大象传媒

Bridport鈥檚 contribution to the Great War cannot be overstated, with over half of its men enlisting by 1916 and its largest industry effectively replacing traditional trade with military products.

The making of rope, net and twine in the town stretched back hundreds of years, with the Navy always being one of Bridport鈥檚 main customers. The change from fishing nets and lines and sports nets was immediate as hundred of thousands of horses left for the front line.

Fifty thousand hay nets a week were soon leaving Bridport, along with hemp lanyards, rifle pull through cords, and lines for tents and hammocks. The increasing production of aeroplanes meant canvas was needed to cover the airframes. Netting for balloons and airships was supplied, along with camouflage netting.

With so many of the men gone, Bridport women were urgently needed to work in the rope and net industry, and were exempted from the Land Army. Many Belgian refugees were also drafted in to keep production at maximum capacity.

Bridport鈥檚 biggest wartime secret was the steel wire net the Admiralty had asked them to make to catch U-boats that were coming in close to the coast.

Location: Bridport, Dorset DT6
Image: Workers inside Gundry鈥檚 factory in the 19th Century, courtesy of Bridport Museum
Presented by Tony Adams

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