A MEMORIAL to those injured or killed at a Royal Ordnance Factory in Herefordshire has been unveiled.

The new memorial in the grounds of St Peter's Church in Bullinghope is dedicated to those injured or killed at ROF Rotherwas.

Shell filling began at Rotherwas in 1916 to supply the needs of the troops fighting in the First World War.

At its peak, some 6,000 workers were employed at the factory, more than half of them women.

When the war came to an end the ROF site was retained, but put into care and maintenance, although shell filling resumed on a much smaller scale in the mid 1920s.

But full scale production was to resume in earnest as the Second World War began to grip Europe, with a largely female workforce of over 8,000 producing shells and bombs at ROF Rotherwas.

Unfortunately, in a time of war and of limited health and safety regulation, there were inevitable, and occasionally major, incidents at the factory, with a number of deaths and serious injuries occurring.

The ceremony took place during the patronal festival at St Peter's Church, Bullinghope on June 31, while a bike ride led by Lyn Mathias honoured the women of Rotherwas, with all participants donning yellow outfits in memory of the 'Canary Girls'.