DACHT : 62.12.16. More than 10,000 petrol tanks for aircrafts were supplied in various sizes.
Picture: Dacorum Heritage Trust
Many women were drafted into the factories to help make these vital products. In December 1941, national service was introduced for all unmarried women between the ages of 20 and 30. By mid 1943, 90% of single women and 80% of married women were employed in the armed forces or in industry.
DACHT : 271. These containers were made from paper and were designed to carry munitions.
Picture: Dacorum Heritage Trust
As early as 1936, an Air Raid Precautions Committee had been formed and money allocated for the building of air raid shelters at many of the mills. The buildings at Apsley were camouflage painted and a fire watching rota was set up. The mill had it’s own Home Guard to operate anti aircraft guns. The Dickinson Guild of Sport based at Shendish Manor, became a home for bombed-out Dickinson employees.
The war memorial standing in the garden at Apsley commemorates Dickinson’s employees.
By the Dacorum Heritage Trust