The Bow Bridge Works, Dundee. Located between the V-shaped junctions of Mains Road (left) and Main Street (right) – Approximate Buildings Occupied by the Dundee N.S.F. are outlined in green. Image taken in 1927
Facility Type & Function:
National Shell Factory (N.F.F.) – The manufacture of 18-pdr. and 2.75″shells plus forgings and burster containers.
Brief History:
The Dundee National Shell Factory was established in September 1915. It was located in a building that had previously been part of J. & A.D. Crimond Limited’s Bow Bridge Jute Mill. The new N.S.F occupied buildings No.s. 51 to 63 Mains Road, Dundee. Once established the factory was run by a local committee.
Comparatively speaking it was not a large works. In 1918 it employed 102 men and 320 women.
A map of 1920 showing the approximate location of the N.S.F. within the greater area occupied by the Bow Bridge Work
While some small parts of the once extensive Bow Bridge Works still exist there appears to be nothing of it left in the area previously occupied by the N.S.F.
Location Details:
51 to 63, Mains Road, Dundee, Angus, Scotland – National Factory Area No.8
Associated Token, Check & Pass Issues:
Type I
Function: Canteen Token
Material: Brass
Design: Bi-facial with a plain edge
Shape & Size: Octagonal, 25.4 mm by 25.5 mm
Obverse: Raised legend in two arced lines in centre of field reads D.N.S.F. / CANTEEN
Reverse: The denomination 3D in raised numbers and letters in the centre field within outer raised and beaded borders.
Date: 1915 to 1918
Maker: Unknown
Published References: Unknown
Type II
Function: Canteen Token
Material: Brass
Design: Bi-facial with a plain edge
Shape & Size: Circular, 31.7 mm
Obverse: Raised legend in two arced lines in centre of field reads D.N.S.F. / CANTEEN
Reverse: The denomination 1D in raised numbers and letters in the centre field within outer raised and beaded borders.
Date: 1915 to 1918
Maker: Unknown
Published References: Unknown
Type III
Function: Canteen Token
Material: Bronze (?)
Design: Bi-facial with a plain edge
Shape & Size: Circular, 26.2 mm
Obverse: Raised legend in two arced lines in centre of field reads D.N.S.F. / CANTEEN
Reverse: The denomination ½D in raised numbers and letters in the centre field within a laurel wreath located which in an inner beaded border and outer beaded plus raised borders.
Date: 1915 to 1918
Maker: Unknown
Published References: Yarwood, J. – Military Tokens of the British Commonwealth. Page 95 – MMT026. Private Publication. 2006.
British War Work Tokens 