The Great War Centenary
1917 - ExhibitionBoomtown - From
Front Line to White Lund
Keeping it Secret
In times of war secrecy is seen as essential. The Second World War
phrase ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ captured the worries of Government,
but 25 years earlier the very same concerns were keenly felt.
With fears of air raids, spies and sabotage all mention of the National
Projectile Factory (NPF) on Caton Road and the National Filling Factory
(NFF) on White Lund were kept to a minimum. The White Lund works did not
appear on local maps. Even when White Lund ‘went up’ the Ministry of
Munitions reported that:
‘A serious fire and explosion have occurred at a munition factory in the
North of England.’
This short statement appeared, even in the Lancaster Guardian on 6
October 1917, where local residents were fully aware of the disaster.
Such secrecy caused challenges when factory bosses, Vickers, were
seeking accommodation for munitions workers, in September 1915. A piece
in the local paper, calling for vacant housing for 5,000 new boarders
said:
‘We are not permitted to state the nature of the scheme which calls for
this requisition of vacant houses and building accommodation but we
understand it will have a far reaching effect upon the prosperity of
Morecambe.’
The following week the paper noted a good response but that more was
needed:
‘Many residents we know would like to have been furnished with a little
more information as to what the scheme is and the likely number of
boarders will be but it is not advisable to publicly announce details at
present. We cannot emphasise too strongly the importance of all
volunteering the information asked for. Undoubtedly the coming of a
large number of men into the town will bring good not only to tradesmen,
but to boarding-house keepers in general.’
With lots of information kept secret it is an easy step to see how
rumours and private theories could thrive.
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