ROF Bridgend
Encyclopedia
ROF Bridgend, located in Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

, was one of the largest of sixteen 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...

, 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...

 government-owned, 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....

 munitions 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...

. Of great significance to the Britain's war effort, at its peak of production it employed around 40,000 people — said to be the largest ever factory in Britain's history.

Background

At the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, much of Britain's armaments manufacturing capacity was run down, as its capacity was no longer needed. In the period leading up to World War II, consideration was given to Britain's war capability. As shown in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, 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....

 were more than capable of accurately bombing many of Britain's key installations, which were also undersized to meet forecast required volumes.

In 1935, it was therefore agreed to keep armaments research at the Woolwich Arsenal
Royal Arsenal
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...

 in south-east 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...

, while production would be transferred to two new factories at ROF Chorley
ROF Chorley
ROF Chorley was a UK government-owned, munitions filling, Royal Ordnance Factory . It was planned as a Permanent Royal Ordnance Factory with the intention that it, unlike some other similar facilities, would remain open for production after the end of World War II; and, together with ROF Bridgend...

 in Lancashire (Filling Factory No.1) and ROF Bridgend in Glamorgan (Filling Factory No.2). As war planning progressed, it would be realised that this plan was flawed in both sustainability and capacity, and additional facilities would have to be built. Staff from the Royal Arsenal helped design and, in some cases, managed the construction of many of the new Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) and ROF Filling Factories. Just over 40 ROFs were opened by the end of World War II, nearly half of them Filling Factories, together with a similar number of factories built and run by private companies, such as ICI's Nobel Explosives
Nobel Enterprises
Nobel Enterprises is a chemicals business based at Ardeer, near to the North Ayrshire town of Stevenston in Scotland. It specialises in nitrogen-based propellants and explosives and nitrocellulose-based products such as varnishes and inks...

 (although these explosive factories were not called ROFs).

Development

Bridgend was chosen for three main reasons:
  • It was remote from the areas most vulnerable to enemy bombing in south and east England
  • Bridgend was located in a national development area, having a plentiful supply of unemployed labour at the time
  • The area enjoyed excellent logistics, being close to three major ports (Cardiff, Swansea, Barry), and close to the massive South Wales coalfield
    South Wales Coalfield
    The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...

     to supply power and Port Talbot
    Port Talbot
    Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...

     for steel


In April 1936, 900 acres (3.6 km²) of land in Waterton was compulsorily purchased. The site chosen was farmland next to the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 South Wales Main Line
South Wales Main Line
The South Wales Main Line , originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain...

, which offered additional benefits. Located on what was a reclaimed marshland, the resultant dampness often resulted in the area being covered in a light mist or fog, which further protected it from bombing. Further acreage was purchased in Brackla
Brackla
Brackla is a large housing estate in the east of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Mid Glamorgan, Wales. It has a population of 10,113, making up nearly a quarter of Bridgend's population alone.-History:...

, leading to the development of ROF 11 and ROF 41.

In April 1937, the Great Western Railway began constructing the 24 miles (38.6 km) of internal railway needed to supply the sites. This included a marshalling yard at the main site, sidings at Brackla Ridge, and the construction of Tremains halt near Waterton for worker access. A footbridge was also constructed here, the remnants of which can been seen today. Gee Walker & Slater Ltd, and Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Co Ltd were the contractors awarded the project to build ROF 53. Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons Ltd
Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. is a private British company headquartered in London. It carries out engineering and construction for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, pharmaceutical, defence, chemical, water and mining industries.-History:...

 won the contract to build ROF 11 and ROF 41, and the magazine tunnels. In all, the complex consisted of over 1000 buildings, serviced by 60 miles (96.6 km) of roads.

By 1940, the sites were in full production, with nearly 40,000 people working at the factory, the largest single-site employer in the country.

Closure

ROF Bridgend stopped production in 1945, having been designated a War Duration Only ROF. It remained open as a store until it was closed in 1946, when it was broken up and sold to property developers.

Many of the specialised buildings were simply bulldozed, and like many of the former ROFs it became an industrial estate, now designated as Bridgend Industrial Estate
Bridgend Industrial Estate
Bridgend Industrial Estate is a large industrial park complex in Bridgend, Wales.It is made up of three adjoining Industrial Estates, being Waterton, Bridgend, and North Road and incorporating a retail park in Waterton.- History :...

. The administration buildings were taken over after the war to become the Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...

 County Police Headquarters, which are now the South Wales Police
South Wales Police
South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters are based in Bridgend.Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, and the western South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population,...

 headquarters.

The land between the two former facilities to the south of Brackla Hill, was developed as a large housing complex, now simply called Brackla
Brackla
Brackla is a large housing estate in the east of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Mid Glamorgan, Wales. It has a population of 10,113, making up nearly a quarter of Bridgend's population alone.-History:...

.

External links

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