First World War: Then and Now
The group reflected the typically diverse range of female factory workers during the First World War. Some of these women had links with this overlooked wartime heritage and they were all united in their interest to learn more about it.
The Voices of War and Peace engagement centre connected the group with university researchers Dr Chris Upton and Professor Michael Snape. They supported the group to access the surviving documents depicting the everyday experiences of wartime women held at local archives, delivered a talk about the Military Service Act and edited the texts produced by the group.
Birmingham Small Arms factory, the wartime manufacturer of the Lewis Gun, became a particular focus for their research. Several women discovered they had family links and after some oral history training interviewed their relatives and the public about their ancestors' experiences.
The group used their research to produce a theatrical piece called Clocking On. For instance, the names of the characters were taken from real female factory workers and the road names were taken from their archived pay slips.