An exhibition commemorates the lives of 19 girls who died in a massive explosion at a West Midlands factory a century ago.
The girls, aged 13 to 15, were removing gunpowder from live bullets at a factory in Tipton after the First World War when the deadly explosion occurred.
Four children survived what became known as the Tipton disaster, but many more suffered horrific burns and died on March 6, 1922.
Artist Chris Hardy honors her memories with photos and sculptures.
The exhibition at Tipton Community Center runs Friday through Monday.
The girls, who came from poor backgrounds, were paid by the factory owner to disassemble tons of gun shells bought by the government so the scrap metal could be collected.
The fire is believed to have been started by a spark from the spiked boots worn by the girls at the Groveland Road factory, according to the artist.
Questions were asked in Parliament after the event and a boss at the factory was later jailed for five years, Ms Hardy said.
“The girls lost their hair, the skin from the front of their bodies and were unrecognizable after that,” she said.
“Of course there was no NHS then and the equivalent of £1million of today’s money was raised for her care and for the education and support of survivors.
“It was known across the country and these poor families got bottles of champagne and carpets and all sorts of weird things sent from people from all over the country afterwards.”
Ms Hardy, from Birmingham, said she had spent about 10 years painting and recreating pieces inspired by the accident after developing an interest in the story and wanted to mark the 100th anniversary at Tipton.
Karen Simms, from the city, said her great-grandmother was among those who ran to help the badly burned children, laying them on the street and tending to them.
“About two days later, she and another helper, Chunky Moor, got a shilling each for what they did… it was a horrible accident,” she said.
Years later, she said her grandmother would always take her to a memorial in a local cemetery and read the girls’ names to remind them of what happened.
Now Ms. Simms is doing the same with her own children and grandchildren.
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