Women And Industry In The First World War

Exploring how the First World War changed the society we live in today, this new photographic display reveals images of women working in industry during the conflict.

As IWM builds towards a major programme of events and displays commemorating the First World War Centenary, six images by official First World War photographer G P Lewis will be enlarged to fill huge, 5 metre high frames, outside IWM North, on the Quays in Manchester.

Lewis, an official photographer of the home front, specialised in documenting heavy industry and photographed women workers in the glass, vehicle and food industries.

Taken from IWM’s renowned Photographic Archive, the images were jointly commissioned by IWM and the Ministry of Information, demonstrating the wide range of roles performed by women during the First World War.