nottingham, one of the largest munitions factories in Britain. She and thousands of other women filled shells and assembled bombs in conditions that were both tedious and extremely dangerous — an explosion at Chilwell in 1918 had killed 134 workers.Noble worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week, handling explosive materials that turned her skin yellow (earning these women the nickname "canary girls"). Despite the danger, she volunteered for the most hazardous duties. She represents the millions of women whose factory work was essential to the war effort.