ROF Kirkby, (

Filling Factory A filling factory was a manufacturing plant that specialised in filling various munitions, such as bombs, shells, cartridges, pyrotechnics, and screening smokes. In the United Kingdom, during both world wars of the 20th century, the majority of ...

No. 7) was a large World War II

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 Ministr ...

(ROF) filling

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. The factory was based in the rural area of

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...

, on the outskirts of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. The rural location was to reduce the potential damage from any accidental explosions. Munitions were produced from September 1940 to March 1946.

History

Original planning for the site began at

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

, with Sir Alex Gibson acting as consultant and Holloway Brothers the contractors. When completed the factory consisted of more than 1,000 buildings, of roads and of railway lines along with a station and had cost £8,500,000 (approx. £1,800 million inflation adjusted as share of GDP). As a way to minimise the risk of damage in the event of an explosion taking place the buildings were widely spaced and some were mounded up to the eaves. In July 1940 Lawrence Gale from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, was appointed the Superintendent, taking 9 staff with him, and when the first shells rolled off the assembly line in September 1940 there were only between 50 and 100 employees. By the summer of 1941 this had risen to 10,000 before rising to a peak of around 23,000 employees, most of whom were women. Medical treatment rooms were built onsite in order to cater to such a large workforce. When the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich was bombed, it had to be closed down and many workers and a large amount of material were transferred to ROF Kirkby. In order to house these employees, 200 houses for key workers were built in the area and a

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

hostel was built to house 1,000 women. The factory employed a three shift system so that production was continuous, combining with the transport system so that as it dropped off one shift of employees it would take home another shift. The ROF was eventually closed in March 1946, having been designated a ''War Duration Only'' ROF. It had produced around ten per cent of all the ammunition used in World War II by Britain. Afterwards the site was developed by

Liverpool Corporation Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor J ...

as an

industrial estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

and played a large part in the growth of Kirkby from a population of barely over 3,000 in 1951 to over 52,000 by 1961.

Accidents

There were two explosions at Kirkby ROF, one in February 1944 and one on 15 September 1944. Two people were killed in the first accident and 14 killed and 11 injured in the second. It took three months of work to clear 4,000 bombs which were buried in the rubble after the second accident, with a total of 37 awards for bravery and distinguished conduct made by the King. These included both the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

and

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...

to Arthur Bywater, for his brave conduct during both explosions.

References

External links

ROF Kirkby Sports ClubKnowsley Local History: Kirkby Royal Ordnance Factory
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Royal Ordnance Factories in England