A wartime munitions factory explosion in Bradford killed 40 people but was suppressed from public reporting due to First World War press restrictions.
Key Facts
- Deaths
- 40 people
- Firefighters killed
- 6 firemen
- Date of explosion
- August 1916
- Material manufactured
- Picric acid (explosive)
- Firefighter monument unveiled
- 1924 at Scholemoor Cemetery
- Workers' plaque unveiled
- 2016 on Spen Valley Greenway
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A munitions factory in Low Moor, Bradford was producing picric acid for the First World War. Poor on-site storage of materials allowed for combustion, triggering a fire. Initial suspicion fell on Belgian workers accused of German sympathies, but this was entirely refuted by subsequent investigation.
Bradford Fire Brigade responded to the blaze at the factory, which was already well alight on their arrival. A massive explosion followed by a series of smaller ones devastated the site, killing 40 people including on-site workers, a railwayman, and six firemen from the Odsal and Nelson Street fire stations.
The disaster was not widely reported at the time due to wartime press restrictions, a policy that similarly suppressed reporting of other factory disasters. A monument to the dead firefighters was unveiled in 1924, but workers received no formal dedication until a plaque was placed near the former factory site in 2016.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 40 (fire)