View source for Silvertown explosion

{{Short description|1917 industrial accident in north-east London}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox news event
| image = File:1917-millenium-mills.jpeg
| caption = The [[Millennium Mills]] following the explosion
| date = {{start date|1917|1|19|df=y}}
| time = 18:52 [[UTC]]
| place = [[Silvertown]], London
| reported death(s) = 73
| reported injuries = More than 400
| notes = 
}}

The '''Silvertown explosion''' occurred in [[Silvertown]] in [[County Borough of West Ham|West Ham]], [[Essex]] (now part of the [[London Borough of Newham]]) on Friday 19 January 1917 at 6:52&nbsp;p.m. The blast occurred at a [[munitions]] factory that was manufacturing [[explosive]]s for [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]]'s [[First World War]] military effort. Approximately 50 [[tonnes]] of [[trinitrotoluene]] exploded, killing 73&nbsp;people and injuring 400 more, as well as causing substantial damage in the local area. This was not the first, last, largest, or the most deadly explosion at a munitions facility in Britain during the war; an [[Faversham explosives industry|explosion at Faversham]] involving {{Convert|200|LT|-1|abbr=off}} of TNT killed 105 in 1916, and the [[National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell]], exploded in 1918, killing 137.

==Operations==
{{Location map|Greater London
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|caption    = <small>Map showing the location of the Silvertown explosion within Greater London</small>
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The factory was built in 1893 on the south side ([[River Thames]] side) of North Woolwich Road, nearly opposite Mill Road) by [[Brunner Mond]], a forerunner of [[Imperial Chemical Industries]], to produce [[soda crystals]] and [[caustic soda]]. Production of caustic soda ceased in 1912, which left part of the factory idle. Two years into the war, the Army was facing a crippling [[Shell Crisis of 1915|shell shortage]]. The [[War Office]] decided to use the factory's surplus capacity to purify TNT, a process more dangerous than manufacture itself,<ref name=newhamstory>{{cite web|url=http://www.newhamstory.com/node/2167 |title=Silvertown Explosion |website=The Newham Story |access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref> although the factory was in a highly populated area. Despite opposition from [[Brunner Mond]], production of TNT began in September 1915. The method used was invented by Brunner Mond's chief scientist [[F. A. Freeth]], who believed the process to be "manifestly very dangerous".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42755#s3 |title=Victoria County History A history of the County of Essex |year=1973 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=W R |volume=6 |pages=76–89}}</ref> The plant continued to purify TNT at a rate of approximately {{Convert|9|LT|abbr=off}} per day until it was destroyed by the explosion.<ref name=portcities>{{cite web|url=http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.60/chapterId/1148/Londons-biggest-explosion.html |title=London's biggest explosion |website=Port Cities |access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>

Another plant, at [[Gadbrook]], was built in 1916 and was producing TNT at a higher rate than the Silvertown factory, away from populated areas, with more stringent safety standards. Both factories were in full production.<ref name=lalamy>{{cite web|url=http://www.lalamy.demon.co.uk/sivex.htm |title=The Silvertown Explosion |website=Lalamy.demon.co.uk |access-date=7 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927122816/http://www.lalamy.demon.co.uk/sivex.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref>
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==Explosion==
On 19 January, a fire broke out in the melt-pot room, and efforts to put it out were under way when approximately {{Convert|50|LT|-1|abbr=off|lk=on}} of [[trinitrotoluene]] (TNT) ignited at 6:52&nbsp;p.m. The TNT plant was destroyed instantly, as were many nearby buildings, including Silvertown Fire Station. Much of the TNT was in railway [[goods wagon]]s awaiting transport.<ref name=lalamy/> Debris was strewn for miles around, with red-hot chunks of rubble causing fires. A [[gas holder]] was damaged on [[Greenwich Peninsula]], creating a fireball from {{convert|200000|m3|e6ft3|abbr=none}} of gas; the holder was later repaired and remained until 1986. Several thousand pounds' worth of goods were also destroyed in nearby warehouses, estimated by the [[Port of London Authority]] to cover {{convert|7|ha}}.<ref name=20thclondon>{{cite web |url=http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conInformationRecord.207 |title=Silvertown Explosion 1917 |website=20thcenturylondon.org.uk |access-date=7 October 2011 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124420/http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conInformationRecord.207 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2015}} The chancel and church hall of the local church, [[St Barnabas' Church, West Silvertown|St Barnabas']], were destroyed, being replaced only in 1926.<ref>{{Citation |title=West Ham: Churches |work=A History of the County of Essex |volume=6 |pages=114–123 |year=1973 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=W R |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp114-123 |location=London |publisher=Victoria County History}}</ref>

Seventy-three people were killed (69 immediately, and four later from their injuries), and more than 400 injured. Up to 70,000 properties were damaged, 900 nearby ones destroyed or unsalvageably damaged; the cost was put at either £250,000 or £2.5&nbsp;million.<ref name=newhamstory/><ref name=portcities/><ref name=20thclondon/><!--<ref name=elh>http://eastlondonhistory.com/silvertown-explosion-1917/ {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2023}}</ref>--> The comparatively low death toll for such a large blast was due to the time of day. The factories were largely empty of workers (there were fewer than forty in the TNT factory itself),<ref name=newhamstory/> but it was too early for the upper floors of houses (which sustained the worst of the flying debris damage) to be heavily populated. Also, it occurred on a Friday, when fewer people were around the factory. However, several professional [[firemen]] and volunteers fighting the earlier fire were killed or seriously injured in the explosion.<ref name=lalamy/> For comparison, {{Convert|8|LT}} of TNT exploded at the National Shell Filling Factory, and killed 137 people; an explosion at [[Split Rock, New York]], in 1918 killed 50 to 52 people with {{Convert|1|-|3|ST|LT t|1|lk=in}} of TNT.{{Citation needed|date=November 2015}}

Reportedly, the explosion also blew the glass out of windows in the [[Savoy Hotel]] and almost overturned a taxi in [[Pall Mall, London]],<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |date=29 January 1917 |title=London's explosion was at Silvertown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/01/29/archives/londons-explosion-was-at-silvertown-passengers-here-say-69-persons.html |access-date=5 June 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> the fires could be seen in [[Maidstone]] and [[Guildford]], and the blast was heard up to {{convert|100|mi}} away, including at [[Sandringham, Norfolk|Sandringham]] in Norfolk and along the Sussex coast.<ref name=portcities/> Although the blast was heard at a great distance, it was not heard uniformly across the whole intermediate distance, owing to [[Wind shear#Sound propagation|atmospheric effects caused by refraction]] of the sound waves.

==Response==
The emergency services immediately became involved in putting out the fires caused by the explosion, treating the wounded, and beginning to repair the damage caused. First-aid stations were set up in the streets to treat minor injuries. A [[Salvation Army]] rescue team was sent into the area under [[Catherine Bramwell-Booth]], and the [[YMCA]] also rendered aid, including food and hot drinks.<ref name=newhamstory/> Thousands were left homeless, requiring temporary accommodation in schools, churches, and other similar places. One thousand seven hundred men were employed in the reconstruction task by February.<ref name=portcities/> Three million pounds in aid was paid to those affected by the blast, equivalent to approximately £40m in 2007, of which £1m was paid to local businesses and factories,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1919/may/19/silvertown-explosion#S5CV0116P0_19190519_CWA_85 |title=SILVERTOWN EXPLOSION |journal=Hansard |date=19 May 1919 |publisher=Parliament |access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref> including £185,000 to Brunner-Mond.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1919/may/28/silvertown-explosion-messrs-brunner#S5CV0116P0_19190528_CWA_85 |title=SILVERTOWN EXPLOSION (MESSRS. BRUNNER, M0ND,AND COMPANY)|journal=Hansard |date=28 May 1919 |publisher=Parliament |access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>

The clear-up was under the direction of Sir [[Frank Baines]], and a report in the ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'' of 12 February 1917 stated 750 to 1,000 men were on site. Six hundred houses had been demolished by the explosion and 400 new ones were being built. Three hundred others had been repaired and many more re-slated.

[[Henry Cavendish-Bentinck]] and [[Alfred Mond]], son of the eponymous [[Ludwig Mond]] of Brunner-Mond, debated in Parliament the living conditions of residents during the reconstruction; conditions were said to be "gravely prejudicial to the public health" and "not fit for human habitation". It was mooted that the residents should be relocated to a newly built [[Garden city movement|garden city]], rather than spending £1.3m rebuilding the present, dilapidated area.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1917/jul/06/silvertown-explosion-reconstruction |title=SILVERTOWN EXPLOSION (RECONSTRUCTION) |journal=Hansard |publisher=Parliament |date=6 July 1917 |access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref> [[Jack Jones (Silvertown MP)|John Joseph Jones]], MP for [[Silvertown (UK Parliament constituency)|Silvertown]], also maintained an interest in the disaster.

[[File:Edward George Brown Greenoff.jpg|thumb|PC Greenoff's memorial plaque in [[Postman's Park]]]]
The [[Minister of Munitions|Ministry of Munitions]] announced the explosion in the following day's newspaper, and ordered an investigation led by Sir [[Ernley Blackwell]], published on 24 February 1917. A definite single cause of the explosion was not determined, invalidating early theories such as German [[sabotage]] or an [[Airstrike|air raid]], but it was found that the factory's site was inappropriate for the manufacture of TNT. Management and safety practices at the plant were also criticised: TNT was stored in unsafe containers, close to the plant and the risky production process.<!--<ref name=elh/>--><ref name=portcities/> The report was not disclosed to the public until the 1950s. Other newspapers, including ''[[The New York Times]]'', also reported the explosion.<ref name="nytimes"/>

On 20 June 1917, Andrea Angel, the plant's chief chemist, who was attending to the initial fire, was posthumously awarded the [[Edward Medal]] (First Class) as was George Wenbourne. [[Police constable]] Edward George Brown Greenoff was posthumously awarded the [[King's Police Medal]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30145|page=6181|date=22 June 1917}}</ref> and is commemorated with a plaque on the [[Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice]] in [[Postman's Park]], in central London.<ref>John Price: ''Heroes of Postman's Park: Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Victorian London'', [[The History Press]], 2015, ISBN 978-0-7509-5643-7, p. 124ff.</ref>

The Silvertown explosion was not the final British munitions plant disaster of the First World War. The [[National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell]], in [[Nottingham]], exploded on 1 July 1918, killing 137 and injuring 250.

[[File:SilvertownExplosionMemorialInItsNewLocation.jpg|thumb|[[Silvertown War Memorial]] in its new location in the middle of the [[Royal Wharf]] development, 2016]]
[[File:Silvertown memorial.jpg|thumb|right|[[Silvertown War Memorial]] in its old location in 2009]]
The former TNT factory's grounds are, {{As of|2015|lc=y}}, empty, not having been built upon since the explosion.<ref name=portcities/> The other part of the factory remained open after being repaired, until finally closing in 1961. This is also idle, {{As of|2015|lc=y}}. A [[Silvertown War Memorial|memorial]] was commissioned by Brunner Mond in the 1920s inside the entrance to the factory location; it also serves as a memorial for the First World War and [[Second World War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carlscam.com/warmem/silvertownw.htm |title=Carl's Cam: Works War Memorial, Silvertown, London E16 |website=Carlscam.com |date=19 January 1917 |access-date=7 October 2011}}<br/>- {{cite web |url=http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/UEL/NE071.htm |title=Silvertown, NE071, War Memorial, World War I, Silvertown Explosion Memorial |access-date=17 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226120756/http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/UEL/NE071.htm |archive-date=26 February 2012}}</ref> For a time, the memorial was covered up due to the development of [[Royal Wharf]] in Silvertown, but by September 2016 it had been moved to a new location in the Royal Wharf development, closer to the site of the explosion.<ref>[https://pa.newham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=NFL24QJYJX000 Planning – Planning Application Documents 14/02758/LBC | Relocation of the Silvertown War Memorial] ''pa.newham.gov.uk'', accessed 28 August 2020</ref>

==Popular culture==

The Silvertown Explosion is dramatised in the LWT TV series ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' (series&nbsp;4, episode&nbsp;9, "Another Year"). [[Scullery maid]] [[Ruby Finch]] had left her employer, the Bellamy family at 165&nbsp;Eaton Place, to work in a munitions factory for the war effort. The explosion is not only heard at the home of her former employer in [[Belgravia]], but it literally rocks the house. The residents can see a great fire in the distance, "down the river somewhere". Ruby makes her way back to the house and relates her account of being in the factory when the explosion occurred. She is in [[Acute stress reaction|deep shock]] and her face is covered in a [[sulphur]]ous yellow residue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.updown.org.uk/epguide/s4.htm#gd|title=Upstairs, Downstairs – Season Four}}</ref>

In [[Pat Mills]]'s comic-strip, ''[[Charley's War]]'', the hero, Charley Bourne, is wounded on the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme]] and returns home to Silvertown to be confronted by the aftermath of the explosion. Several subsequent strips depict a [[Zeppelin]] raid on the munitions factories in the area and deal with the residents' fears of a repeat of the disaster.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In the [[Charlie Higson]] [[Young Bond]] novel ''[[Double or Die]]'', Brunner Mond is one of the cryptic clues and reference is made to the explosion.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In ''A Study in Murder'' by [[Robert Ryan (writer)|Robert Ryan]], the explosion blows in the windows of a hotel where Mrs. Gregson is dining, despite being located miles away from the factory.

[[Vera Brittain]] reports a curious effect of the explosion in her WWI autobiography, ''[[Testament of Youth]]'': "Years afterwards a journalist friend told me that on the evening of this disaster she was working in her room in Bayswater when the drawn blind suddenly lifted without a sound, remained horizontal in the air for a moment or two, and then slowly dropped. There was no wind and she had heard no noise. She said it was the most terrifying experience that she had ever been through."<ref>V. Brittain, ''Testament of Youth'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009), p. 277. First edition: 1933.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
*Sainsbury, Frank (1977). "Largest Wartime Explosions: Silvertown, London, 19 January 1917". ''[[After the Battle]]'', '''18''', pp.&nbsp;30–34. {{ISSN|0306-154X}}.
*Hill, Graham and Bloch, Howard (2003). ''The Silvertown Explosion: London 1917''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-3053-X}}.

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[[Category:Explosions in 1917]]
[[Category:Explosions in London]]
[[Category:1917 industrial disasters]]
[[Category:Government munitions production in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the London Borough of Newham]]
[[Category:1917 in London]]
[[Category:Industrial fires and explosions in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Military logistics of World War I]]
[[Category:London in World War I]]
[[Category:Chemical industry in London]]
[[Category:1910s in Essex]]
[[Category:1910s fires in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1917 fires]]
[[Category:1917 disasters in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Silvertown]]
[[Category:Ammunition depot fires and explosions]]