Aycliffe Angels
Encyclopedia
Aycliffe Angels was the name given to the workers of ROF Aycliffe
; a World War II Munitions factory in County Durham
.
, known as Lord Haw Haw who was an American traitor working for the Nazis during World War II. Joyce broadcast Nazi propaganda over medium and short wave radio to Britain and the United States.
In numerous broadcasts he had said "The little angels of Aycliffe
won't get away with it," and promising that the Luftwaffe
would bomb them into submission.
By its nature the work was very dangerous and many workers were killed and injured during the manufacturing process; however due to the secrecy surrounding the factory and its workers, many incidents went unrecorded and unreported in the news and their efforts went unrecognised.
In 2000 local newspaper The Northern Echo
launched a campaign to have their work officially recognised, this led to a memorial service which was attended by Prime Minister
and local MP Tony Blair
and the Queen
. A permanent memorial was also placed in Newton Aycliffe
town centre commemorating their efforts.
ROF Aycliffe
ROF Aycliffe, was built on an site off Heighington Lane, Aycliffe, County Durham, England during the early 1940s. The marshy location was ideal as the site was shrouded in fog and mist for much of the year providing cover against bombing by the Luftwaffe..It opened as ROF 59 in the Spring of...
; a World War II Munitions factory in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
.
Origins of the name
The name comes from William JoyceWilliam Joyce
William Joyce , nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an Irish-American fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He was hanged for treason by the British as a result of his wartime activities, even though he had renounced his British nationality...
, known as Lord Haw Haw who was an American traitor working for the Nazis during World War II. Joyce broadcast Nazi propaganda over medium and short wave radio to Britain and the United States.
In numerous broadcasts he had said "The little angels of Aycliffe
Aycliffe
Aycliffe is part of the name of three places in County Durham, England:*Newton Aycliffe, the oldest new town in the north of England*Aycliffe Village, a village south of Newton Aycliffe...
won't get away with it," and promising that the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
would bomb them into submission.
Who they were
17,000 Women came from the surrounding towns and villages to work at the factory filling shells and bullets and assembling detonators and fuses for the war effort.By its nature the work was very dangerous and many workers were killed and injured during the manufacturing process; however due to the secrecy surrounding the factory and its workers, many incidents went unrecorded and unreported in the news and their efforts went unrecognised.
In 2000 local newspaper The Northern Echo
The Northern Echo
The Northern Echo is a leading daily regional morning newspaper, serving the North East of England. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington. Its covers national as well as regional news. It is one of the UK's most famous provincial newspaper titles....
launched a campaign to have their work officially recognised, this led to a memorial service which was attended by Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and local MP Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. A permanent memorial was also placed in Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act of 1946, it is the oldest new town in the north of England.-Geography:...
town centre commemorating their efforts.