A campaign is underway to help find World War Two munitions workers and their families who worked in factories here in the North West.
Worsley and Eccles South MP Barbara Keeley has helped to launch a fundraising campaign being run by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Recognition of Munitions Workers, of which she is a member.
The campaign is raising money to pay for a lasting memorial to munitions workers at the National Memorial Arboretum. The group aims to raise between £75,000 and £100,000 for the memorial.
Barbara and Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, are also launching a campaign together to try to make contact with women and men in both their constituencies who were munitions workers during the First and Second World Wars, or with their families.
Thousands of munitions workers were employed across the country, including at factories in Trafford Park, and the MPs believe many will have remained and raised their families in the area.
“Women and men working in munitions factories played an important role during both the First and Second World Wars, facing danger from accidents and from handling dangerous substances. Munitions factories were also subject to frequent attacks by our enemies. Munitions workers helped Britain through the two World Wars and it is right that they are finally recognised for their contribution to the war effort.”
“Kate Green MP and I want to try to find former munitions workers from Worsley and Eccles South and Stretford and Urmston who worked in factories at Trafford Park or elsewhere in the country during the Second World War. We want to locate them or their families so that they can receive the recognition they deserve for their wartime work.Kate said:“Munitions workers were vital to our second world war victory, helping to defeat fascism. Their story is a fascinating and important part of our history, and we want to honour the contribution they made. I hope workers and their families who are still living in the local area will come forward to share their stories and make contact with Barbara Keeley or with me. “