It is estimated that about a million women were employed in munitions factories in Britain during the two World Wars. The work was hazardous, involving the mixing of dangerous chemicals and the packing of shells. Accidental explosions could maim or kill, and the long-term side effects included sickness and premature death.

The workers were nicknamed the Canary Girls because their skin and hair were often stained a yellow colour. They were in many ways heroines, but their contribution to the war effort has been largely overlooked. The factories tended to be in isolated locations - our nearest one was at Kirkby during the Second World War - where the women lived in hostels and operated under conditions of secrecy.  There is a museum - significantly called the "Devil's Porridge Museum" after the toxic mix involved - near Gretna in Scotland (the site of "the greatest munitions factory on earth" in WW1). However there is as yet no national memorial to the women who worked, and in many cases gave their lives, in such places.

Sandra Gold-Wood - who has set up a website at www.canary-girls.com - has started a campaign to have these munitions workers recognised within the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. She will talk about how women's role in society and the economy was transformed as a result of the two World Wars, and she will explain why she feels that a memorial to the Canary Girls is long overdue.