ROF Rotherwas

One of the now derelict distribution buildings. Note the overhead rails for carrying munitions.

By the turn of the 20th century, the Lubienski-Bodenham family - descended from Mary Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VII - owned the Rotherwas estate, which combined of 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) on the south side of the River Wye. After the death of his wife in 1908, following the death of Count Louis Pomian Lubienski-Bodenham JP DL in 1909 (his great-grand daughter is actress Rula Lenska), having already demolished their country house, sold-off the estate in 1912. At the resultant auction, Herefordshire County Council bought 185 acres (75 ha) that was overlooked by Dinedor Hill and was bordered by the Wye meadows.[1][2][3]

At the outbreak of World War I, the Ministry of Munitions were looking to create a number of munitions production facilities quickly and cheaply. A site of 100 hectares (250 acres) was acquired by the Ministry on 15 June 1916, located south of Hereford on the junction of the Welsh Marches Line and the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway. Laid out to a standard design, the site encompassed:[1][2]

• 27 miles (43 km) standard gauge railway
• 3 miles (4.8 km) of roads
• 9 miles (14 km) of guard fence
• 10 miles (16 km) of footpaths and sentry paths
• 370 buildings varying in floor area. Like a typical munitions facility, the buildings were widely spaced on safety reasons, to avoid complete destruction of the facility in case of an explosion
• A rail connected outpost was established at Credenhill as a munitions store. During WW2 this land was again requisitioned for defence and became RAF Hereford, once the home of the Special Air Service.

All components were produced elsewhere, with the facility responsible for final production: inserting explosive into shells, and fitting detonators. Shell filling began on 11 November 1916, with both Lyddite and Amatol explosives being used in production. From June 1918, alongside the main plant at Banbury and supporting site at Chittenden; all three were supplied with dichloroethyl sulphide by the National Smelting Company at Avonmouth Docks, to produce mustard gas shells.[4][5] By the end of WW1, the average output of shells from the facility was 70,000 per week.[1][2]

At peak of 6,000 employees; by October 1918, there were 5,943 employees, 3,977 of which were women.[3] Workers were transported in from billets in Hereford, Leominster and Ross on Wye. Dedicated trains were run from Hereford Barrs Court railway station to the specially built factory station, with free tickets supplied to all employees.[1][2]

Workers at Rotherwas during WW1

The only ROF of 25 sites retained between the wars, it was put into care and maintenance from 1920.[3] From 1926 onwards it resumed filling gas shells, staffed by about 400 men. By the late 1930s it was used by the Royal Navy for filling sea mines.[1][2]

During World War II, the facility was used to produce shells, and bombs for the Royal Air Force. The site employed over 8,000 staff, mainly women.[2] The site suffered three major incidents:[1]

• 12 September 1941: a milling machine overheated, creating explosions with killed three people
• 27 July 1942: a single Nazi Luftwaffe bomber dropped 2 x 250 kg bombs, killing 22 people
• 30 May 1944: a 2,000 pounds (910 kg) bomb during filling operations exploded, setting off a chain reaction. The filling house, located in the south east of the complex, was destroyed, whilst the surrounding buildings were damaged to various extents. The Ministry redeveloped the affected area, and medals were awarded for bravery: five George Medal, one Order of the British Empire, one Member of the Order of the British Empire; nine British Empire Medals, and 34 other commendations.[1]

Former ROF Rotherwas distribution buildings from World War II, now used for commercial purposes just north of Netherwood Road. August 2009

On May 30, 1944, a 2000 pound naval bomb being prepared at Rotherwas was seen smoking. 3 workers, JW Little, FJ Tyler and A Morris started dousing the bomb with water. Six members of the factory fire brigade cooled the bomb down and 800 fellow workers were evacuated from the southern section of the factory. The bomb split open and exploded and Mr Morris was killed. Assistant Fire Officer FA Lewis and Leading Fireman WJ Davies were thrown 30 foot out of the building.  A second explosion was more powerful and the building collapsed on the firefighters, killing firefighter Vincent Carey. A third worker, trained in first aid, was helping colleagues and was also killed. The Hereford fire brigade and British, Canadian and American servicemen from the Herefordshire bases helped to bring the fire under control. In total, 31 bombs and mines exploded.[6]

The explosions damaged homes and businesses across the city. 900 tons of live ammunition lay under the rubble and it took a month for a specialist team to make the site safe. WL Fitzmaurice defused 1500 pounds of explosives on his own to protect his colleagues whilst being continuously soaked by hosepipe.

King George V awarded 5 George Medals, 9 British Empire Medals, an OBE and an MBE to the workers for their bravery.

Hereford Times January 13th 1945 Page 7

Miss Mona Cawthorne was in the Mechanised Transport Corps at ROF Rotherwas. She was presented with a letter of commendation from the Director General CS Robinson for her bravery in transporting the injured to hospital despite being injured herself.[2]

In 2003, volunteers from the Hereford Waterworks Museum found a Blackstone 5-cylinder diesel engine, multi belt drive system and a Mather & Platt two stage centrifugal pump.at Rotherwas. The fire engine has been fully restored and is part of a special exhibition in the Rotherwas Building at the Waterworks Museum.

Hereford Waterworks Museum Rotherwas Building

Ruskin Spear recorded the explosion in a painting called A Royal Ordnance Factory Explosion, Hereford. The damage to the site and demolished buildings can be seen. The painting is now part of the Imperial War Museum collection.

With vastly reduced production after World War II, the city and county council lobbied for various business to relocate to the site. As the ROF was reduced in scale, parts of the site were redeveloped with various commercial industrial facilities.[1][2]

The ROF closed in 1967. In 1975 Herefordshire County Council bought 93 hectares (230 acres) for redevelopment as an industrial estate. A number of World War I buildings survive, as does a group of World War II Romney huts to the north-east, now used as industrial starter units.[1][2]

In September 2020, the newly refurbished Shell Store building opened at Rotherwas. A 7.3 million pound project built a new shell around the existing steel frame from 1916. It has room for up to 25 businesses, conference space and a cafe. Part of the original floor showing the imprints made by shells can be seen. Hereford Times Article