Tyne and Wear HER(8628): Birtley, Elisabethville
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Description
"The model village of Elisabethville was built in the First World War to house Belgian workers at the National Projectile Factory. "The Huts" were envied by many local people whose housing was of much lower standard - the huts had flush toilets and electric lights. There were hostels for single men and two sizes of furnished cottage with a garden for families. There was great sympathy for the Belgian refugees and at the same time there was a shortage of munitions. National Projectile Factories were built by private firms and the government working together. In 1915 Armstrong Whitworth agreed to build two factories at Birtley, one to produce shells and the other cartridge cases. Belgian refugees were to be employed there. The factory was administered on strictly military lines. Discipline was only relaxed when the workmen's families arrived. At its peak Elisabethville had a population of 6000, of which 1200 were children. The model village was named after Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. It was..." -
Owner
SiteLines -
Source
Local (Co-Curate) -
License
What does this mean? Unknown license check permission to reuse
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Further information
Link: http://twsitelines.info/SMR/8628
Resource type: Text/Website
Added by: Simon Cotterill
Last modified: 8 years, 2 months ago
Viewed: 888 times
Picture Taken: Unknown -
Co-Curate tags
