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Today it鈥檚 a trading estate like any other, full of iron clad buildings which hide fork lifts and construction companies. However rewind 100 years and it hid a bigger secret.

National Filling Factory no. 23, also known as H.M. Factory Chittening, was located on the Western side of Chittening Road. The factory was established by the Ministry of Munitions in October 1917, to manufacture the blister agent: mustard gas. It was made in response to the German use of the weapon in the early stages of the Third Battle of Ypres.

Peter Insole, the archaeological officer for Bristol City Council explains, 鈥淜itchener came to Avonmouth and saw a modern dock, great railway links and acres of farmland that could be used, so they bought the farmland and today it holds Chittening Trading Estate.鈥�

Progress with construction of the factory appears to have been slow and site clearance was still in progress when a strike stopped work throughout most of March 1918. However the factory was re-equipped for filling artillery and began to operate on the 8 July 1918.

The factory was in the middle of farmland commandeered by Kitchener and, therefore, the factory needed transportation links. So it鈥檚 very own platform and train line was built to allow the workers from all over the west get to the site. Plus there was a railway link from the Avonmouth Gas factory on Kingsweston Lane.

One of the biggest concerns at the site was the extremely high sickness and absenteeism rates, which resulted in the factory introducing an entitlement of one week鈥檚 holiday for every 20 days worked. The factory even housed its own hospital.

Peter Insole continues, 鈥渢he gas used at the factory affected the people at the factory more through sickness and illness than it did the Germans.鈥�

One hundred years later the site has changed completely. The train line has all but been removed with only a change point and part of the old line at the front gates. Only two buildings remain from World War One; the shell of a dispatch shed and one complete office block, which was used by managers and today is used by Brandon Tool Hire.

Location: Chittening Road, Bristol BS11 0YU
Image shows a soldier wearing protective clothing against thte harmful effects of mustard gas, courtesy of Getty Images

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