National Shell Filling Factory Memorial

Munitions production in the UK expanded considerably after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, but production failed to keep pace with the demand, with shortages leading to a Shell Scandal in 1915. The Munitions of War Act 1915 gave the government the power to establish different types of National Factories. National Filling Factory No 6 was established in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, as a filling factory, where empty shell casings that were manufactured elsewhere could be filled with explosives. It opened in February 1916, to fill high explosive shells of or larger calibres, with amatol, usually made on site by mixing one part TNT to four parts ammonium nitrate. The factory was…