ROF Risley
Encyclopedia
ROF Risley, was a large World War II Royal Ordnance Factory
filling munitions, including the Grand Slam bomb
, in the UK.
and mossland
which was part of Risley village, between Leigh
(then Lancashire, now Greater Manchester) and Warrington
(then Lancashire, now Cheshire), was compulsorily purchased and within it was built a large Royal Ordnance Factory
. The location was chosen because the low lying mist and cloud helped camouflage
the factory from the air; according to a local builder: "It was very lonely and misty at night, and that's why the factory was constructed there ... it was usually covered with a mist or cloud. It was hard to see it in the day time, you know". A part of the 927 acres (3.8 km²) site was drained and construction began in August 1939. It took 18 months to complete, but bombs were produced from September 1940.
Risley Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) was a filling factory. It received the explosives in bulk, usually by rail, from other ROFs where they were manufactured. Risley specialised in filling them into the various casings to produce the finished munitions. There were 16 filling factories around the country and Risley was known as Filling Factory No. 6. Others in the north west included Chorley (No. 1) and Kirkby (No. 7). One of the features common to all of the filling factories was an area of storage bunkers where the finished munitions were stored awaiting dispatch. The areas within the filling factories were all numbered in the same way. Storage bunkers were designated Area 9. Risley had 20 such bunkers and Area 9 is roughly in the area of the main field in Birchwood Forest Park today. When the new town area of Birchwood was created, most of the bunkers were demolished, but 4 of them were left in place and can still be seen today.
A number of bunkers were also built to house the munitions, to protect them from potential bombing, and also to segregate the site and reduce the consequences of any accidental explosions during manufacture or storage. Although these bunkers are on the surface, they are covered with soil and turf and so give the impression of being underground.
It had a dedicated rail link to the Manchester-Wigan branch line, which was used both for bringing in workers and moving materials. Also there was a 'halt' on the Liverpool-Manchester line. In the post war years wooden coaches lay derelict there.
The actual layout of the site was far from flat, the site having several pillboxes mounted high up on earthbanks surrounding the mounds covering the bunkers. Some of the rail sidings also had huge earthworks around them.
the factory was soon overshadowed when in January 1946 the Directorate for Atomic Energy
Production, under the aegis of the Ministry of Supply
, was set up to produce fissile material and chose Risley to build its headquarters, under the control of Sir Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside. This project, to produce a nuclear weapon
or A-bomb was by far the UK’s biggest industrial and scientific undertaking in peace time, requiring most of the countries’ top scientists and a huge budget and scale that couldn't even be contemplated these days.
The early atomic site used many of the old Royal Ordanance Factory buildings and also the dedicated raillink to the Manchester/Wigan branch line bringing in workers from Manchester
.
In 1954 the Risley headquarters
site was greatly expanded again with the formal establishment of the UKAEA (United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
) heralding the beginning of the civil nuclear power program which ran alongside the military one. By this time the organisation had more than 20,000 workers. Design and construction of all other UKAEA plants was overseen here, technical policy and long term planning, finance and administration as well as world leading scientific research in physics, chemistry and engineering. The biggest increase was between 1955 and 1958 when the need for producing much more plutonium and highly enriched uranium and development of new materials such as tritium
required for the H-bomb, which the Government announced it would develop in February 1955. By 1961 more than 40,000 were employed, the biggest percentage at the Risley HQ.
So sensitive was the work carried out at Risley, particularly during the fifties and sixties that the former site of the ROF was regularly patrolled by UKAEA Police Force vans. The slightest movement being spotted and investigated immediately.
Driving past on the A574 in the nineteen sixties all that could be seen were the derelict bus shelters, but driving down Silver Lane two quite large buildings, 40–50 feet high made from brick and corrugated galvanised iron
with concrete floors but no windows, about the size of a small to medium sized aircraft hangar, storing mostly rusty old lorries and vans and nearby small underground bomb shelters were clearly visible as was the railway line crossing. There were no other buildings on this part of the site apart from a small rectangular reservoir, a similar size to the one that forms the walled garden. This part of the ROF site was mostly just mossland and heath
. The whole area, away from the patrolled roads around the bunkers or in eyesight of the buildings staffed by the atomic, was used as a giant adventure playground by the more adventurous of the local boys. The area was also a habitat for large hares which could be seen regularly.
under government plans bought the site in preparation for building the new town of Birchwood
now part of Cheshire in the mid seventies. Birchwood Forest Park is in the centre, in which some of the old bunker
s from the factory form part of the landscape.
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....
filling munitions, including the Grand Slam bomb
Grand Slam bomb
The Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War.Known officially as the Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb, it was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb and closer to the original size that the bombs' inventor,...
, in the UK.
World War Two
With the advent of the Second World War, 927 acres (3.8 km²) of largely heathHeath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
and mossland
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
which was part of Risley village, between Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
(then Lancashire, now Greater Manchester) and Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
(then Lancashire, now Cheshire), was compulsorily purchased and within it was built a large Royal Ordnance Factory
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....
. The location was chosen because the low lying mist and cloud helped camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
the factory from the air; according to a local builder: "It was very lonely and misty at night, and that's why the factory was constructed there ... it was usually covered with a mist or cloud. It was hard to see it in the day time, you know". A part of the 927 acres (3.8 km²) site was drained and construction began in August 1939. It took 18 months to complete, but bombs were produced from September 1940.
Risley Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) was a filling factory. It received the explosives in bulk, usually by rail, from other ROFs where they were manufactured. Risley specialised in filling them into the various casings to produce the finished munitions. There were 16 filling factories around the country and Risley was known as Filling Factory No. 6. Others in the north west included Chorley (No. 1) and Kirkby (No. 7). One of the features common to all of the filling factories was an area of storage bunkers where the finished munitions were stored awaiting dispatch. The areas within the filling factories were all numbered in the same way. Storage bunkers were designated Area 9. Risley had 20 such bunkers and Area 9 is roughly in the area of the main field in Birchwood Forest Park today. When the new town area of Birchwood was created, most of the bunkers were demolished, but 4 of them were left in place and can still be seen today.
A number of bunkers were also built to house the munitions, to protect them from potential bombing, and also to segregate the site and reduce the consequences of any accidental explosions during manufacture or storage. Although these bunkers are on the surface, they are covered with soil and turf and so give the impression of being underground.
It had a dedicated rail link to the Manchester-Wigan branch line, which was used both for bringing in workers and moving materials. Also there was a 'halt' on the Liverpool-Manchester line. In the post war years wooden coaches lay derelict there.
The actual layout of the site was far from flat, the site having several pillboxes mounted high up on earthbanks surrounding the mounds covering the bunkers. Some of the rail sidings also had huge earthworks around them.
Post-war UKAEA era
However after World War IIWorld 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...
the factory was soon overshadowed when in January 1946 the Directorate for Atomic Energy
Atomic energy
Atomic energy is energy produced by atoms.*Nuclear energy, the energy resulting from potential differences in the nuclear force*Nuclear reaction, a process in which nuclei or nuclear particles interact, resulting in products different from the initial ones; see also nuclear fission and nuclear...
Production, under the aegis of the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
, was set up to produce fissile material and chose Risley to build its headquarters, under the control of Sir Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside. This project, to produce a nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
or A-bomb was by far the UK’s biggest industrial and scientific undertaking in peace time, requiring most of the countries’ top scientists and a huge budget and scale that couldn't even be contemplated these days.
The early atomic site used many of the old Royal Ordanance Factory buildings and also the dedicated raillink to the Manchester/Wigan branch line bringing in workers from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
In 1954 the Risley headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
site was greatly expanded again with the formal establishment of the UKAEA (United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
) heralding the beginning of the civil nuclear power program which ran alongside the military one. By this time the organisation had more than 20,000 workers. Design and construction of all other UKAEA plants was overseen here, technical policy and long term planning, finance and administration as well as world leading scientific research in physics, chemistry and engineering. The biggest increase was between 1955 and 1958 when the need for producing much more plutonium and highly enriched uranium and development of new materials such as tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
required for the H-bomb, which the Government announced it would develop in February 1955. By 1961 more than 40,000 were employed, the biggest percentage at the Risley HQ.
So sensitive was the work carried out at Risley, particularly during the fifties and sixties that the former site of the ROF was regularly patrolled by UKAEA Police Force vans. The slightest movement being spotted and investigated immediately.
Driving past on the A574 in the nineteen sixties all that could be seen were the derelict bus shelters, but driving down Silver Lane two quite large buildings, 40–50 feet high made from brick and corrugated galvanised iron
Corrugated galvanised iron
Corrugated galvanised iron is a building material composed of sheets of hot-dip galvanised mild steel, cold-rolled to produce a linear corrugated pattern in them...
with concrete floors but no windows, about the size of a small to medium sized aircraft hangar, storing mostly rusty old lorries and vans and nearby small underground bomb shelters were clearly visible as was the railway line crossing. There were no other buildings on this part of the site apart from a small rectangular reservoir, a similar size to the one that forms the walled garden. This part of the ROF site was mostly just mossland and heath
Heath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
. The whole area, away from the patrolled roads around the bunkers or in eyesight of the buildings staffed by the atomic, was used as a giant adventure playground by the more adventurous of the local boys. The area was also a habitat for large hares which could be seen regularly.
Birchwood Forest Park
The disused area of the site was put on the market in 1963. No buyer was found for it until 1968, when the Warrington and Runcorn Development CorporationWarrington and Runcorn Development Corporation
The Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation was a Development Corporation formed in the 1980s by the merger of the Warrington Development Corporation and the Runcorn Development Corporation, which covered two adjacent areas....
under government plans bought the site in preparation for building the new town of Birchwood
Birchwood
Birchwood is a civil parish in the north-eastern part of Warrington, Cheshire, England with a population of 11,395 . Historically a part of Lancashire, it is the easternmost part of the Warrington urban area. It was built during the time of much expansion in Warrington as it became a "new town"...
now part of Cheshire in the mid seventies. Birchwood Forest Park is in the centre, in which some of the old bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s from the factory form part of the landscape.
External links
- Royal Ordnance Factory, Risley Note: As of November 23, 2008 this site appears to be non-functional. However, the Internet Archive has several cached snapshots.
- http://www.2e-images.co.uk/places/birchwood/bunkers.htm Birchwood's Wartime Bunkers