There are some stories that begin with research.
And there are others that begin with something far more personal.
My appearance on Memory and Valour Podcast sits somewhere between the two.
On this episode of Samantha L.G. McCrea’s The Memory and Valour Podcast, I talk to her about the origins of A Penny a Shell — not just the historical research behind the Barnbow explosion, but the family story that led me there in the first place. For most of my life, I believed my great-grandmother, Sarah Ann Jennings, had died at sea during the war. It was a version of events that had been passed down, quietly accepted, and never really questioned.
The truth was something else entirely.
She had died at Barnbow, on the night of 5th December 1916.
That discovery didn’t just change my understanding of my own family history — it became the foundation for the novel itself.
What We Talk About
This conversation moves between history and storytelling, covering both the facts of the Barnbow explosion and the process of turning those events into fiction.
- The reality of life inside the Barnbow munitions factory
- The explosion in Room 42 and how it was remembered — and hidden
- The role of women on the home front during the First World War
- Writing historical fiction grounded in real events
- The balance between fact, memory, and imagination
It’s not just about what happened — but how those events are carried forward, and how stories are shaped over time.
About The Memory and Valour Podcast
Memory and Valour Podcast is a Canadian military history podcast that explores the First World War through the experiences of those who lived it produced by Samantha L.G. McCrea and is available on all the great places you can get your podcasts – Spotify, Apple for a start.
Rather than focusing solely on battles and strategy, the podcast draws on letters, diaries, and archival material to uncover the human side of the conflict — the soldiers at the front, the families at home, and the lasting impact of war on both.
Episodes move beyond textbook history, examining themes such as:
- Life in the trenches and the realities of frontline service
- The psychological toll of war, including shell shock
- Conscription and its effect on Canadian society
- The role of families and communities during the war
- The personal stories behind larger historical events
The result is a more intimate understanding of the war — one that centres on memory, sacrifice, and the people whose lives were shaped by it.
Listen to the Episode
About the Book – A Penny a Shell
A Penny a Shell is a historical novel based on the true story of the women who worked at the Barnbow munitions factory during the First World War.
Set against the backdrop of wartime Leeds, the book explores the lives of the women on the home front — their work, their relationships, and the risks they faced each day inside one of Britain’s most important shell-filling factories.
At its centre is the explosion in Room 42 on 5th December 1916, where 35 women lost their lives in a disaster that was largely kept from public view at the time.
Drawing on historical research and personal family history, A Penny a Shell brings this overlooked story to life — not through statistics, but through the people who lived it.
