During World War I more than 900,000 women joined the two million Brits already working in munitions factories making bombs, shells, bullets and cartridges imperative to the British war effort. Before the war, these jobs were considered ill-suited for women, but with the sheer number of men at the front, factories had no choice but to open their doors to female workers. For many of these women it was the first job they had ever had and they relished the camaraderie, teamwork and occasionally a change in wardrobe. Factory owners were concerned about the impact of such intense manual labour on their female employees. Sport, especially football, was encouraged. The idea was that sport would help the women expend all that excitement and excess energy from their newfound employment. The football that the munitionettes played was as full of gusto and rough and tumble as the men’s games, a sign of how prescriptive gender roles were slowly changing in the early 1900s. Kicking and hacking ones opponent was quite common amongst the girls. Although there were some critics who believed that a woman’s place wasn’t on the football field, more frequently, communities rallied behind their all-female football teams.
The photograph above shows Coalville Munition Girls who won the coveted Bass Charity Vase in 1918. They beat Shobnall girls 3-1 in the final after overcoming Messrs. Green & Co [Woodville] in the semi-final. All Vase games were played at Peel Croft in Burton. It was the first time in two years that the Cup had been played and the only time a women’s team had been in the tournament. The proceeds were distributed amongst the following war funds: “Burton Mail” Tobacco Fund, Infirmary, Red Cross and Prisoners of War.