A Merchant Fleet at War

by Archibald Hurd

The “Aquitania’s” Lounge (Once a hospital ward, it was used subsequent to the Armistice as an orderly room)

Officers’ ward in the Smoking Room of the “Aquitania”

In spite of all this, however, the first complete aeroplane was turned out on June 7th, 1918, just eight months after the commencement, while within four or five months after this, the factory was in a position to turn out no less than 100 aeroplanes a month. Before this, however, the Ministry of Munitions had appointed a controller of National Aircraft Factories, so that on the 17th of October, 1918, the factory was handed over to the Government in full working order, another concrete instance of the organising skill and versatility of this great Mercantile Marine Company.

Long before this the Cunard Company had embarked upon yet another subsidiary enterprise in the establishment of a factory for the manufacture of shells. This factory, which came to be known as the Cunard National Shell Factory, was established at Bootle, the building having before been used as a store for the fittings and furniture taken from such of the Cunard Company’s vessels as had been used as armed cruisers and in various other capacities. A new floor was built and the roof trusses were strengthened in order to carry shafting. Most of the lathes and other machine tools installed in the factory were of the type suitable for marine work, and therefore, special fittings were necessary in order to convert them into lathes suitable for the production of 4 in., 5 in., 6 in. and 8 in. shells; and these special fittings were designed and made by the Cunard’s Staff Engineers. The boring bars used for the 8 in. shells were made from the piston rods of the old Cunard liner Lucania, sister ship to the Campania, the vessel, as we have seen, on which Signor Marconi carried out some of his most important wireless experiments. The ingenuity displayed in this won a tribute of admiration from all the engineering experts who were brought in touch with it; and the proof of their success is to be found in the fact that the shells, ranging up to 6 in. and 8 in. diameter, were entirely completed by female labour.

The Cunard National Shell Factory was, indeed, the first factory in Great Britain to produce 6 in. and 8 in. shells with female labour, and was thus the pioneer in the employment of women on shells of large calibre. In order that the women might be able to handle these heavy shells great attention had, of course, to be paid to the lifting appliances; and it may, perhaps, here be mentioned that one of the women operators worked throughout the whole period from October, 1915, to November, 1918, without the loss of a single minute of time, probably creating a record. To this factory also several of the retired engineering officers of the Cunard Company’s ships returned to work in order to assist their country in increasing the output of shells, while the factory was self-contained in that it manufactured all its own tools, jigs, and other necessary appliances.

In this factory work was continuous, being carried out in three shifts, one working from seven in the morning till three in the afternoon, the next from three in the afternoon till ten at night, and the third from ten p.m. until seven next morning; while on Saturdays one shift worked from seven a.m. till noon, and another from noon till five p.m.

In 1916 the Bottle Nosing Plant for the large shells was instituted—a plant that turned out to be a great success, while at the same time a system for the mixing of gas and air to enable a furnace temperature of 1,400 degrees centigrade to be maintained was also installed—a contrivance that resulted in a very considerable saving both in upkeep and expenditure.

On an average about 1,000 people were employed in this factory, of whom 80 to 90 per cent. were women. The factory contained excellent kitchens and dining rooms, so that hot meals could be served both for the day and night shifts. The welfare of the workers was scrupulously attended to; and a recreation room fitted with a theatrical stage and all accessories was very popular with the workers in their spare time.