Worked for the CIA

I worked in yellow powder and it was put into machines and pressed into pellets. The powder was called CE and TNT(highly explosive).
My feet,hands,hair,face and clothes were yellow with the powder and did NOT wash off!
I worked for a department called CIA. I used to go round the machines and take 2 pellets off each machine to be tested that they were up to standard, on my shift. My uniform was a red bret and a red armband. My extra danger was
Half a Crown (in old money)
(roughly 12pence)
There is a memorial in Newton Aycliffe which has 2 women on it 1 with a bret and the other a turban(a munition worker).
During the war I was in group 2 for the yellow powder and I also worked on group 6 making smoke bombs and used cordite.

There was many accidents 1 accident I can remember were they used to fill large shells. So large we had to stand on platforms to reach them.They called group 8 'The Queen Mary'.One of these blew up and about 6 were killed and a lot injured.There also was a lot of accidents with detonators on group 7 and 7c,every day!

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