When war broke out in August 1914, Swindon Works was one of many factories chosen to be a centre for war manufacture.
The Works continued with normal railway building, as well as these new wartime projects.
This was also done with an increasingly depleted workforce as hundreds of employees went off to war. The war was financially exhausting for the Works and when war ended in 1918 the Works was on its knees. It took many years to recover from both the financial and human losses.
Images Copyright: STEAM Museum - 63, 6, 16, 70, 84