I think many places along the "active" frontline may have finished up like this, or very similar. A sad sight indeed and one can only shudder at the lives lost. Paul
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The finest stories of the Great War are those that will never be told.
Indeed, whoever coined the phrase "blasted landscape" never had this in mind (talking merely of a windy moor IIRC) yet it is probably what it has come to mean to the world following the Great War and successive horrors. Or perhaps the phrase I am thinking of is "blasted heath"? Whatever.
Another of those photo albums at that site is "Women's Work in France". Which reminds of this picture I scanned from a magazine advertisement some years ago. There was no attribution or explanation of it (and I've forgotten the context of the advertisement but thought at the time there was no clear connection). Where is she and what shells are those? The French 75 comes to mind.
The quest to find out led to many fascinating places but no answers. I did discover the Americans manufactured shells for most of the allied forces (and posted links elsewhere to two books on the subject). But I still don't know. I suppose she is drifting a fuse-well into the nose. I admit to a certain frisson each time I see it but it is undoubtedly all as safe as anything involving munitions can be.
-- Edited by Rectalgia on Sunday 30th of May 2010 06:08:35 AM
Most shells over field gun or smaller size had their fuses packed separately & these were only fitted when the ammo was moved to the battery positions (the battery reserve as opposed to the gun positions - though some weren't added until on the gun position). Thus either the shells have to be field gun & therfore 75's OR she is fitting the fitting to take the nose fuse.
On safety we are still talking of a time where the expectation is of at least 1 major injury (ie crippling or death) at arable harvest time for each significant village! What we alo forget is that this represented a dramatic improvement on past generations! Try looking at old court records / summaries etc - a death from two people fighting was not a crime solong as 1 - no weapons used, 2 no kicking on the ground or the like & 3 no "ambush - ie hitting from behind or like to start it. Death & serious injury were common every day effects - often with no real prospect of any attribution other than accident!
There are still plenty of dangerous occupations around. About 25 years ago I worked in a steel mini mill, in an 18 month period we had:
A rigger who decided to walk along a wet building frame without a safety harness - DOA A furnaceman with 40% 3rd degree burns from a flashback from the arc furnace caused by charging cast iron turnings (full of oil) - survived with new face. A caster with permanent brain injury from a 10-ton lifting hook that got stuck under a railing - came free suddenly.
Thanks guys. Yes, I imagine she is using a copper or zinc "drifter" to install the tubes/wells that take the fuse assembly. Accidents/mistakes in munitions plants tend to have fairly severe consequences so the safety levels are actually uncommonly high. On an associated note, one of the great frauds perpetrated by the state insurer (the statutory insurer for Worker's Compensation) in these parts was to classify Powdermonkey as a hazardous occupation (with a premium to match). I mean those guys can only make one mistake, which they mostly decline. Same with munitions plants - either they're safe or they're a very large hole in the ground. Safety is a state of mind which is wonderfully concentrated by the real and constant possibility of imminent and spectacular demise.
But I still wonder if that young lady and her co-workers are French or American or what?
