The Women of Steel bronze statue commemorates the women of Sheffield and South Yorkshire steel towns who kept the local steelworks alive during WW1 and WW2.
During both wars, while men entered the armed forces and were dispatched to fight in the front, thousands of women from South Yorkshire took on the vacant positions in the factories and steel mills. Those women, most of them in their teens and early 20s, rolled up their sleeves and worked in physically demanding and dangerous jobs that were essential for the war effort, such as producing artillery shells, crankshafts for Spitfires and Hurricanes, tank treads, and camouflage nets. At the end of the workday, they returned to their families to fulfill their domestic duties. When the war ended, they were dismissed from their jobs and expected to resume their old roles in their households.
In 2014, four women of steel – Ruby Gascoigne, Dorothy Slingsby, Kathleen Roberts, and Kit Sollitt, launched a grassroots campaign to preserve their story and legacy. The £102,000 cost of the statue was primarily funded by the £150,000 the public and local businesses donated. The extra funds went toward awarding Medallions to 100 Women of Steel and their families.
The statue, created by the British sculptor, Martin Jennings, was unveiled on 17 June 2016 in front of 3,000 locals, among them 100 surviving women of steel. It depicts two steelworkers standing arm in arm, wearing their working clothes. The two figures’ position reflects the friendship and solidarity between the women who worked in the plants and workshops.
Martin Jennings also created the magnificent statue of Mary Seacole, which stands on the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
The Women of Steel statue stands close to many monuments and sites, such as the Sheffield War Memorial, Sheffield Town Hall, the Sheffield Cathedral, the National Emergency Services Museum, Graves Art Gallery, and the Millennium Gallery.
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