|
ROF Rotherwas
ROF Rotherwas was a Royal Ordnance Factory filling factory, No 4, located in Rotherwas, Dinedor Parish, Herefordshire, England. Background In the early 20th century, the Lubienski-Bodenham family - descended from Mary Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VII - owned the Rotherwas estate, which included a mansion house, Rotherwas Court, and of land on the south side of the River Wye. After the death of Count Louis Pomian Lubienski Bodenham in 1912, the family line ended. The Rotherwas estate was dismantled in 1913. Thirteen of the mansion's wood panelled rooms were sent to America (the Rotherwas Room survives at Amherst College) and the land was put up for sale. At the resultant auction, Herefordshire County Council bought that was overlooked by Dinedor Hill and was bordered by the Wye meadows. World War I At the outbreak of World War I, the Ministry of Munitions were looking to create a number of munitions production facilities quickly and cheaply. A site of was acquired by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministry of Defence. Origin Prior to the 1930s, Britain's ordnance manufacturing capability had been concentrated within the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. In the late nineteenth century, the term 'Royal Ordnance Factories' began to be used collectively of the manufacturing departments of the Arsenal (principally the Royal Laboratory, Royal Gun Factory and Royal Carriage Works) which, though they shared the same site, operated independently of one another. This use of the term is seen in the name of the Royal Ordnance Factories Football Club (founded 1893) and it continued through the First World War. The emerging threat of aerial bombing, however, prompted the government to consider dispersing its ordnance factories around the country. Development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hereford, Ross And Gloucester Railway
The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway (also known as the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway), was a railway which ran for linking Hereford and Gloucester, England, via Ross-on-Wye. It was opened on 1 June 1855 as a broad gauge line, it was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1862. In 1869 the railway was converted to standard gauge. The railway was closed to passengers on 2 November 1964, freight services between Ross-on-Wye railway station and Grange Court railway station continued on until 1 November 1965. History Opening On 1 June 1851 Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament passed an act allowing the railway's construction and although construction was delayed by bad weather in January 1853 the line was tested out by locomotives on 31 May 1855; the next day the railway was officially opened, 1 June 1855. Train services The ''Illustrated London News'' on 14 June reported that the opening had been a great success. There were six passenger trains a da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ross On Wye
Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean. History The name "Ross" is derived from the Welsh or Celtic for a "promontory". It was renamed "Ross-on-Wye" in 1931 by the General Post Office, due to confusion with other places of the same or similar name (such as Ross in Scotland). Ross-on-Wye promotes itself as "the birthplace of British tourism". In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from his rectory at Ross. The Wye Valley's attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to seekers of the "picturesque". In 1782, William Gilpin's book ''Observations on the River Wye'' was published, the first illustrated tour guide to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leominster
Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is the largest of the five towns (Leominster, Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard and Kington) in the county. From 1974 to 1996, Leominster was the administrative centre for the former local government district of Leominster. Toponymy The town takes its name from the English word minster, meaning a community of clergy and the original Celtic name for the district ''Leon'' or ''Lene'', probably in turn from an Old Welsh root ''lei'' to flow. The Welsh name for Leominster is ''Llanllieni'', with Llan suggesting a possible Celtic origin to the town's religious community. Contrary to certain reports, the name has nothing to do with Leofric, an 11th-century Earl of Mercia (most famous for being the miserly husband of Lady Godiva). History Duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mustard Gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, but is instead in the form of a fine mist of liquid droplets.https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/gc-mustard-gas-personal-safety-and-natl-security.pdf Mustard gases form blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs, often resulting in prolonged illness ending in death. The active ingredient in typical mustard gas is the organosulfur compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide. In the wider sense, compounds with the structural element are known as ''sulfur mustards'' and ''nitrogen mustards'', respectively. Such compounds are potent alkylating agents, which can interfere with several biological processes. History as chemical weapons As a chemical weapon, mustard gas was first used in World War I, and has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avonmouth Docks
The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avonmouth. Accessible via a long and wide lock, today the docks are one of the UK's major ports for chilled foods, especially fruit and vegetables. Land-side freight access and distribution is via either the M5 motorway or the Henbury Loop Line, whilst rail-passenger access is via Avonmouth railway station on the Severn Beach Line. Background Bristol Harbour had always been a major centre of trade within the wider UK economy, due to its strategic location to the west of the country, allowing access to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. Coastal trade was also important, with the area called "Welsh Back" concentrating on trows with cargoes from the Slate industry in Wales, stone, timber and coal. However, by the 18th century the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Smelting Company
The National Smelting Company was a nationalised zinc smelting company in Avonmouth, England. It was established by Minister of Munitions Winston Churchill to produce mustard gas during World War I. After World War I, it was bought by private business interests. From 1929 it became part of Australia's Imperial Smelting Corporation. The site – also known as the Britannia smelting works – was where the Imperial Smelting Process was developed. From 1967, the Avonmouth Works was home to the largest and most efficient zinc blast furnace in the world. The site remained operational until 2003 when the production of zinc, cadmium, lead and sulphuric acid ceased. The site is being redeveloped as a supermarket distribution centre for Asda and a recycling plant for SITA UK. Background During the later part of World War I, it was proposed to make Avonmouth Docks the UK centre of production of dichloroethyl sulphide, also known as mustard gas. However, its production was against the H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dichloroethyl Sulphide
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, but is instead in the form of a fine mist of liquid droplets.https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/gc-mustard-gas-personal-safety-and-natl-security.pdf Mustard gases form blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs, often resulting in prolonged illness ending in death. The active ingredient in typical mustard gas is the organosulfur compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide. In the wider sense, compounds with the structural element are known as ''sulfur mustards'' and ''nitrogen mustards'', respectively. Such compounds are potent alkylating agents, which can interfere with several biological processes. History as chemical weapons As a chemical weapon, mustard gas was first used in World War I, and has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire and southern parts of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire which are predominantly rural. Banbury's main industries are motorsport, car components, electrical goods, plastics, food processing and printing. Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility (Jacobs Douwe Egberts), built in 1964. The town is famed for Banbury cakes, a spiced sweet pastry dish. Banbury is located north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham, south-east of Coventry and north-west of Oxford. History Toponymy The name Banbury may derive from "Banna", a Saxon chieftain said to have built a stockade there in the 6th century (or possibly a byname from ang, bana meaning ''felon'', ''murderer''), and / meaning ''settlement''. In Anglo Saxon i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amatol
Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts ammonium nitrate) were known as Schneiderite in France. Amatol was used extensively during World War I and World War II, typically as an explosive in military weapons such as aircraft bombs, shells, depth charges, and naval mines.Brown, G. I. (1998). ''The Big Bang: A History of Explosives''. Sutton Publishing . pp. 158-163. It was eventually replaced with alternative explosives such as Composition B, Torpex, and Tritonal. Invention Following the Shell Crisis of 1915 in which the UK did not have enough ordnance due to a lack of explosives, a team at the Royal Arsenal laboratories produced a mixture of ammonium nitrate and TNT, known as Amatol for short. Special factories were constructed for the manufacture of ammonium nitrate by the double dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyddite
Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from el, πικρός (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other strongly nitrated organic compounds, picric acid is an explosive, which is its primary use. It has also been used as medicine (antiseptic, burn treatments) and as a dye. History Picric acid was probably first mentioned in the alchemical writings of Johann Rudolf Glauber. Initially, it was made by nitrating substances such as animal horn, silk, indigo, and natural resin, the synthesis from indigo first being performed by Peter Woulfe during 1771. The German chemist Justus von Liebig had named picric acid (rendered in French as ). Picric acid was given that name by the French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas in 1841. Its synthesis from phenol, and the correct determination of its formula, were accomplished during 1841 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations. The corps currently consists of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment, the regular component, as well as the 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) and the 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units, all under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). Its sister unit is the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service which specialises in maritime counter-terrorism. Both units are under the operational control of the Directo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
