War work in Whitchurch

Though there were no Munitions factories in Whitchurch or its surrounding area, many civilians made vital contributions to the war effort through their jobs.

The 1918 “Directory of Manufacturers in Engineering and Allied Trades” lists two Whitchurch companies engaged in war work.

 

Wyatt Bros. of Wayland Road, Whitchurch were employing 10 men and 18 women. Their war work was manufacturing Stokes’ shell parts and 60-pdr fuze sockets, in addition to their normal production of general engineering and water supply works.

   Stokes' mortar bomb

60-pdr fuze

W.H. Smith & Co were listed as employing 60 men but no women. War work included castings, raw and sheet iron work, agricultural implements, water supply work, stables & factories. They also continued manufacturing Dutch barns, iron railings & fencing, water wheels, hydraulic rams etc as they had done pre-war.

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