Today, Merrington church is one of the most prominent local landmarks. The Manor of Merrington belonged successively to the priors, monks and dean and chapter of Durham Cathedral. ROF Swynnerton; Filling Factory No. Low Spennymoor houses cleared. 1973 Spennymoor Town Council created a Successor Council. British military contracts 1914 1917, Ball, Mk 7Z (Canadian Pattern). Grace's Guide To British Industrial History, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=Royal_Ordnance&oldid=1277361, Creative It was originally built by the Normans and its splendid strategic position led to it being fortified in 1143 by the Scots intruder, William Cumyn. A strike, which lasted 13 weeks, paralysed the area in 1892, although out of the enforced idleness came foundations of new growth, for the machinery at the Tudhoe Iron works was then renovated and a new mill laid down. Nobel Industries in turn was to become part of the new giant Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd when it was formed in 1926. By 1860, the factory was producing more than 90,000 rifles, or 1,744 a week. This Military Arsenal became Nederland Wapen & Munitiefabrikde Kruithoorn NV,s Hertogenbosch and later became Eurometaal. This factory was built in 1916 and was administered on behalf of the Government by the Birmingham Metal and Munitions Co. .303 cartridge production started in early 1918 and continued until late 1918 when the factory ceased production altogether. Town Hall refurbished. 20. The bullet to this round was designed to break up with a puff of smoke on impact with a target or the ground . Spennymoor, United Kingdom (1913-1945). 1942 1942 1943 1944 Tikkakoski Arsenal - Finland Tikkakoski was the first private arms manufacturer in Finland. asked the Minister of War Transport (1) whether he will provide omnibus facilities to enable girls to travel from Ferryhill and Merrington to the Royal Ordnance factory at Spennymoor in time to commence work at 7.30 a.m., and an omnibus service back to Ferryhill at 5 p.m.; Known to have produced nitro-cellulose loaded Imperial Japanese Navy Year Type 92 Machine Gun ammunition, which is interchangeable with the .303 cartridge in: F or AF or SAAF Small Arms Ammunition Factory, Footscray, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. This became the Royal Small Arms Factory (Birmingham). 01388 815276 ROF Blackpool; SAA Factory. They had a goat mascot named Monty who ate the vegetables which the lads were growing, "Dig For Victory". 1889 William Anderson was appointed Director General of Ordnance Factories, responsible for the ordnance factories, laboratory, carriage department and gun factory at Woolwich Arsenal, the small-arms factories at Enfield and Birmingham, and the gunpowder factory at Waltham Abbey. The monogram MF1 was used for a short time in 1940 when the Gordon Street Factory commenced production. MI Societe Meridionale dIndustrie, Robert Paulet & Cie ( formerly called Cartoucherie Leon Paulet), Marseille, FRANCE. This factory made and marked cases but filling was carried out at the Royal Ordnance Factory Swynnerton, Staffs. 1931 Road Tolls ceased at Page Bank Bridge. US Lend Lease production for the UK was 1,196,706 No 4 rifles whereas the total British wartime production of this rifle was 2,021,913. RA Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker, Raufoss, NORWAY. WRA = Winchester Repeating Arms - New Haven, Connecticut. Subsequently became part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments business. There was no production of .303 ammunition in 1961. Other methods include colouring of part or the whole of the cartridge case. 1939 Outbreak of World War II. The Mark VI round was introduced in 1904 with a 215 grain jacketed round nosed bullet similar to the Mark II bullet but with a thinner jacket. The Spennymoor ammunition was filled at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Aycliffe, Durham. The origin of the name remains somewhat uncertain some believe it to be derived from the Latin Spina which means a thorn (possibly from the Roman influence at Binchester) and Mor which was the Anglo-Saxon word for a moor. This page was last edited on 27 May 2022, at 11:53. UT = Utah Ordnance Plant - Salt Lake City, Utah. Used code U from 1939 1961 and SAM thereafter. 1855 The Ordnance Office was dissolved in 1855. I worked at the Royal Ordnance factory at Spennymoor. New Pavilions constructed at Jubilee Park. The USA had also produced the .303 Pattern 1914, also known as the Rifle No 3 Mk 1 or 1*, for the British Government during the First World War. 1996 Tony Blair, M.P., opens the new Page Bankroad bridge. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in: PPU or nny Prvi Partizan, Titovo Uzice, YUGOSLAVIA. The last .303 ball cartridges manufactured at Radway Green in 1973 were loaded with nitro-cellulose powder and not cordite, cordite having last been used for the .303 cartridge in the 1960s. There was a glazeboard wad on top of the charge to protect the base of the bullet. These rounds were extensively developed over the years and saw several Mark numbers. From 1918 to 1950 it had its own parliamentary constituency, from 1950 to 1974 it was in the Durham constituency and from 1974 to 1983 in the North West Durham constituency. Production of ammunition ceased in 1944. This of course was not the total number of .303 rifles produced in the UK during WW2, as the SMLE Rifle No 1 was still being manufactured, BSA alone producing nearly a quarter of a million No 1 Mk III and III* rifles. Penny Rate Product 18,500. The round nose bullet form of the Black Powder Mark 1 and 2 and of the Cordite Mark 1 and 2 were felt by many servicemen to have less man stopping effect than the old lead .45 inch Martini bullet, the predecessor in service of the .303 cartridge. Post-WWI Returned to lower production levels. V.E.Day. Known to have produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in: Ball, Mk 7. 1966 Bus Station and Parkwood Precinct opened. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in: Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7 ( Canadian WW1 contract pattern ) 1914-16, Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z ( Canadian Pattern ), Tracer G Mk 2Z, G Mk 4Z ( Canadian Pattern ). Known to have manufactured Black powder Ball Mk 2 .303 cartridges from 1891 1896. Chamber pressure however was higher at 20 21 tons per square inch compared to the 19.5 tons per square inch of the Mark VII round. On nitro-cellulose loaded .303 Mk 7z Ball cartridges made by FNM of Moscavide, PORTUGAL. Aycliffe filled the cases which we produced and this was very dangerous work. Byers Green and Kirk Merrington redeveloped. ( A standing for Armscore ). B,J,M or N Birmingham Metal and Munitions Co Ltd., Birmingham, UNITED KINGDOM. Temple, Collectors Cartridge Catalogue No 29 by Conjay Arms Company Ltd, Whitneys Heritage, A Study of Cartridges Manufactured by The Colonial Ammunition Company in New Zealand. Even before the big coal strike of 1926 the collieries had begun to close. I was chosen along with 2 other girls to visit Goosepool Aerodrome (now Durham/Tees Valley International Airport), where the Canadian airmen were stationed. Three closed in 1924 and the strike saw another two fail. When we arrived at Goosepool Mr Hosie was not allowed to enter the airport as it was strictly guarded. Steve 11-03-2014, 06:29 PM #3 lithoman manufacturing in Britain. Known to have produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in: 180 & 215 gr jacketed soft point sporting ammunition, RR or RRCO Ross Rifle Co, Montreal, CANADA. This was confirmed by experience gained in the Chitral and Tirah expeditions of 1897/98 on the North West Frontier of India where the round nose ball round compared poorly against the .303 inch Dum Dum rounds specially issued in 1897. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Used the same annulus colour coding as United Kingdom for ammunition supplied under contract to the British Government during both the First and Second World Wars. EGYPT is known to have produced .303 ball ammunition at the Government Arsenal Shoubra, United Arab Republic and Factory No 10 at Alexandria, Egypt. 11. Electric lighting for Spennymoor. On explosive anti Zeplin cartridges. Find out how you can use this. The propellant interests being concentrated mainly at Ardeer within the Nobel Division of ICI. The arms factory was closed in 1987. When cap annulus colours were first introduced in 1918 the Ball Mk VIIz had the annulus coloured black while the Ball Mk VII had the entire cap area coloured purple. By the end of 1963 over 1,120 sub-standard houses had been cleared and as many new Council houses built for letting whilst over 400 houses had been improved by grant aid. It was really pitiful, these lads had had a terrible time. The latter resulted in colliery workers houses springing up on the main Durham road. Although the factory was completed in 1816, it was not until the 1850s that it was in a position to produce large enough quantities of weapons to service the British military after mechanised machinery from the US was installed. Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF, Blackburn was part of the Ministry of Defence organisations producing components for the manufacture of armaments and arms related equipment from the late 1930 until after WWII. 1858 Page Bank Colliery disaster 10 miners killed. Demolition of High Street Railway Bridge. Town Hall, Post-War: many of the factories were closed, although some were reopened for the Korean war. 1853 Tudhoe Ironworks established. By 1935 the first 66 Council houses had been built, and a year later the first 106 North Eastern Housing Association houses were erected on the Racecourse Estate site. Royal Arsenal Factory No 1. 915.78 GBX Go to investor center Data is from the London Stock Exchange and may be delayed by 15 minutes or more. This firm was first formed by George Kynoch at Witton in 1862 as a manufacturer of percussion caps. R-P Remington Arms Co, Bridgeport, Conn., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Also manufactured Mk VI Dummy cartridges, SBR Sellier & Bellot, Riga, LATVIA. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in: G, GB or GBF Greenwood and Batley, Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM. This factory was part of the 1939 1945 war emergency expansion plan and was situated at Blackpole on the site of the earlier Government Cartridge Factory No 3 of 1916. This propellant, however, was not considered to be as stable as cordite in the tropics and cordite was, therefore, still retained as a propellant in military cartridges for the remainder of the cartridges service life. 1989 Byers Green Village Hall extended and refurbished. In 1926 when Nobel Industries became part of the new Imperial Chemical Industries, the old Kynoch factory at Witton was retained as the ammunition centre as part of the Metal Group within ICI. 1716 Subsequently the Royal Brass Foundry was established for the manufacture of brass ordnance. Known to have manufactured .303 cartridges in: GKB or K George Kynoch, Birmingham, UNITED KINGDOM. Gateshead refugees arrived in Spennymoor. Tudhoe and Spennymoor Local History Society founded. Johnson, who made a fortune out of it. Known to have produced 7.7 x 56R ball cartridges, which are interchangeable with the .303 cartridge. .303 cartridges known to have been produced with the Blackpole headstamped cases from 1941 to 1945 are: Ball, Cordite Mk 7 Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z Dummy, U Mk 5 Incendiary, B Mk 6Z and B Mk 7Z Tracer, G Mks 2, 3 and 4 This factory was part of the 1939- 45 war emergency expansion plans being situated near Crewe and is still in operation. 1855 Foundation stone laid at St Pauls Church. Population declines to 15,440.First Council houses erected on racecourse site. 1787 Purchase of the powdermill at Waltham Abbey which was named the Royal Gunpowder Factory. Her advance guards clashed with some of Douglas men near Ferryhill and chased them back to the bridge at Croxdale (Sunderland Bridge). 17. Tracer, armour piercing and incendiary cartridges were adopted by the British Government during 1915, explosive bullets having been approved for service in 1916. For any other comments, please Contact Us. Population 19,073. This company manufactured ammunition from an early stage, finally ceasing production in the late 1950s. Single lineRailway Bridge built over High Street. Royal Small Arms Factory Factory No 2. Known to have produced nitro-cellulose loaded Imperial Japanese Navy Year Type 92 Machine Gun ammunition which is interchangeable with the .303 cartridge in: ZV Zbrojovka Brno, Brno, CZECHOSLOVAKIA. This company was first formed in 1862 and manufactured percussion caps. Ammunition production ceased completely at Woolwich in 1957, the last known production of .303 ammunition there being Mk 7 Ball in 1957. DA Dominion Arsenal, Montreal, CANADA. 1916 Town Hall built at a cost of 18,000. 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