Collections Guide - West Yorkshire Joint Services

superintendent had charge of police women for female search purposes. All personnel were required to wearidentity discs and to carry permits, searches being regularly undertaken. Danger areas were under constantsurveyance, with 'safe' areas reserved for smokers. There was a complete press blackout of the area.Explosions occurred on three occasions, the first and most serious in one of the fusing rooms on the night of5 December 1916, when 35 women lost their lives. The injured were taken to the Leeds General Infirmary,aid being provided by the factory medical staff, the ambulance corps and the voluntary motor transportsection. Residents of Lazencroft Cottage, at the time, are understood to have witnessed crowds of workers,many with yellowed faces, rushing along Manston Lane, all in a state of great distress. The second accident,three months later on 21 March, 1917, killed two girls and in the third accident on 31 March, 1918 (a timewhen the King and Queen were visiting Leeds), three men lost their lives. In the traumatic aftermath of theseincidents, girls were found readily volunteering to resume work in the danger areas, once repairs had beenundertaken. Due to censorship, no account of the accidents was made public; however Field Marshall SirDouglas Haigh in a special order of the day issued from the British HQ in France, paid tribute to the devotionand sacrifice of the munitions workers. At the end of hostilities on 11 November 1918, all work stopped forthe first time. The grand totals of munitions production were :-B L Cartridges of all sizes completed 36,150,000Shells filled 24,750,000Shells completed with fuses and packed 19,250,000Tonnage of finished ammunition despatched overseas 566,000(further information can be found at: http://barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com/4746.html, accessed14/08/13)Anti-War/Conscientious Objectors(LMT/PU/P1236) February 1916–January 1918 Local tribunal war service appealscopy letter bookFrom 1916, men seeking exemption from military service could apply to various tribunals. There were threetypes: Local Tribunals, Appeal Tribunals and a Central Tribunal based in London. Local Tribunals wereappointed by the Local Registration Authorities designated under the National Registration Act 1915(effectively local burgh and city councils). They dealt with attested (voluntary servicemen) and non-attested(conscripted) applications. Recruiting officers or other military representatives were also entitled to attendany hearing and to question applicants. Appeal Tribunals were appointed by the Crown, and in Scotlandthese were located within sheriffdoms. Any applicant refused exemption by the Local Tribunal, or dissatisfiedwith the type of exemption granted, had a right of appeal to it. Conversely military representatives orrecruiting officers could appeal against the exemption granted to an applicant. A Central Tribunal wasappointed for the whole of Great Britain. Any person dissatisfied with a decision of an Appeal Tribunal couldappeal to it, but only provided they were given leave to do so. The Central Tribunal frequently took overcases in which conscientious objection was made by men who had already been called up. These recordssurvive in The National Archives at Kew. Exemptions granted by tribunals could be permanent, conditional or