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Many people doing their weekly shop at the Morrisons Supermarket in Bilston might not realise that on the site once stood the Albert Works, which helped produce steel helmets in World War One, helping to save many lives.

The Albert Works site produced the mark 1 Brodie steel helmets in their millions and it is estimated that thousands of lives were saved due to the steel helmet produced in Bilston.

Prior to WW1 most soldiers did not have head protection. They wore cloth caps in the early part of the war – 75 per cent of casualties were caused by head injuries, especially from shrapnel.

The company had their own personal tragedy that some believe led to Sankeys pushing to help produce the steel helmet. One of the directors of the company was Sydney Sankey who was shot in the head and fatally wounded in Loos in 1915.

James Sankey, the only remaining Sankey family member to have worked at the Bilston site, believed the death of Sydney Sankey had a huge impact on the company’s push to help produce the steel helmet.

Sankey’s closed down in the 1980s.

Location: Former site of Albert Street Works (now Morrisons supermarket), Bilston WV14 0DZ
Image shows workers outside Albert Street Works, courtesy of James Sankey
Presented by ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ WM’s Jenny Wilkes

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