In what was Britain ’ s first industrial war , huge amounts of munitions were needed - but the men who dominated manufacturing jobs had left to fight . So it was down to more than 600,000 women to take on roles in mills , laboratories and factories to help the First World War effort on the Home Front . And these photographs show women munitions workers making shells and fuses for the first time in a Greater Manchester factory in 1915 . Teamwork : Women munitions workers began making shells and fuses for the first time in this factory in Oldham , Greater Manchester , in 1915 . Posed up : One electrical engineering firm that diversified and began to employ women in 1915 was owned by Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti . Many firms in the North West and elsewhere converted to start making munitions in the war , with women now working alongside men in these jobs . And one electrical engineering firm that diversified and began to employ women in 1915 was owned by Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti in Oldham . The company had previously made meters and transformers , but switched production to fuses and 18-pounder shells in 1915 . In the same year , Mr de Ferranti hired the first female supervisor - family friend Olivia Forbes , who ended up working for the firm for 40 years . It was her job to recruit new female workers at the factory , where there were more than 1,000 women working by the end of the war in 1918 . Katie Belshaw , curator of an exhibition on Manchester ’ s war effort , said : ‘ It was something that had to be done because the men were going off to fight . Hard work : Many companies converted to start making munitions during the war , with women now working alongside men in these jobs . Getting involved : Britain was facing a huge shortage of munitions on the front lines in 1915 , leading to what became known as the Shells Crisis . ‘ But instead of the women coming in and doing the same job that a male skilled worker would do , they broke down the job into smaller pieces . ' She told MailOnline : ‘ They would have worked on turning the shells and finishing them - making them smoother once they had been manufactured . ‘ They even were driving trucks around the factory , operating lifts - they really were doing what the men were doing. ’ Britain was facing a huge shortage of munitions on the front lines of the war in 1915 , leading to what became known as the Shells Crisis . The Government appointed David Lloyd George as munitions minister , which prompted the construction of new shell factories across Britain . The exhibition at Manchester 's Museum of Science and Industry features diaries , company archives , sketches and letters written by Mr de Ferranti . Diversifying : The company had previously made meters and transformers , but switched production to fuzes and 18-pounder shells in 1915 . Family : The exhibition at Museum of Science and Industry features diaries , sketches and letters written by Mr de Ferranti ( second left , back ) These include letters the engineer wrote to his sons Basil and Vincent fighting at the front and rare sketches of his munitions . Also featuring are images of his daughter Vera who worked on the production line at her father ’ s factory during the war . And there will also be a section on the Munitions Inventions Department , which received ideas submitted by the public on how to win the war . Examples of rejected inventions range from training seagulls to defecate on enemy periscopes to mounting machine guns on artificially frozen clouds . Rachel Knight , head of exhibitions at the museum , said visitors will be given an ‘ insightful , original and personal take ’ on the war . The Innovation Race : Manchester ’ s Makers Join the First World War is open at the Museum of Science and Industry from Saturday until April 2016 . Suffragist and suffragette leaders volunteered their members to take the place of men in industrial work after they went off to fight in the war . While the offer was at first met with scepticism by the Government , eventually the numbers of men leaving meant they had to take on these women . More than 600,000 women became employed in munitions factories and performed other roles such as working as bus conductors or farm hands . Then , in 1918 , the right to vote was given to 'respectable ' women aged over 30 who were householders , or married to householders . Historians have debated how much this was down to the war effort , with some saying the vote was a token of thanks for women ’ s efforts in the UK . Others believe war sped up a process which began before the conflict started , with it highlighting women ’ s huge economic value to Britain . It is also said the women ’ s political cause gained credibility during the war because they served such a huge role - especially in the medical services . In 1928 women were given equal voting rights with men , with 15million females eligible to vote in the general election the following year .
600,000 women took on roles in mills , laboratories and factories to help First World War effort on Home Front . 1,000 of these were working at Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti in Oldham , Greater Manchester , by end of war in 1915 . His firm had previously made meters and transformers , but switched production to fuses and 18-pounder shells .