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The Ashton-under-Lyne munitions explosion occurred on June 13, 1917 when the Hooley Hill Rubber and Chemical Works caught fire and exploded. The factory was engaged in the production of TNT for the war effort and was completely destroyed. Forty-three people were killed and most of the surrounding area was left devastated.〔''Ashton Munitions Explosion'' by John Billings and David Copland. ISBN 0-904506-17-7〕 ==Preface== The Hooley Hill Rubber and Chemical Company was founded in 1914 by Sylvain Dreyfus and Lucien Gaisman. Dreyfus was born in 1866, in Alsace, France and was the nephew of Charles Dreyfus, founder of the Clayton Aniline Company. Gaisman was a Swiss national from Basle. The company established its first factory in Stamford Road, Audenshaw which was followed later by another factory at Chatham Street, Edgeley, Stockport.〔 War was declared against Germany on August 4, 1914 and the following day the company approached the War Office to offer its services. At first the company was rebuffed by the War Office, which later relented due to the chronic shortage of TNT. The total British output of TNT prior to the First World War had amounted to around twenty tons per annum. A sustained artillery barrage could easily expend many times that amount in a single day. On October 28, 1914, an offer was made to the company to build a plant capable of producing around five tons of TNT per week. Following further negotiations a contract was signed on November 26, 1914.〔 The government awarded the company a grant of £10,000 towards the cost of erecting the plant. A former cotton mill in William Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, next to the canal was acquired. The building with its substantial brick walls and heavy concrete floors was deemed suitable for adaptation as a chemical plant. Its location however was far from ideal, being as it was in the midst of a built up area which included housing, schools, textile mills and a couple of gasometers. The first deliveries of raw TNT were scheduled to begin in March 1915. The raw TNT was sent to various other government run factories to be refined and crystallised. Production at the site quickly ramped up to around ten tons per week. By 1917, the capacity of the plant had been increased to around twenty five tons per week.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ashton-under-Lyne munitions explosion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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