A LOCAL historian will shed light on the 1931 disaster at Holton Heath in a talk on Monday, January 27, at 7.30pm.

Held at the Sandford Labour Club on Keyworth Drive, at Sandford, near Wareham, Rod Hughes will discuss one of the darkest days in Dorset's history, which saw the deaths of 10 men at the Royal Naval Cordite Factory.

Catastrophe struck at 10.43am on a summer's day in June, when the workers were killed by the lethal, explosive substance, Nitroglycerine. Although the factory had experienced similar incidents previously, this was the first on such a large scale.

As a prelude to his upcoming book on the subject, Rod will unpick the myths and sift through the evidence related to this tragedy. Using material from the official Court of Enquiry and the Coroner's Court, he will draw a plausible conclusion as to why death hit the factory that fatal morning.

Find out more about this Dorset disaster at the talk in Sandford later this month. Admission is free but a donation of £1 is suggested towards refreshments.