NEARLY 6,000 Herefordshire women were prepared to die for their country working in one of the country's most dangerous wartime jobs.

Several did. The women were making shells, bombs, landmines and torpedoes at The Royal Ordnance Factory, Rotherwas, Hereford.

At least 29 died a violent death at what was one of Britain's oldest and largest explosives filling plants. Others died from handling incendiary devices.

In the Munitions: Women at War in Herefordshire, is a diary of those dangerous days by Herefordshire Lore.

Adversity

It marks a moment in British history when women coped with adversity inside and outside the factory; childbirth and child care, absent fathers and amorous Americans, sabotage and sickness, hardship and humour, 12-hour shifts and dubious medical checks.

The book is compiled from interviews with former workers and presented as told. Published with Logaston Press, it is available from Herefordshire Lore, Pool Farm, Belmont Road, Hereford, priced £9.99.