75th ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN EUROPE - SPENCER MOULTON'S WAR EFFORT

8 May

Written By Alex Moulton Charitable Trust

As we mark the 75th anniversary of VE - Victory in Europe – day, we look back at the some of the contributions that Bradford on Avon, specifically the Spencer Moulton rubber company, made to the war effort With the country’s economy on a war footing, production was directed to military requirements and essential national needs. At the start of the War in 1939, Spencer Moulton employed around 750 staff; of these, 183 men and 14 women joined the Forces.

One immediate, and huge, requirement was for fuel hosing of various types. To meet this increased demand the company started to produce these special items almost continuously. Sea Fuelling Hose allowed ships to in action on the water for longer, protecting merchant vessels. A new necessity was for flexible black-out curtaining to permit the night-time running of trains. Aircraft production required many rubber parts - hoses, harnesses, insulation, as well as more specialist items such as fin damper pads and engine mounts.

Some of these seemingly simple- and often small - items could be dismissed as being insignificant, but all were vital for machines - ships, aeroplanes, tanks etc. - to function. Often Spencer Moulton were the only company able to supply them at the required quality and quantity.

The War brought urgency into production, both of existing parts and new ones. Spencer Moulton were able to turn new designs into moulded production parts within a week. Production at the Kingston Mills in Bradford on Avon rose to over five times that of normal peacetime workings, this despite the reduced staffing levels and the crippling shortage of raw materials. 1943 saw over a million items despatched per month by only eight packers, five of whom were over retirement age, working 65 hours per week.

At one peak period of the war Spencer Moulton were supplying to contracts for:

340,000 feet of petrol and water hosing

Nearly 2,000,000 hot oil joints for aircraft and other uses

1,700,000 feet of sleeving (at 70,000 feet per week)

1,850,000 sealing rings (53,000 per week)

650,000 fin damper pads (27,000 weekly)

With order requirements so much greater than normal, the supply of raw rubber was of great concern in the continuation of production. This would only get worse, as the development of the War in the east cut the supply chain from Spencer Moulton’s own rubber plantations. Chairman Jack Spencer reported in 1943: “As regards our rubber estates in Malaya, now in occupied territory, no information is available.” This loss forced the company to introduce hitherto little-used synthetic rubber. This changeover was ‘exceedingly troublesome’ but was achieved with no interruption to production, aided by the knowledge and skill of Spencer Moulton’s Dr. Sam Pickles who was regarded as the best rubber chemist in the country. Despite all of these challenges, the company were proud to state that “never once did the directorate and employees of Spencer Moulton fail the fighting Services.”

The workers at the Kingston Mill, providing those vital parts for the Armed Forces, could have seemed far from the front line as they produced these millions of items to keep the Military, and the country, functioning. However, Bradford on Avon was on the GHQ (General Headquarters) Line, the United Kingdom’s secondary defence line in the event of enemy forces establishing a foothold in the south of England. This line followed the river Avon through Bradford and a stockade was built to be placed on the Town Bridge at short notice. Fortunately this was never required and whilst Spencer Moulton’s products saw front line service, its factory never did. Some defence hardware remains in and around the town, notably the Pill Box at Barton Bridge.

As to Alex Moulton, the Second World War cut short his studies at Cambridge and he was working at the Bristol Aeroplane Company in Patchway. You can read more about his wartime service here.

At this time we remember and give heartfelt thanks to those who served for their Country in the Second World War, those in the Forces and all those whose work contributed to the War effort – in effect the vast majority of the population.

Much of this information is from the ‘Six Vital Years’ booklet published by Spencer Moulton to mark the contribution of their staff to the War effort. If you have any information to contribute to our knowledge of the Kingston Mills in WW2, please contact us.