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Just before 7pm on 19 January 1917 a massive explosion rocked east London. The blast occurred at a TNT factory in Silvertown.

Sevety-three people were killed by the blast and hundreds injured. Tens of thousands of homes were damaged.

Eyewitnesses described a 鈥渂lood red explosion鈥� and a 鈥渢errible bang鈥�.

Silvertown was an industrial area on the banks of the River Thames. In 1915, at the request of the War Office, a chemical plant run by Brunner, Mond and Co began producing highly explosive TNT there.

TNT was used as an explosive in shells so demand for increased production soared during World War One.

The Silvertown explosion was not the worst industrial disaster of WW1, but until that point it was the biggest blast the capital had experienced.

Sir Alfred Mond, who was managing director of Brunner, Mond and Co, was the driving force behind the founding of the Imperial War Museums. The museums came into being just a few months after the Silvertown explosion.

Location: Silvertown, Newham, London E16
Image: The aftermath of the Silvertown explosion. Photograph courtesy of IWM

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