Comments have been closed on this article. There is a wide, internally splayed embrasure on each wall, pre-cast in two pieces, an upper and a lower half. External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. (Northern Matriculation with six Credits in Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, English, History, and Geography) It was a medium-sized filling factory (Filling Factory No. Read about our current news, projects and campaigns nationally and in your area. Our earliest records are of soldiers who fought before the Battle of Waterloo! Each wall of the first floor is pierced by a wide double splay embrasure, apart from the rear wall which has two embrasures. 2. Defences of WWII (1996), 157-67. It was dangerous work for all concerned. They were placed at strategic locations, many along 'stop lines' intended to slow down the progress of an attacking force. Grade II listed pillboxes in the middle of a housing estate in Steeton! The ROF site has been described in detail in two articles by Mike Christensen, illustrated with official photographs taken whilst it was still open. A group of volunteers from The Friends of Balaam's Wood Local Nature Reserve clearing brambles at Gannow Green Moated Site, New Frankley in Birmingham, Two horsemen reading The Sportsman, 30 Oct 1902, Farnborough, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. THIS group of office staff on the eve of a wartime Christmas is unusual in that they were photographed in the Royal Ordnance Factory at Steeton, where, for security reasons, photographs were not supposed to be taken! Royal Ordnance Factory. I was responsible for ensuring that the metal was free from inclusions which could cause failure during manufacture or use. Two fire posts also survive as part of the defensive network around the factory. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. WW2 Pillbox and 2 Fire Posts south of A house that was refronted in 1710 and divided into four in the 19th century. (Off) The bricks used were Phorpres bricks in English garden wall bond, 23" thick on the pillbox. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The ground rises to the south towards the eastern end of the field.The pillbox and fire posts are of brick construction with reinforced concrete roofs and precast concrete embrasures, and the pillbox also has a shuttered concrete first floor. cast, consisting of four parts; sill, two jambs and lintel, and have a wider internal splay than the external. It is fitted in the turret of the Challenger 2 main battle tank. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. Please report any comments that break our rules. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. For those remaining it was chaos. is used under licence. WebLatitude: 53.8979 / 5353'52"N Longitude: -1.9555 / 157'19"W OS Eastings: 403024 OS Northings: 444633 OS Grid: SE030446 Mapcode National: GBR GRSC.FG Mapcode Global: Of great help was a former foreman in a textile mill named Harry Thornber. Using an old browser means that some parts of our website might not work correctly. Another was Charles Hurford who produced exploded illustrations of engines for training purposes. Why Men of Worth? This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. Recollections of Alec V. Lovell working at the Royal Ordnance Factory Steeton Nr. * Group Value: the pillbox and two fire posts form a group of defensive structures guarding a Royal Ordnance Factory, identified in the national selection criteria as a valid claim to special interest. ROF Swynnerton became filling factory No. 5, one of 18 similar facilities. Construction commenced in 1939 with production starting in the summer of 1940 and by early 1941 5000 people were employed there. By the summer this had increased to 15,000 reaching a peak of 18,000 in the summer of 1942. Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive. British Listed Buildings is a Good Stuff website. A pillbox and two fire posts, sited in a field to the south of a former Royal Ordnance Factory, the fire posts in the south-west (fire post 2) and south-east (fire post 1) corners of the field and the pillbox nearer to the factory to the east. Use of this data is subject to Terms and Conditions. I became an excellent shot and was a member of a Rifle Club in West Acton where I was employed for four years after the end of the war. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. WebRoyal Ordnance L30. May include summary, reasons for designation and history. The susceptibility of a particular batch to this kind of failure can be assessed by the mercurous nitrate test. © Crown Copyright and database right 2023. Could do with you round here, (Wirral), as the local ROF site is earmarked for demolition and redevelopment. Bradford Technical College WebTypes of Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) 1. WebList of Royal Ordnance Factories. In 1945, on the war front the demand for ammunition lessened and this was reflected in a reduction in the activities of ROF Steeton and, eventually, in May 1945 production came abruptly to an end. The factory has largely been replaced with later structures, though some original buildings appear to survive amid the later industrial buildings on the site. INTERIOR: Access is via the rear door on the ground floor, and there is a transverse anti-ricochet wall across the interior. Red Rocket is a determinate tomato variety that is well-suited to hot, muggy climates like those found south of Memphis. Editors' Code of Practice. The Lord helps them that help themselves! There is a limited amount of modern graffiti.HISTORY: The earliest examples of pillboxes date from the First World War, but the concept was developed in the early stages of the Second World War, when many thousands were built, though only a limited proportion survive. Stanley Mitchell was an enthusiastic and extremely competent analytical chemist and it was natural that he would choose to be responsible for the chemical analysis. Google earth edob overlay is now available here. The roof is c.9" thick. [1] The site was connected to the London & North Eastern Railway line, which was used in its construction and then for supplying raw materials to the factory and for transporting away filled munitions. Comments have been closed on this article. Click to enlarge. Two fire posts also survive as part of the defensive network around the factory. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The respective section heads supervising the chemical and metallurgical work, we discovered, were classified as Experimental Assistant Grade 2. On returning to Steeton, the laboratory building was complete and the finishing touches were being given to the laboratories themselves. I still have the case I made for my 10 in. Of course working in that environment one met some great characters. DURING World War 2, many local women were sent to the Royal Ordnance Factory at Risley to fill and prime bombs that were needed for the war effort. One of only four known four type 24 two story pillboxes apparently! They were placed at strategic locations, many along 'stop lines' intended to slow down the progress of an attacking force. Stanley and I were hired as temporary civil servants with the title and rank of Experimental Assistant, Grade 3. My main form of recreation was cycling and hill walking. The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest. Entry Name: WW2 Pillbox and 2 Fire Posts South of Former Royal Ordnance Factory, Location: Steeton with Eastburn, Bradford, BD20, Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Yorkshire, Church of England Parish: Steeton St Stephen, Tagged with: The samples to metallographic testing were sectioned and polished in the workshop attached to the laboratory and then the surface etched and the grain structure revealed for control examination. WebRM 2M3NWN9 King George VI being given a tour of inspection of a Royal Ordnance factory and seeing at first-hand the immense effort being put in to produce arms, in this case anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. Architectural structure, 1772/0/10042 PARKWAY Email: visitorscentre@the-depot.uk. (Special London External B Sc Degree in Chemistry). I remember one of the local regimental bands performing some stirring music and finishing with the trumpeters playing the Post Horn Gallop. Inspection department workers at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Steeton. This involved a trolley bus ride to Bradford, a bus journey to Keighley, and a transfer to a further bus to Steeton. Behind the anti-ricochet wall is a hatch to the first floor, accessed by a steel ladder of which only the top 2 rungs survive with a portion of handrail and a guard rail. The pillbox and fire posts are of brick construction with reinforced concrete roofs and precast concrete embrasures, and the pillbox also has a shuttered concrete first floor. * Intactness: the pillbox and two fire posts are unaltered and complete For any other comments, please Contact Us. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can The Royal Ordnance Factory at Steeton Dump was built from scratch in late 1940 and began production in early 1941. Text courtesy of the late Ian Dewhirst MBE. Source Historic England Archive BB83/04456. This is text of the English Heritage Grade Two listing of the three pillboxes, which were given this status in December 2009: 1772/0/10042 PARKWAY Andy you are a star. Find out about listed buildings and other protected sites, and search the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). It contains 25 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence . 16-DEC-09 STEETON We have since expanded our research to include everyone from Keighley and the Worth Valley who served in wartime and are currently focussing on women in the Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment who were mostly nurses. * Intactness: the pillbox and two fire posts are unaltered and complete * Group Value: the pillbox and two fire posts form a group of defensive structures guarding a Royal Ordnance Factory. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. b) Metallurgical and metallographic work. Committed To The Study & Preservation Of 20th Century United Kingdom & International Pillboxes & Anti-Invasion Defences. Excellent. The empty cases were filled at specialized explosives plants. Shell cases are seamless and are made by progressive drawing and ironing. Glascoed (92 words) [view diff] exact match in snippet view article find links to Our Project researches local people from Keighley and the Worth Valley who served the country in wartime. read more about the individual pillboxes: read more about the staff who worked there between 1941 and 1945. What follows is an account of my working life at Steeton during the remainder of WWII. Most of the operatives were from local towns. The L30A1, officially designated Gun 120 mm Tk L30, [i] is a 120 mm rifled tank gun used by the British Army, Royal Army of Oman and the Ukrainian Army. It is an improved production model of the Royal Ordnance L11 series of rifled tank guns. Our Project researches local people from Keighley and the Worth Valley who served the country in wartime. When we started researching in 2001, we found only names of men on local memorials and as we felt their sacrifice had worth and most of them lived around the river Worth we felt the name was apt. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. We are also researching conscientious objectors from the area. Source Historic England Archive BB98/02592. The brass blanks were first annealed in a continuous rotary, electrically heated, Birlec furnace, followed by pickling in concentrated sulphuric acid, washing and drying. referenced. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. They manufactured 204 million munition components. Part of the site is now in use as the Thorp Arch Trading Estate. Heritage Apprentices in a training session on the Researching The Historic Environment module and training in Architectural Photography. 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