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Exploring SMALL TOWN Canada at War

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The Diary and the Mannequin
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Women Making Shells

Mabel May was one of many artists commissioned by the Canadian War Memorial Fund to record the impact of war on the home front. May had the opportunity to paint women working in munitions plants. Approximately 35,000 women worked in the munitions industry in Canada during the war. Although this role offered women new social freedom and independence, it was also very dangerous work due to the chemicals. Many munitions workers got toxic jaundice as the Trinitrotoluene (TNT) turned their skin yellow; it could even affect their hair colour and cause liver damage. (CWM19710261-0389.jpg)

Women Making Shells

Date: 1919

Copyright: Beaverbrook Collection of War Art

Image Description:

Women Making Shells, a painting by Mabel May.

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