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Lucy Eaton was born in Wolverhampton in 1903 and lived in Wednesfield. In 1917, at the age of 14, Lucy was working as a helper in the Assembly Department at the Patent Axle Box Company’s Works, who were based in Wednesfield, at the junction of Hall Street and Well Lane. These were described as “controlled” works.

Tragically, Lucy accidentally set herself on fire and died on 23 June 1917 in Wolverhampton General Hospital at 8.20am.

An inquest was held on 26 June 1917, which gave more details of the incident which resulted in Lucy’s death. On 22 June 1917 Lucy was:

“wiping cartridge cases at the Patent Axle Box, Wednesfield when by some means her clothes caught fire. the flames were put out, and she was taken to General Hospital where she died at 8.20am 23rd inst.”

Edith Ward, who also worked in the same factory, gave evidence to the inquest

“She was wiping cartridges with an engine wiper. The cartridges are worked in turps, and then wiped with the engine wiper. She went near to the stove with the cloth, and the cloth caught fire. There was a small quantity of fire which was left by the right hand. When the wiper caught fire she wiped it down her overall. The overall was saturated with turpentine and a blaze sprung up. She got badly burnt.”

Another observer, William Hayes, saw Lucy in flames and threw water on her to subside the fire. He stated that the fire had been left on by the night workers. Following this terrible accident, Works manager James Morris, removed the stove to ensure this would never happen again.

The coroner’s verdict was accidental death, from shock caused by the burns. A report about the tragic incident appeared in the Express & Star on 26 June 1917.

York Minster has a memorial to 1,400 women of the British Empire who lost their lives during the First World War, and Lucy Eaton’s name is inscribed here.