The Explosion
On Friday 19th January 1917 at 6:52 pm, a fire which led to the ignition of approximately 50 tons of TNT caused a fire which led to an explosion. 73 people died (69 immediately and 4 later from injuries) Up to 70,000 properties were damaged, 900 nearby ones destroyed or unsalvageably damaged; the cost was put at either £250,000 or £2.5 million. It was mostly women who were killed working in the factory although as the explosion happened at night and on a Friday, the death toll was significantly lower than it could have been, also as most of the damage was made to the upper floors of houses, it was also fortunate that most people were still awake and therefore in their living rooms when the explosion happened.
Lyn - my nan lost her arm
Joan - Explosion
"My brown owl who was Ester Wilson, she was amazing, she lost her sight in the Silvertown explosion, had to go away to a blind school afterwards, broke her heart and, but she was the most amazing worker with children, young girls, role model, brilliant woman, brilliant woman, brilliant woman, selfless, ran the church and her brother Fred Wilson, ran St Barnabus until it closed down, she ran the forth Victoria dock brownie guide troupe" - Lyn
However many firemen and volunteers fighting the fire were also killed. It is said that the explosion could be heard as far away as Southampton and Norfolk (100 mile radius) and blew out the windows of the Savoy Hotel whereas the fires could be seen from Maidstone and Guilford.
The factory itself was built in 1893 on the south side of North Woolwich Road next to the Thames by Brunner Mond and originally produced soda crystals and caustic soda (a forerunner of Imperial Chemical Industries). Production of caustic soda ceased in 1912 so part of the factory was not in use. Two years into the war the war office decided to use the space to purify TNT because of the army’s shell shortage. The process was extremely dangerous and should not have been carried out in such a populated area, Brunner Mond (owned by John Brunner and Lugwig Mond) opposed the idea as it was too dangerous but the production of TNT began in September 1915, they purified TNT at a rate of 9 tonnes per day until the explosion.
Firefighter Vickers
After the explosion the emergency services were involved in putting out the fires and treating the wounded, most victims were sent to Poplar Hospital for accidents or the ‘dockers hospital’ in East India dock Road and first aid stations were set up in the street for minor injuries. The Salvation Army ensued a rescue team led by Catherine Bramwell-Booth and the YMCA rendered aid including food and hot drinks. Thousands were left homeless and temporary accommodation was available in schools and churches while children were mostly sent to the countryside to recover. 1,700 men were employed in the reconstruction task, building 400 houses to replace the 600 that had been demolished and repairing and reslating 300 others. The rebuild and living conditions were controversial and debated in parliament by Henry Caven-Bentinck (a conservative politician) and Alfred Mond (son of Lugwig Mond).
