Great War Centenary

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Airships and Aircraft

A single hangar and township was constructed by Short Brothers at Cardington in 1916 to build the R31 and R32 airships for the Admiralty. The second WW1 hangar was moved here after the war from RNAS Pulham, Norfolk in 1928.





Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough


Re-named from the Army Balloon Factory in 1912.

National Aero-Engine Factory, Ladbroke Grove


The Clement Talbot works was nationalised in January 1918 following friction with repair of competitor Rolls-Royce engines.

Shipyards

National Shipyard No 1, Chepstow

The Standard Shipbuilding Company's shipyard beside the River Wye in Chepstow was taken over in August 1917 as National Shipyard No 1 with two further sites to be developed at Beachley and Portbury to assemble 'standard' steam ships. Building work on the sites was carried out by thousands of Royal Engineers with administration of the yards by civil servants. The problem faced by the previous owners was attracting and finding accommodation for an experienced workforce in a small town. Their solution was to construct 'Garden City' suburbs but progress had been slow and was further delayed following the takeover. Use of military conscript labour and POWs to construct ships led to major labour relations difficulties. Altogether the experiment was a failure and only a handful of vessels were built.



Standard Shipbuilding had plans in 1916 for a Garden City at Hardwick for their workers to be built on the rising ground above their new shipyard. The designs were prepared by London architects Dunn, Watson & Curtis Green. The houses are constructed of concrete blocks which were sourced locally. Completion of the houses was delayed due to nationalisation of the yard in 1917.



A further Garden City was built at Bulwark. The first houses completed in September 1918 were much smaller and built to an economy design to save materials. They were described by councillors as 'pig styes and dog kennels' and were later modified.



National Shipyard No 2, Beachley

The headland at Beachley, Gloucestershire, at the mouth of the River Wye was taken over for National Shipyard No 2 in September 1917 for the assembly of standard steam ships. Slipways, jetties, railways and temporary accommodation were constructed on site. No vessels were constructed before the end of hostilities. An army training camp now occupies most of the site.



An estate of houses was built nearby at Pennsylvania Farm, Sedbury using the designs used at Hardwick and Bulwark.



Furness Shipyard, Haverton Hill

In March 1918 a ninety acre site beside the River Tees was reclaimed and developed as an emergency shipyard for the Furness Shipbuilding Company with eight slipways and a fitting out dock. The shipyard would assemble standard vessels from prefabricated panels and was expected to deliver a vessel every two weeks. The war ended before the first vessel was launched; the War Energy of 6500t was delivered in April 1919. The shipyard continued in use until becoming a victim of the nationalisation of Swan Hunter in the 1970s.

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