I passed this http://www.dalbeattie.com/ministryof...e/index.htmlon the way to Dalbeatie near Dumfries a couple of weeks ago and wondered what the heck it was, did a bit of googling and the above web site was found..... fascinating...... I've previously visited the Gretna Green factory site for a tour under the historic scotland open days programe a couple of years ago and it was fascinating...... They have a permanent 'devils porridge' exhibition all about explosive making... fascinating stuff............ I have a copy of the video about it somewhere if anyone is into such things??

__________________
103 Squadron - Noli Me Tangere

Nice one! I think I'm right in saying you can still visit the remains of the wartime Ardeer munitions factory down at the shore, though there's increasingly less to see these days.
Next time you're across Stirling way, try and visit Bandeath industrial estate at Throsk. This was a Royal Navy Armaments Depot until 1978, but dates from pre-war.
Secret Scotland - Bandeath Munitions Depot

There's a book called Dangerous Energy by Wayne D. Cocroft which charts the story of gunpowder & explosives manufacture in the UK from the 16th Century until the 1990s. It gives a pretty good background to all the factories from both world wars.
You can probably get it second-hand from UKBookworld.com old, rare and out-of-print book database

__________________
Regards,

Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

the thing that fascinated me most about the gretna visit was fireless steam engines, these looked like normal steam engines, but had no boiler, just a big tank that was filled with pressurised steam from a boiler house somewhere out of the way, this was obviously to avoid a stray spark making it all go bang, but just something I'd not really thought of!

__________________
103 Squadron - Noli Me Tangere

That's interesting, I'd never heard of that either.

__________________
Regards,

Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

Very interesting thread, guys ! It's good that action is being taken to record the functions of these sites.

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson