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Girls making cartridges for Enfield rifles at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, 1862. Creator: Unknown
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Girls making cartridges for Enfield rifles at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, 1862. Creator: Unknown
Girls making cartridges for Enfield rifles at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, 1862. Our illustration was taken [at]...the Royal Laboratory Department...near the Plumstead marshes. Each girl has a pile of small sheets of cartridge-paper before her, and also a tray of elongated bullets. She has to roll up the paper round a wooden dummy or former, the bullet being inserted at one end, which she ties up tight with string, cutting off the ends of it with a pair of scissors. The cartridges are then ready to be filled with powder...About 200 girls are employed...The girls ages vary from ten to fourteen years, and they are the children of soldiers and arsenal workmen...They are all on piecework, and make about 900, 000 cartridges per week. Clever girls will earn on an average from 8s. to 11s. per week. The nimbleness with which their little fingers rattle over the work is truly wonderful...They work only five days per week, and their hours of employment are from 7.30 a.m. till 5 p.m...The buildings in the winter are heated by means of steam-piping, and are suitably ventilated. Every attention is paid to the health and good conduct of the girls, who looked as happy as possible, but gave unmistakable signs of their sex by the chatter, chatter...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862
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Media ID 35125117
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This photograph captures a group of young girls diligently working at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, England, in 1862. The scene unfolds in the Royal Laboratory Department, situated near the Plumstead marshes. Each girl is engrossed in her task, meticulously rolling up cartridge paper around elongated bullets using a wooden former. The cartridges are then tied up with string and trimmed with scissors, ready to be filled with gunpowder. Approximately 200 girls, aged between ten and fourteen years, are employed in this labor-intensive process. Their fathers were soldiers or arsenal workers, and they worked on piecework, producing an impressive 900,000 cartridges per week. Clever girls could earn an average weekly wage of 8 shillings to 11 shillings. The girls' nimble fingers fly over their workstations, a testament to their skill and dexterity. They worked five days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The work environment was well-equipped with steam-heated buildings and proper ventilation to ensure the girls' comfort during the colder months. Despite the industrious atmosphere, the girls' youthful energy and happiness shine through, as they chattered and laughed amongst themselves, revealing their feminine nature.
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