Royal Ordnance Factories (
ROFs) was the collective name of the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
government's munitions factories in and after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the
Ministry of DefenceThe Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
The majority of the ROFs were built in the
Re-armamentIn British history, Re-armament refers to the period between 1934 and 1939, when a substantial programme of re-arming the nation was undertaken to meet the threat posed by Hitler's Nazi Germany....
period just before the start of the 1939-45 World War to enhance the capacity of the
Royal ArsenalThe 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...
,
WoolwichWoolwich is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich is on the north side of the river. Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, the
Royal Gunpowder FactoryThe Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, , set in of parkland and containing 21 buildings of major historical importance, mixes history, science, and attractive surroundings...
(RGPF)
Waltham Abbey, EssexWaltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from Waltham...
and the
Royal Small Arms FactoryThe Royal Small Arms Factory was a UK government-owned rifle factory in London Borough of Enfield. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816...
, (RSAF)
EnfieldEnfield Town is a location in North London in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross. Although the area now has none of the official attributes of a town, 'Town' remains the name of one of the wards of the borough...
. These were sited in or near to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and were considered to be vulnerable to aerial bombing from continental
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
.
The Royal Arsenal designed many of the ROFs and was also the agent for the
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
of all of the Rifles ROFs, the Medium Machine ROF and the Small Arms Ammunition ROFs. The Ministry of Supply, the Ministry of Works and two other private companies were agents for the construction of the remaining ROFs.
Royal Ordnance Factories
Royal Ordnance Factories (or ROFs) was the collective name of the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
government's munitions factories in and after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the
Ministry of DefenceThe Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
The majority of the ROFs were built in the
Re-armamentIn British history, Re-armament refers to the period between 1934 and 1939, when a substantial programme of re-arming the nation was undertaken to meet the threat posed by Hitler's Nazi Germany....
period just before the start of the 1939-45 World War to enhance the capacity of the three ordnance sites that had continued in operation after the end of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. They were the
Royal ArsenalThe 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...
,
WoolwichWoolwich is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich is on the north side of the river. Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, the
Royal Gunpowder FactoryThe Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, , set in of parkland and containing 21 buildings of major historical importance, mixes history, science, and attractive surroundings...
(RGPF)
Waltham Abbey, EssexWaltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from Waltham...
and the
Royal Small Arms FactoryThe Royal Small Arms Factory was a UK government-owned rifle factory in London Borough of Enfield. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816...
, (RSAF)
EnfieldEnfield Town is a location in North London in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross. Although the area now has none of the official attributes of a town, 'Town' remains the name of one of the wards of the borough...
. All three were sited in or near to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and were considered to be vulnerable to aerial bombing from continental
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. ROF Hereford, a
Filling FactoryA Filling Factory was a munitions factory which specialised in filling various munitions, such as bombs, shells, cartridges, screening smokes, etc...
, was a reopened
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
National Filling Factory (NFF).
The Royal Arsenal designed many of the ROFs and was also the agent for the
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
of all of the Rifles ROFs, the Medium Machine ROF and the Small Arms Ammunition ROFs. The Ministry of Supply, the Ministry of Works and two other private companies were agents for the construction of the remaining ROFs.
Other WW II explosive factories
A number of World War II munitions factories in the UK were built and owned by
Imperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries is a British chemical subsidiary of a Dutch conglomerate and one of the largest chemical producers in the world. It is based in Slough, UK. It produces paints and speciality products...
(ICI). These ICI Nobel Explosives owned factories were not considered part of the Ministry of Supply's Royal Ordnance Factory organisation and they were not called ROFs. ICI also managed munitions factories constructed with Ministry of Supply funding. These were known as "Agency Factories" and three of them became part of
Royal OrdnanceBAE Systems Land Systems Munitions is a part of BAE Systems Land Systems, itself a part of BAE Systems' Land & Armaments business. It was formed as Royal Ordnance plc on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation...
upon the ROFs' privatisation.
Agency Factories
Some of the ROF Filling Factories built later during World War II were government-owned but managed, as Agency Factories, by private companies unconnected with the explosives industry. For example
Joseph Lyons & CoJ. Lyons & Co. was a large British catering, food manufacturing and distribution business. It was founded in 1887 as a spin-off from the Salmon & Gluckstein tobacco business. Joseph Nathaniel Lyons was appointed to run the company and it was named after him. J. Lyons & Co...
ran
ROF ElstowRoyal Ordnance Factory Elstow was one of sixteen UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Filling Factories. It was a medium-sized filling factory, , which filled and packed munitions. It was located south of the town of Bedford, between the villages of Elstow and Wilstead in Bedfordshire...
throughout the war. Other Filling Factories were run by
Imperial Tobacco Co LtdImperial Tobacco Group plc is the world's fourth largest international tobacco company. It is the second largest UK-based tobacco company by global sales. Imperial Tobacco's corporate headquarters are in Bristol, England...
, Courtaulds Ltd,
The Co-operative Wholesale SocietyA Co-operative Wholesale Society, or CWS, is a form of Co-operative Federation , in this case, the members are usually Consumers' Co-operatives...
(CWS), Metal Closures Ltd and
Lever BrothersThe British manufacturer Lever Brothers was founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James.-History:In 1885 they bought a small soap works in Warrington. Using glycerin and vegetable oils such as palm oil, rather than tallow, to manufacture soap, they produced a good,...
.
Siting of the ROFs
The new ROFs were to be built in areas which regarded as "relatively safe", which until 1940 meant from
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
in the south and then west of a line that ran from (roughly)
Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare is a seaside resort town and civil parish in North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes...
in
SomersetSomerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west...
northwards to
HaltwhistleHaltwhistle is a small town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, situated east of Brampton, near Hadrian's Wall, and the villages of Plenmeller, Rowfoot and Melkridge. The name of Haltwhistle has nothing to do with a railway stop, but is literally Hal-twysel, meaning "a meeting of the...
,
NorthumberlandNorthumberland is a ceremonial county and unitary district in the North East of England. It borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of North...
; and then northwestwards to
LinlithgowLinlithgow is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. Those born in Linlithgow are sometimes nicknamed Black Bitches, and the town's coat of arms shows a black dog, chained to an oak tree, which grows on an island. Linlithgow's patron saint is Saint Michael and its motto is St...
in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The South, South East and East of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
were regarded as "dangerous" and the
MidlandsThe English Midlands, or the Midlands is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
area, including
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
as "unsafe". This definition of "safe" area was later changed, and in 1940 ignored in the case of ROF Chorley.
Siting of the individual ROFs north and west of this line was of vital importance. ROFs involved with explosive manufacture or filling needed, on safety grounds, to be located away from centres of
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
. However they needed access to good transport links, such as railways; the availability of adequate workers within reasonable travelling distance; a plentiful guaranteed supply of clean process water; and (to avoid the danger of frozen explosives) tended to be located at or just above
sea LevelMean sea level is the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation.- Measurement :...
. Some ROFs located in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
and Scotland were the result of political
lobbyingLobbying is the practice of influencing decisions made by government . It includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents, or organized groups. A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a...
as these areas had high
unemploymentUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and seeking work but currently without work. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed...
rates in the 1930s. The ROFs were guarded by what was to become the
Ministry of Defence Police ForceThe Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force that is part of the Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency which was formed by the merger of the MDP and Ministry of Defence Guard Service on 1 April 2004.The MDP is a special police...
.
World War II to the Korean War
The Royal Ordnance Factories were set up with six generic types of factories:
- Engineering ROFs;
- Explosive ROF
An Explosive ROF was a UK Government-owned Royal Ordnance Factory , which specialised in manufacturing explosives during and after World War II...
s;
- Filling Factories
A Filling Factory was a munitions factory which specialised in filling various munitions, such as bombs, shells, cartridges, screening smokes, etc...
, including small armsSmall arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, rifles, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light machine guns, and sometimes hand...
ammunition (SAA) Filling Factories;
- Medium Machine Shops, specifically ROF Patricroft
The Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Patricroft, was an engineering factory was classified as a Medium Machine Shop. It was located in Patricroft, near the town of Eccles, in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, adjacent to both the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Bridgewater...
;
- Rifles ROFs, specifically ROF Fazakerley
ROF Fazakerley was a Royal Ordnance Factory rifle manufacturing plant in Fazakerley Liverpool; which manufactured weapons such as the Sten and Sterling submachine guns and Lee-Enfield rifle during and after World War II....
and ROF MaltbyROF Maltby was a Royal Ordnance Factory rifle manufacturing plant in Maltby, South Yorkshire which manufactured weapons such as the Lee-Enfield rifle and Sten submachine gun during World War II....
; and,
- Small Arms Ammunition Factories.
The three main types were: Engineering, Filling and Explosives.
The largest ROFs tended to be the Explosive ROFs and the Filling Factories as these needed an explosives safeguarding zone around the
perimeterA perimeter is a path that surrounds an area. The word comes from the Greek peri and meter . The term may be used either for the path or its length - it can be thought of as the length of the outline of a shape. The perimeter of a circular area is called circumference.- Practical uses :Calculating...
of the factory; as well as separation, or reduced separation and traverses, between buildings.
ROF BishoptonThe Royal Ordnance Factory Bishopton was a UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Explosive ROF. It is sited adjacent to the town of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, in Scotland....
occupied over and
ROF ChorleyROF 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...
was .
Each ROF tended to be self-contained, apart from its raw materials: with their own coal-fired power stations, for generating
steamSteam is vaporized water. It is a transparent gas . At standard temperature and pressure, pure steam occupies about 1,600 times the volume of an equal mass of liquid water...
for heating and process use, and
electricityElectricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge...
via high-pressure steam turbines if needed; engineering workshops; plumbers and chemical plumbers;
leatherLeather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable and versatile material....
workers; electricians; buildings and works departments;
housingA house is generally a shelter, building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to high-rise apartment buildings...
and hostels for workers; canteens;
laundriesLaundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered.-Laundry:...
and medical centres.
The UK's ROFs were set up and operated as production factories. The design of explosives, propellants and munitions was carried out at separate government-owned research and development establishments such as the Research Department, which was initially based at the
Royal ArsenalThe 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...
,
WoolwichWoolwich is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich is on the north side of the river. Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and then
Fort HalsteadHalstead is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the North Downs, 3 miles south of Orpington and 5 miles north of Sevenoaks....
, in
SevenoaksSevenoaks is a commuter town situated in the west of Kent, England. It gives its name to the Sevenoaks district, of which it is the principal town...
,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
; and at PERME Waltham Abbey, Essex, which later moved to became RARDE Fort Halstead.
Post-war closures of temporary ROFs
A number of the ROFs were designated
temporary, for use during the war's duration only. They closed shortly after the end of World War II. Other ROFs were designated
permanent and they remained open into more recent times. In 1957, a Defence
White paperA White paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses issues and how to solve them. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions...
lead to a reorganisation of the aircraft industry, a restructuring of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
and a concentration on
missileA missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used...
systems. A number the
permanent ROFs closed in the late 1950s, after the end of the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
, and others closed in the 1970s.
The temporary ROFs, or ROFs which closed in the 1950s and 1970s, tended to be taken over by other Government Departments. Some closed ROFs and
AdmiraltyThe Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Originally exercised by a single person, the office of Lord High Admiral was from the 18th century onward almost invariably put "in commission", and was exercised by a Board of Admiralty.In...
explosive sites, such as the
Royal Navy Propellant Factory, CaerwentThe Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent, Monmouthshire, UK, was dedicated to the manufacture of explosives or the storage of ammunition from 1939 to 1993....
, were retained by the Ministry of Defence as ammunition storage areas; others became Government Industrial Estates or Trading Estates; others were used as
brown fieldBrown Field Municipal Airport is located southeast of San Diego, California and named in honor of United States Navy Commander Melville S. Brown, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1936. Its FAA/IATA airport code of SDM probably comes from "San Diego Municipal". Formerly a Naval Auxiliary...
sites to build Prisons or Open Prisons.
Part of
ROF Thorpe ArchROF Thorpe Arch was one of sixteen World War II, UK government-owned Royal Ordnance Factory, which produced munitions. It was a medium-sized filling factory ....
became the
Boston SpaBoston Spa is a village and civil parish in City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, south of Wetherby, on the banks of the River Wharfe...
depository of the
British LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is located in London and is one of the world's largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents,...
. A Hostel at ROF Swynnerton became a
TrainingThe term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
SchoolA school , is an institution designed to allow and encourage students to learn, under the supervision of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
for the General Post Office (GPO) Telephones, which later became British Telecom. Now called Yarnfield Park Training and Conference Centre and run by
AccentureAccenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. It was previously incorporated in Bermuda but since 1 September 2009 has been incorporated in Ireland. It is said to be the largest consulting firm in the world. Accenture is a Fortune Global 500...
.
ROF ElstowRoyal Ordnance Factory Elstow was one of sixteen UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Filling Factories. It was a medium-sized filling factory, , which filled and packed munitions. It was located south of the town of Bedford, between the villages of Elstow and Wilstead in Bedfordshire...
was taken over by the
CEGBThe Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
and became a storage depot. The site has been cleared; and, as of 2008, is in the process of becoming the new town of
WixamsWixams 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 new towns...
.
The Trading Fund
In, July 1974, the Royal Ordnance Factories were set up as a
Trading FundA trading fund is a UK government department, or an executive agency or part of the department, which has been established as such by means of a Trading Fund Order made under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973....
, under the Government's Trading Funds Act 1973.
Privatisation of the remaining ROFs
As part of its privatisation process in the 1980s, the UK Government transferred some of the, formerly separate, research and development capability of the Defence Research Establishments into the ROFs. Other parts of the UK's defence research and design capability were later closed down; remained with the UK
Ministry of DefenceThe Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
, as
DstlThe Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is an Executive Agency of the UK Ministry of Defence . It operates as a Trading Fund, owned by the Secretary of State for Defence, Bob Ainsworth...
; or became part of
QinetiQQinetiQ is an international defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
.
On 2 January 1985 the majority of the Royal Ordnance Factories were vested in the UK Government-owned company
Royal OrdnanceBAE Systems Land Systems Munitions is a part of BAE Systems Land Systems, itself a part of BAE Systems' Land & Armaments business. It was formed as Royal Ordnance plc on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation...
Plc; it was bought by
British AerospaceBritish Aerospace was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, to form BAE Systems....
in 1987. The
Ministry of Defence PoliceThe Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force that is part of the Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency which was formed by the merger of the MDP and Ministry of Defence Guard Service on 1 April 2004.The MDP is a special police...
left most of the ROFs on or within a few years of privatisation.
The small number of ROFs involved in
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
s production, ROF Burghfield and ROF Cardiff, were removed from ROF management and did not pass over to Royal Ordnance upon privatisation. They were transferred to the control of AWRE; which later became the
Atomic Weapons EstablishmentThe Atomic Weapons Establishment is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. AWE plc is responsible for the day-to-day operations of AWE...
.
See also
- Filling Factories
A Filling Factory was a munitions factory which specialised in filling various munitions, such as bombs, shells, cartridges, screening smokes, etc...
- List of prisons in the United Kingdom
- List of Royal Ordnance Factories
- Royal Ordnance
BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions is a part of BAE Systems Land Systems, itself a part of BAE Systems' Land & Armaments business. It was formed as Royal Ordnance plc on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation...
- Royal Small Arms Factory
The Royal Small Arms Factory was a UK government-owned rifle factory in London Borough of Enfield. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816...
- Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills
The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, , set in of parkland and containing 21 buildings of major historical importance, mixes history, science, and attractive surroundings...