Women of Worth

A trolley being pushed by two happy munitions workers. The trolley contains bags of paste and is labelled cotton exchange. It is is being pushed from the wash houses in Broomhills. This is a black and white archive photo of H.M. Factory Gretna from the past.

Five munitions workers wearing long coats in the washing house of H.M. Factory Gretna. One munitions worker is using a pump, while another directs the pump into an open bag. Two munitions workers stand behind them with a full bag and anther waits with an open bag. This is an archive photo from the past.

Today is International Women's Day.

Did you know that 12,000 women once worked at H.M. Factory Gretna during World War One?

Come and visit us to find out more about H.M. Factory Gretna and what life was like for those who worked there!

An A3 board which will be on a lamp post in Oakworth for International Women's Day 2026. It has a green border and the title 'International Women's Day Trail' in purple lettering. It features information about Nesta Hoyle, who was a Land Army girl in the second world war and a QR code box printed on it can be scanned for more information. There are seven similar boards on lamp posts around Oakworth village.

On #InternationalWomensDay we feature eight local women who served in wartime as Land Army girls, nurses, ambulance drivers and for the YMCA abroad. The boards will be up around #Oakworth for a month and their stories are here:
menofworth.org.uk/womens-day/

Sophie Scholl was an incredibly brave woman.

Bespoke Tours to the First & Second World War Battlefields Each International Women's Day makes me think of women whom I find inspiring. Each year I am continuously drawn to Sophie Scholl. Sophie was born in 1921 in southern Germany. Like many young people i...

Each #IWD makes me think of women whom I find inspiring. Each year I am continuously drawn to Sophie Scholl.

If you are hearing Sophie's name for the first time, please do read on for a short insight into an incredibly brave young woman: tinyurl.com/529eraw5

An A3 size board which is one of eight which will be posted around Oakworth to celebrate notable women of the village for International Women's Day on Sunday 8th March 2026. It has a green border and purple writing at the top. A paragraph about Nesta Hoyle with her photo is included and a QR code to take visitors to her biography page.

That's fab! On Saturdy 7th March, we are putting up boards for a local trail around our local village of Oakworth. These boards will be about notable local women and will be up for a month:
menofworth.org.uk/womens-day/

This black-and-white photograph depicts two women walking along a street carrying large wicker baskets. They are dressed in late 19th-century attire, with long skirts and shawls. The street is lined with terraced houses featuring iron railings, and a gas street lamp is visible in the background.

It's #WomensHistoryMonth 🎉

As usual, I'll be sharing ordinary women's stories.

I like writing about these women. They didn't do anything the world would deem spectacular.

They were just everyday people going about their lives. Surviving the way they knew best.

#History

A downloadable trail map will be posted on the link above once the boards are in place, so you can visit them and scan the QR Code on the boards to follow the links and read their stories.

These will consist of A3 size ‘correx’ boards on lampposts around the village near to the former homes of notable women of Oakworth. The boards will be up for about a month, until early April 2026.

An A3 size board which is one of eight which will be posted around Oakworth to celebrate notable women of the village for International Women's Day on Sunday 8th March 2026. It has a green border and purple writing at the top. A paragraph about Nesta Hoyle with her photo is included and a QR code to take visitors to her biography page.

#IWD
For International Women's Day on Sunday 8th March 2026, members of Women of Worth are putting up a trail of eight information boards about notable women from Oakworth who served in wartime.
Details of the trail are available on the link here.
menofworth.org.uk/womens-day/

A woman wearing Edwardian riding attire is riding side saddle on a large dark coloured horse with a white star on its forehead and a white sock on its right back leg. They are standing on a road by a tall stone wall, which is covered in ivy. The wall supports the hillside which slopes away upwards with small saplings and trees in the background.

Margaret Burwin is one of our amazing local women for #Oakworth’s #InternationalWomen’sDay Trail this March. In 1911 she toured the world with Sir Edward Elgar & Sheffield Choral Society. With YMCA in the Great War, she served comforts to soldiers in France, Italy:
menofworth.org.uk/margaret-bur...

A title sheet for a VE Day 80 display. It has a patriotic union jack style border and the words say: VE Day. Reminiscences of VE Day 1945, by Members of the Oaks Old People's Day Centre, Oakworth Road, Keighley.

#VEDay80 Here are a few things that #Keighley people did on VE Day in 1945:

Dorothy Ferry
"I was dancing in the Town Hall Square after Joe Loss had appeared at the Mechanics. Dancing 'till dawn *Joe Loss played live in the Town Hall Square."

(* We have no idea if he did!)

An advertisement for VED Day 80th anniversary events in Keighley

If you are near Keighley tomorrow, come and join us!

Wooden Framed certificate for services during the First World War

Day 26 #Archive30 @arascot.bsky.social

#ArchiveObject

A lovely framed certificate presented to the hospital for its service during the First World War

#WW1
#FWW
#militaryhospital
#welshmetropolitanwarhospital
#shellshock
#orthopaediccentre
#ColGoodall
#MatronRaynes

Regarding our website:
As you may know we have had a problem with the website.
We hope to restore all of our archive and features in the coming weeks.
Some links on pages will not work until we’ve got the whole thing loaded up as it used to be, so please bear with us.
Thank you for your patience.

A photo of the Keighley Mayor's Award

Andy and Lynn manning the stand

One of the panels on display at the event

Men of Worth and Women of Worth Project were proud to attend the Keighley Community Showcase on 10th April, where we were presented with the Mayor's Award. The first of a few dates we have booked for this year...

A group of seven ladies wearing work smocks, four are standing at the back and three seated at the front. They are munitions workers from Steeton Dump Royal Ordnance Factory.

A group of eight men in Fire Service uniform from the Steeton Dump WW2 Royal Ordnance Factory, standing in front of their fire engine which has a trailer carrying hoses. Six men are standing at the back and two are seated in front.

As #VEDay80 rapidly approaches, we're looking at group photographs of munitions and other workers from Steeton Dump, #WW2 Royal Ordnance Factory No. 22. We believe they were taken in May 1945 as the factory was closed down and secrecy was lifted. www.menofworth.org.uk/archives/ste...

Sunset over the Thiepval memorial this evening, looking towards the woodland at Authuille and Aveluy
#ww1 #somme

Military Nurse in Egypt - Away from the Western Front < Women Away from the Western Front Military nurse in Egypt: the story of Lily Harris The story of…

'Women Away from the Western Front’ - Military nurse in Egypt: the story of Lily Harris (Photo © Wilkinson Family)

Lily's story is here: awayfromthewesternfront.org/research/wom...

#WomensHistoryMonth #WHM #WW1 #FWW #Egypt #QAIMNS

Nice to see this - as a Tottenham fan I know his name. No disrespect at all to Walter Tull but he tends to be remembered more.

Alan Haig-Brown DSO was a professional footballer who was killed in action 25 March 1918.

He played for Brighton HA, Orient and Tottenham Hotspurs.

Killed by machine-gun fire whilst conducting a rear guard action on the Bapaume-Sapignies road, France

#WW1 #History #HistoryMatters

Walter Tull footballer with Tottenham Hotspur was killed in action 25 March 1918.

Walter had been commissioned as an officer. Walter led an attack on German trenches. He crossed 'No Man's Land', and was hit and killed. He is remembered on the Arras Memorial.

#WW1 #History #HistoryMatters

Juliana, the Great Dane awarded two Blue Cross medals for bravery during WW2

Juliana, the Great Dane who was awarded two Blue Cross medals for bravery during WW2

A page I follow on facebook 'History UK and The Republic of Ireland' shared the wonderful story of Juliana, the Great Dane who was twice awarded the Blue Cross medals for bravery during WW2.

Please check their facebook page for further info as there aren't enough characters here to explain more!

March is Women's History Month! See the ever growing list of local women who contributed during war time - we have VADs, Women's Land Army and munitions workers: www.menofworth.org.uk/women/

Apologies for my recent absence - work related issues have overtaken me. Hopefully back to it with vigour soon. In the meantime, another VAD bio to read: www.menofworth.org.uk/women/vad-ag...

A photo of Hannah Margaret Marriott-Watson on stage

A photo of Hannah Margaret Marriott-Watson

One of our VADs went on to become a successful actress on stage and television. Read her story here:
www.menofworth.org.uk/keighley/vad...

Western Front Railway Stations:

Ypres - once a beautiful station but, as was the fate of Ypres, four years of war reduced it to rubble.

#WW1

A Women of Worth volunteer, Kathryn, is delivering a book to a primary school

The book which explains the work of the supplementary volume of Keighley's Roll of Honour

Our volunteers have been busy delivering the books which were published about the supplementary volume to the Keighley Roll of Honour. A copy has been given free to all schools within the Keighley and Worth Valley area. Here is Kathryn delivering to Parkwood Primary and Nessfield Primary School:

Today's badge is a rare example of a post-war Comrades of the Great War badge from 1921. This is the only one of these I have seen. #WW1 #FWW

Learn how to plan and undertake your own First World War research trip, with Dr Dean Kirby, 6th February Join us for a live webinar with researcher Dr Dean Kirby as he demonstrates how he followed his ancestor's final journey across the Somme – and shares practical advice to help you plan your own First ...

I'm looking forward to this talk for the brilliant @familytreeplus.bsky.social on Thursday. Do come along if you want to hear about planning a #WW1 research trip to France and how I followed my ancestor's final journey on the Somme. @helentovey.bsky.social #familyhistory #genchat #genealogy #genhour

Plugstreet - a tale of cigars, lost paperwork and subterfuge. Find out more in our latest podcast, out Sunday #WW1 #FWW