ROF Kirkby facts for kids

ROF Kirkby was a very important factory during World War II. It was known as Filling Factory No. 7. This factory made and filled munitions, which are things like bombs and bullets. It was located in a quiet, countryside area called Kirkby, near Liverpool, in Merseyside. Being in the countryside helped keep people safe. If there was an accidental explosion, it would cause less damage. The factory made these important supplies from September 1940 until March 1946.

How ROF Kirkby Was Built

Planning for the ROF Kirkby factory started at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Sir Alex Gibson helped design it, and Holloway Brothers built it. When the factory was finished, it was huge!

• It had over 1,000 buildings.
• There were 18 miles (29 km) of roads.
• It had 23 miles (37 km) of railway lines and its own train station.
• The factory cost about £8.5 million at the time. This would be like £1.8 billion today!

The buildings were spread far apart. Some even had earth piled up around them. This was done to make sure that if one building exploded, the damage would not spread to other parts of the factory.

Working at the Factory

In July 1940, a man named Lawrence Gale from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, became the factory's boss. He brought 9 staff members with him. When the first bombs were made in September 1940, only about 50 to 100 people worked there.

The factory grew very quickly:

• By summer 1941, about 10,000 people worked there.
• At its busiest, around 23,000 people worked at ROF Kirkby.
• Most of these workers were women.

The factory even had its own medical rooms. This was to help so many workers. When the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich was bombed, it had to close. Many workers and materials were moved to ROF Kirkby. To house these new workers, 200 houses were built nearby. A YWCA hostel was also built for 1,000 women.

The factory worked all the time, day and night. It used a three-shift system. This meant that as one group of workers finished their shift, another group arrived to start. The transport system would drop off new workers and take home the ones who had finished.

The Factory Closes

ROF Kirkby closed down in March 1946. It was only meant to operate for the duration of the war. This factory made about 10% of all the ammunition used by Britain in World War II.

After the war, the land was used by Liverpool Corporation. It became an industrial estate. This helped Kirkby grow a lot. In 1951, Kirkby had just over 3,000 people. By 1961, it had more than 52,000 people!

Accidents at ROF Kirkby

There were two explosions at the Kirkby ROF.

• The first happened in February 1944. Two people sadly died.
• The second explosion was on September 15, 1944. This was a bigger accident. 14 people were killed and 11 were injured.

After the second accident, it took three months to clear 4,000 bombs. These bombs were buried in the rubble. The King gave 37 awards for bravery and good conduct to people who helped. These awards included the George Cross and George Medal. Arthur Bywater received both for his brave actions during both explosions.