Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust (PRDHT) is pleased to announce that we have received a grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund to enable us to commence a project to celebrate the story of women who worked in Portsmouth Royal Dockyard during The First World War. These women were known as the The Triangle Girls on account of the triangular badge which was worn with much pride. This project will commence in January 2019 and end in June 2020 and will involve members of PRDHT, students from the University of Portsmouth and volunteers from the local community. It will use resources held by PRDHT, Portsmouth History Centre and Imperial War Museum as well census records, Parliamentary records and newspaper archives.
The research will consider the recruitment of the women workers, the tasks they performed, their working conditions, attitudes of their male colleagues, their personal feelings and the legacy of their service. The findings of the research will be made available to the public and will be presented in a mobile touring display. Educational materials will also be produced for schools.
Apart from telling their story, the project will help to publicise and promote the aims of PRDHT in telling the Dockyard Story. The proud history of the Royal Navy is covered extensively by the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the historic ships within the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard heritage area. PRDHT exists to preserve and present the role played by generations of civilians employed in the dockyard who built, repaired and supplied ships of the Royal Navy.
If you are a member of the public and wish to apply to become involved as part of the small team of volunteer researchers please e-mail your details to the Visitors’ Coordinator at prdhtsg@outlook.com.
Gateways to the First World War staff offered advice during the HLF application process and are looking forward to offering ongoing support to the project as it progresses.
