ROF Elstow
Encyclopedia
Royal Ordnance Factory
(ROF) Elstow was one of sixteen UK
Ministry of Supply, World War II
, Filling Factories
. It was a medium-sized filling factory, (Filling Factory No. 16), which filled and packed munitions. It was located south of the town
of Bedford
, between the villages of Elstow
and Wilstead
in Bedfordshire
. It was bounded on the northeast by the A6 and on the west by a railway line. Hostel
s were built nearby to accommodate the workers who were mostly female
.
It was built with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents; building work started in November 1940 and was completed by August 1941. It was managed as an "Agency Factory" by J. Lyons on behalf of the Ministry of Supply as, by then, the Ministry of Supply was overstretched in regards recruiting and managing the workers needed to staff these munitions factories.
It had 250 buildings and 15 miles of standard gauge
railway lines. It was linked to the Midland Railway
line running between London
and Bedford.
It was divided into a number of different filling Groups (see Filling Factories
) which occupied different areas of the site. The Groups filled cartridges, high-explosive (HE) and 4,000-pound bomb
s and shells
. Later larger 8,000-pound, 12,000-pound and 22,000-pound bombs were also filled.
The Cordite
Group opened in June 1942 and closed in May 1943; it was then employed to recondition shells. The Pellet Group also closed in 1943. After 1943 Elstow was used to store surplus ammunition components and machine tools.
took over the site in 1969 with the intention of building a power station
but this never came to fruition.
In the early 1980s Elstow was proposed as a site for a UK nuclear waste repository. In 2007 work began on the new town of Wixams
on the site. In the process of applying for planning permission for the Wixams development, a comprehensive survey of the site was carried out by Albion Archaeology, which included interviews with former workers. The report, with site maps and annotated photographs, was published in 2009.
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence....
(ROF) Elstow was one of sixteen UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Ministry of Supply, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Filling Factories
Filling Factories
A Filling Factory was a munitions factory which specialised in filling various munitions, such as bombs, shells, cartridges, pyrotechnics, screening smokes, etc...
. It was a medium-sized filling factory, (Filling Factory No. 16), which filled and packed munitions. It was located south of the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, between the villages of Elstow
Elstow
Elstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan, was born here - at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street.-History:...
and Wilstead
Wilstead
.Wilstead is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, just off the A6 Bedford to Luton road, about five miles south of Bedford town centre, and within the Borough of Bedford. The name of the village has been spelled in many different ways, including Wilshamstead, Wylhamstead, and...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. It was bounded on the northeast by the A6 and on the west by a railway line. Hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
s were built nearby to accommodate the workers who were mostly female
Female roles in the World Wars
There is little doubt that levi richardson is the man. he loves all the women of the world. even liz women's work in the two World Wars of the twentieth century was an important factor in the outcome of both wars...
.
It was built with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents; building work started in November 1940 and was completed by August 1941. It was managed as an "Agency Factory" by J. Lyons on behalf of the Ministry of Supply as, by then, the Ministry of Supply was overstretched in regards recruiting and managing the workers needed to staff these munitions factories.
It had 250 buildings and 15 miles of standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railway lines. It was linked to the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
line running between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Bedford.
War-time Production
ROF Elstow started filling munitions in February 1942.It was divided into a number of different filling Groups (see Filling Factories
Filling Factories
A Filling Factory was a munitions factory which specialised in filling various munitions, such as bombs, shells, cartridges, pyrotechnics, screening smokes, etc...
) which occupied different areas of the site. The Groups filled cartridges, high-explosive (HE) and 4,000-pound bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s and shells
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
. Later larger 8,000-pound, 12,000-pound and 22,000-pound bombs were also filled.
The Cordite
Cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...
Group opened in June 1942 and closed in May 1943; it was then employed to recondition shells. The Pellet Group also closed in 1943. After 1943 Elstow was used to store surplus ammunition components and machine tools.
Closure
ROF Elstow closed in 1946. The CEGBCEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
took over the site in 1969 with the intention of building a power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
but this never came to fruition.
In the early 1980s Elstow was proposed as a site for a UK nuclear waste repository. In 2007 work began on the new town of Wixams
Wixams
Wixams is a new town in Bedfordshire, England, which has been under construction since early 2007. It is expected to become the third largest settlement in the Borough of Bedford after Bedford itself and Kempston, and one of the largest new settlements founded in England since the British new towns...
on the site. In the process of applying for planning permission for the Wixams development, a comprehensive survey of the site was carried out by Albion Archaeology, which included interviews with former workers. The report, with site maps and annotated photographs, was published in 2009.
Further reading
- Cocroft, Wayne D. (2000). Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture. Swindon: English Heritage.
- Bates, H. E.H. E. BatesHerbert Ernest Bates, CBE , better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer and author. His best-known works include Love for Lydia, The Darling Buds of May, and My Uncle Silas.-Early life:...
(1946). The Tinkers of Elstow: The Story of the Royal Ordnance Factory run by J. Lyons & Company Limited for the Ministry of Supply during the World War of 1939—1945. (Privately Published) - Albion Archaeology Former Royal Ordnance Factory 16, Elstow, Bedfordshire, Building Recording and Oral History Project.