ROF Bridgend, (Filling Factory No. 2), located in

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, was one of the largest of sixteen

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, UK government-owned,

Royal Ordnance Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

munition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

Filling Factories 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 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

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 in south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, while production would be transferred to two new factories at

ROF Chorley ROF Chorley was a UK government-owned munitions filling Royal Ordnance Factory (Filling Factory No. 1). It was planned as a ''permanent'' Royal Ordnance Factory with the intention that it, unlike some other similar facilities, would remain o ...

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 (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 The South Wales Coalfield () extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales ...

to supply power and

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

for steel In April 1936, of land in Waterton was compulsorily purchased. The site chosen was farmland next to the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

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. It diverges from the co ...

, which offered additional benefits. Located on what was a reclaimed marshland, a persistent local legend has it that the resultant dampness often resulted in the area being covered in a light mist or fog, which further protected it from bombing. Even if so, the drainage of the marshes caused the mist to cease. Further acreage was purchased in

Brackla Brackla () is a large housing estate and community in the east of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Along with the communities of Bridgend and Coychurch Lower, it makes up the town of Bridgend. At the 2001 census the community of Brac ...

, leading to the development of ROF 11 and ROF 41. In April 1937, the Great Western Railway began constructing the 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 be 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 Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is a family-owned building and civil engineering company based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It carries out engineering and construction in the infrastructure, heritage, commercial, arena and stadium, healthcare, educ ...

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 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 An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or 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 par ...

, now designated as

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 It was built ...

. The administration buildings were taken over after the war to become the

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

County Police Headquarters, which are now the

South Wales Police South Wales Police (; SWP) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Constabulary, Car ...

headquarters. The land between the two former facilities to the south of Brackla Hill, was developed as a large housing complex, now simply called

References

Sources

External links