The Second World War affected life in the College almost as much as the First World War had done. Staff and student numbers were depleted by National Service and, in addition, many departments were heavily involved in war work. The Engineering Departments, for example, set up and ran various training schemes at the request of the Ministry of Labour and the War Office. One such was a scheme to train ordinary machine operators. The scheme was introduced in 1940 and, initially, all the trainees were men. By 1941, however, the scheme was devoted entirely to women and was supplemented with a course for training women supervisors.

The featured photograph was taken during a visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to the College Emergency Training Centre for machine operators on 5 March 1941. The King is pictured talking to two female trainees, while the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Patrick Dillon, looks on.

Archives reference: OP 4/162/11 George VI and munitions workers, 1941 (image reproduced by kind permission of the Herald and Times Group).