TONIGHT’S Ross-on-Wye Civic Society meeting at the Larruperz Centre focuses on the Women the War turned Yellow otherwise known as the Rotherwas Canary Girls.

Following the society’s fascinating tour round the Rotherwas industrial estate in May, their guide Angela Williams will be adding to the story of the Royal Ordnance Factory on Wednesday, November 11 at 7.30pm after a brief Annual General Meeting which starts at 7pm.

The Rotherwas Royal Ordnance Factory opened in 1916 as a munitions filling factory and became one of the largest explosive filling sites in the UK.

It covered more than 300 acres and comprised more than 370 buildings. Employing mainly women, the so-called "munitionettes”, whose skin and hair turned yellow from contact with TNT chemicals and who later became known as The Canary Girls.

Local documents reveal that Nellie Bagley, whose first shift at Rotherwas in 1940 was on her 18th birthday, recalls that posters relating to the war papered the walls bearing slogans such as "Keep Mum She's Not So Dumb" to deter talk among workers.

She remembers having to strip down to her underwear to be inspected. "You took everything off and you had just your bra and if it had a metal clip on the back you couldn't wear it, she said.

The women operated in a tense atmosphere, heavy with the weight of government fears that information could fall into the wrong hands. "You were aware all the time of being watched, she concluded."

The Ross-on-Wye Civic Society organise monthly talks about local topics, either historical or current. Meetings are generally held at the Larruperz centre on the second Wednesday of the month, starting at 7.30pm.

A charge of £5 is made for a single meeting or free for members (paying £25 for the year), or guests under 18 years. Details of events for 2026 / 2027 can be found via rosscivic.org.uk.