possible ww2 bomb/munitions store

I am currently investigating the purpose of a large area near to my home that consists of 26 buildings, it consists of several large brick warehouse type buildings and other structures , they are located in cheshire near to a place called helsby and i would like to find out more about their history if any building experts are out there can you shed any light on them there are some pics posted at

http://www.wirral.org.uk/frodsham.htm

i know they were also connected by a railway track to a mainline
the only info i have is that the site was a weapons store of some sort!! any info would be much appreciated

 

Steven,

I suggest you try the following websites;

Pastscape-

www.english-heritage.org.uk/filestore/pastscape/

Defence of Britain database-

http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?dob

UK Fortifications Club-

www.ukfortsclub.org.uk/

Fortress Study Group-

www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hanger/3337/

There's every chance these will answer your question.

Regards,
Gordon

[ 24. January 2004, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: The_Historian ]

 

Many thanks for the posting Steven - this is just the sort of thing that I find fascinating ! Please keep us posted with your researches about this site before it vanishes like so many others....

 

thanks for the advice chaps, this is exactly what i find interesting too, i have lived near them for years and always wanted to know more, i also grew up near to a Anti Aircrat Operations Room and that always presented me with a deep fascination for what it was and in 2001 i emailed the local council and they gave me a guide tour around it!!! and leading on from that with the help of the ADS and thr RSG study group have discovered more ww2 history around my local town such as AA gun batterys and one even still stands much intact, I have found the ADS defence of britain site fascinating especially for local info and if you contact them they are very very helpful!

 

Steven,
Nice to meet someone else with an active interest!
That's exactly how I started too. Good thing is that thanks to people like yourself, officialdom seems to have lost it's pathological desire to demolish anything pre sixties, and anything from WW2 in particular.
I was actually a volunteer field surveyor for the DoB, and as well as learning a lot more than I (thought I) knew, it was great fun!
Have you seen the Subterranea Britannica site? They actively explore underground military sites (officially sanctioned tours, obviously), and keep a list of ROC posts from the post war period. They are also closely linked with the Cold War Research Group.
You can find them both at:
www.subbrit.org.uk/

Good hunting!

Regards,
Gordon

[ 25. January 2004, 05:57 AM: Message edited by: The_Historian ]

 

i always keep one eye on the subbrit site its the main-stay of my intrest, I have a keen intrest in the ROC post website too, I have just purchased the story of the ROC in a video tape called "tocsin bang" and makes very interestin viewing from pre ww2 to the 1992 standown. I not aware of your age but i agree with you on the demolition of these sites, I am 34 so have no recollections of WW2 or much of the coldwar so places like this provide me with a virtual gateway to the past in which i am very much interested and too see these sites being swept away is to me a tragedy ...and of course people like yourselves who are willing to share their experiences with the likes of me, who have a respect for our heritage! I have only just found this message forum and its gone to the top of my favourites list,


Thanks

Steven

 

Stephen,
My pleasure mate.
Well, I'm only 41 myself so I don't remember the war either!
My old man and my uncles all fought in it, and when I was about 6 my old man (who was a GPO Telephone Engineer at the time)took me with him to the local ROC post which was being reinstated into service.He was reinstalling all the communications equipment, and that's what has made me obsessed with military archaeology ever since!.
Did you get a copy of the DoB handbook, Twentieth Century Defences in Britain by Bernard Lowry?
He was secretary of the FSG at the time,and this book is still available AFAIK. It's a veritable bible on the subject, as is Pillboxes by Henry Wills.

Regards,
Gordon

 

further to my investigations i had a more indepth chat with my grandad and it turns out he wroked there for a short time!!!!!!!!! from what he can remember it was a materials store and distribution depot for weapons production!! he remembers trainloads of materials including cordite arriving and departing but where too, was always kept under wraps

 

I assume the place you are talking about is what was known as the Frodsham Anti Aircraft Operation Room, which I believe was a post war gun control centre. Apparently this role didn't last long (early 1950's) and was going to be the site for a new tactical gun control radar known as 'Orange Yeoman', but before it could be put into operation Anti Aircraft and the Gun Defence Areas were abandoned. In 1959 the facilty was closed and in 1960 was the area was purchased by Cheshire County Council initially as a Civil Defence Control centre and later as the County Emergency War HQ.

 

yes medic the Frodsham AAOR, i had a guided tour of the facility by the areas emergency planning officer he was a top man, he gave me access to every room and let me photgraph everything i wanted, it still retains some of its origanal fixtures and the origanal letterin can be seen on the doors, he also was a mine of information on emergency planning info. and all i did was send an email to the local council. As i say in my previous post i grew up all around that area and the AAOR always left me fascinated what that big concrete building with no windows and two very big towers was.

 

Stephen,
I forgot to mention a good book which would probably interest you. It's Secret Underground Cities by NJ McCamley.
This guy investigates all the secret underground munitions factories from WW2 (like Chilmark), all over Britain. I don't know if there's any in your area, but it might be worth trying to get a copy in your local library.

Regards,
Gordon

 

thanks for the info.....i have his second book called secret bunkers of the cold war or somthing similar, but yes im will try to get that one, but the one im really after is one called WARPLAN UK its very difficult to come buy ! i have also just bought the full history of the royal observer corps , thats a very informative book! thanks again

 

Steven,
I hope you get Warplan UK!
Many years ago when I worked in local government, a colleague in Emergency Planning lent me it and I managed to photocopy all the maps etc. What a book!

Regards,
Gordon