91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Person    | Male  Born 1877  Died 19/1/1917

Andrea Angel, Edward Medal

Categories: Tragedy

Andrea Angel, Edward Medal

Employed at the Silvertown Brunner Mond works and killed in the 1917 Silvertown explosion. The with many entries. There is also a .

In 1904 he married Mary Letitia (1878 - 1970) and they had two children. In 1916 she was Lady Superintendent at the Brunner Mond Chemical Works, but presumably was not at work on that fateful evening. She died at Battle, Sussex in 1970.

Angel went to and they have a full page on him. "Andrea volunteered for war work and was recruited near the beginning of the First World War by the Brunner Mond Company to oversee TNT processing. ... It is known that a number of men were fighting the fire when the TNT exploded, they included chief chemist and Oxford don, Andreas Angel, who was a war-work volunteer, he received a posthumous Edward Medal."

: "In an article from the Royal Society of Chemistry, Stephen McCarthy writes: "Angel was keen to join the Army, but the demand for chemistry skills in munitions manufacture meant that he was forbidden to enlist. Instead, he was given the job of managing a TNT processing factory in Silvertown, East London. This plant was owned by the Brunner Mond Company, and until 1912 had produced caustic soda. When soda production ceased, the factory lay dormant and was therefore available for war use. Despite the high population density around the factory site, the demand for explosives was so great that Brunner Mond was persuaded by the Government to re-open the factory as a TNT plant. The team of mostly women plant operatives were not skilled in chemistry, but Angel’s teaching experience at Oxford was of use and many of the workers became good chemists under his instruction. He was also able to maintain his research interests while at the factory, despite the considerable demands on his time and expertise."

Of the 16 names listed of the workforce killed in the explosion only one is a woman. It's difficult to reconcile this fact with the statement "The team of mostly women plant operatives."

2022: A plaque to Angel was erected at his school, Exeter School. The includes: "Andrea Angel was chief chemist at a factory given over to the production of explosives in Silvertown, London. On 19 January 1917, when fire broke out in the room where the TNT was processed, Angel began evacuating staff from the building before returning to try to extinguish the blaze."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Andrea Angel, Edward Medal

Commemorated ati

Silvertown explosion - monument

Probably erected no more than an year or so after the explosion, this monumen...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Other Subjects

Yvonne Ruddock

Yvonne Ruddock

Our colleague, Andrew Behan, has researched this young woman: Yvonne Lyn Ruddock was born on 17 January 1965 and died, aged 16 years, on 24 January 1981 as a result of injuries sustained in a fire ...

Person, Tragedy

2 memorials
Elizabeth Anne Daplyn

Elizabeth Anne Daplyn

Elizabeth Anne Daplyn was born on 14 October 1978, a daughter of Michael G. Daplyn and Pamela F. Daplyn née Tate. Her birth was registered in the Leicester Central registration district. She lived...

Person, Tragedy

3 memorials
Angela Sylvia Rose Golotta

Angela Sylvia Rose Golotta

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
Samuel Saunders

Samuel Saunders

Employed at the Silvertown Brunner Mond works and killed in the 1917 Silvertown explosion. Imperial War Museum has a page. More information about Saunders on another IWM page.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
William Donald

William Donald

Crew member of the 'Olga'. Died during the voyage bringing Cleopatra's Needle to London.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial