Grave of Sub Officer Henry Vickers and Firman Frederick Charles Sell casualties in the Silvertown explosion in 1917
The Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in West Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham, in Greater London) on Friday, 19 January 1917 at 6.52 pm. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturing explosives for Britain's World War I military effort. Approximately 50 long tons (50 tonnes) of trinitrotoluene (TNT) exploded, killing 73 people and injuring 400 more, as well as causing substantial damage in the local area.
On 19 January a fire broke out in the melt-pot room, and efforts to put it out were under way when approximately 50 long tons (50 t) of TNT ignited at 6:52 pm. The TNT plant was destroyed instantly, as were many nearby buildings, including the Silvertown Fire Station. Much of the TNT was in railway goods wagons awaiting transport. Debris was strewn for miles around, with red-hot chunks of rubble causing fires. A gasometer gasholder was damaged on Greenwich Peninsula, creating a fireball from 200,000 cubic metres (7,100,000 cu ft) of gas; the holder was later repaired and remained until 1986. Several thousand pounds' worth of goods were also destroyed in nearby warehouses, estimated by the Port of London Authority to span 7 hectares (17 acres). The chancel and church hall of the local church, St Barnabas', were destroyed, only to be replaced in 1926.
Seventy-three people were killed (sixty-nine immediately, and four later from their injuries), and more than 400 injured. Up to 70,000 properties were damaged, 900 nearby ones destroyed or unsalvageably damaged; the cost was put at either £250,000 or £2.5 million. The comparatively low death toll for such a large blast was due to the time of day. The factories were largely empty of workers (there were fewer than forty in the TNT factory itself), but it was too early for the upper floors of houses (which sustained the worst of the flying debris damage) to be heavily populated. Also, it occurred on a Friday, when fewer people were around the factory. However, several professional firemen and volunteers fighting the earlier fire were killed or seriously injured in the explosion. For comparison, 8 long tons (8.1 t) of TNT exploded at the National Shell Filling Factory, and killed 137 people; an explosion at Split Rock, New York in 1918 killed 50–52 people with 1–3 short tons (0.9–2.7 long tons; 0.9–2.7 t) of TNT.
Reportedly, the explosion also blew the glass out of windows in the Savoy Hotel and almost overturned a taxi in Pall Mall, London, the fires could be seen in Maidstone and Guildford, and the blast was heard up to 100 miles (160 km) away, including at Sandringham in Norfolk and along the Sussex coast. Although the blast was heard at a great distance, it was not heard uniformly across the whole intermediate distance, owing to atmospheric effects caused by refraction of the sound waves.
West Ham Cemetery,
Grave of Sub Officer Henry Vickers and Firman Frederick Charles Sell casualties in the Silvertown explosion in 1917
The Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in West Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham, in Greater London) on Friday, 19 January 1917 at 6.52 pm. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturing explosives for Britain's World War I military effort. Approximately 50 long tons (50 tonnes) of trinitrotoluene (TNT) exploded, killing 73 people and injuring 400 more, as well as causing substantial damage in the local area.
On 19 January a fire broke out in the melt-pot room, and efforts to put it out were under way when approximately 50 long tons (50 t) of TNT ignited at 6:52 pm. The TNT plant was destroyed instantly, as were many nearby buildings, including the Silvertown Fire Station. Much of the TNT was in railway goods wagons awaiting transport. Debris was strewn for miles around, with red-hot chunks of rubble causing fires. A gasometer gasholder was damaged on Greenwich Peninsula, creating a fireball from 200,000 cubic metres (7,100,000 cu ft) of gas; the holder was later repaired and remained until 1986. Several thousand pounds' worth of goods were also destroyed in nearby warehouses, estimated by the Port of London Authority to span 7 hectares (17 acres). The chancel and church hall of the local church, St Barnabas', were destroyed, only to be replaced in 1926.
Seventy-three people were killed (sixty-nine immediately, and four later from their injuries), and more than 400 injured. Up to 70,000 properties were damaged, 900 nearby ones destroyed or unsalvageably damaged; the cost was put at either £250,000 or £2.5 million. The comparatively low death toll for such a large blast was due to the time of day. The factories were largely empty of workers (there were fewer than forty in the TNT factory itself), but it was too early for the upper floors of houses (which sustained the worst of the flying debris damage) to be heavily populated. Also, it occurred on a Friday, when fewer people were around the factory. However, several professional firemen and volunteers fighting the earlier fire were killed or seriously injured in the explosion. For comparison, 8 long tons (8.1 t) of TNT exploded at the National Shell Filling Factory, and killed 137 people; an explosion at Split Rock, New York in 1918 killed 50–52 people with 1–3 short tons (0.9–2.7 long tons; 0.9–2.7 t) of TNT.
Reportedly, the explosion also blew the glass out of windows in the Savoy Hotel and almost overturned a taxi in Pall Mall, London, the fires could be seen in Maidstone and Guildford, and the blast was heard up to 100 miles (160 km) away, including at Sandringham in Norfolk and along the Sussex coast. Although the blast was heard at a great distance, it was not heard uniformly across the whole intermediate distance, owing to atmospheric effects caused by refraction of the sound waves.
West Ham Cemetery,