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Anyone any idea of how I might go about getting a list of the munitions factories that existed in London during WW2? More specifically, the names of the owners thereof.

well the Woolwich Arsenal was one of the main ones. My dad worked from aged 14! it was actual the Royal Woolwich Arsenal and owned by the Minstry of Defence i think ie Goverment owned

The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.

google

"Royal Ordnance Factories"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ordnance_Factory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Ordnance_Factories

This is a list of Royal Ordnance Factories.

* Royal Arsenal.
* Royal Small Arms Factory.
* Royal Powder Mill.
* ROF Aycliffe; Filling Factory No. 8
* ROF Birtley.
* ROF Bishopton; Explosive ROF (3 factories).
* ROF Blackburn.
* ROF Blackpool; SAA Factory.
* ROF Brackla; Filling Factory No. 11.
* ROF Bridgend; Filling Factory No. 2.
* ROF Bridgwater; Explosive ROF. No. 37 (opened 1941 closed 2008)
* ROF Burghfield; Filling Factory No. 18 (later part of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)) .
* ROF Cardiff; Engineering ROF (later part of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)).
* ROF Chorley; Filling Factory No. 1.
* ROF Dalmuir; Engineering ROF.
* ROF Drigg; Explosive ROF.
* ROF Elstow; Filling Factory No. 16.
* ROF Fazakerley; Rifles Factory.
* ROF Featherstone; Filling Factory No. 17.
* ROF Glascoed; Filling Factory No. 3.
* ROF Hereford.
* ROF Hirwaun.
* ROF Irvine; Explosive ROF
* ROF Kirkby; Filling Factory No. 7.
* ROF Leeds; Engineering ROF.
* ROF Maltby; Rifles Factory.
* ROF Newport; Engineering ROF.
* ROF Nottingham; Engineering ROF.
* ROF Patricroft; M/C Shop Engineering ROF.
* ROF Pembrey; Explosive ROF.
* ROF Poole; Engineering ROF.
* ROF Queniborough; Filling Factory No. 10.
* ROF Radway Green; SAA Factory No. 13.
* ROF Ranskill; Explosive ROF.
* ROF Risley; Filling Factory No. 6.
* ROF Sellafield (later the nuclear establishment Sellafield).
* ROF Southall; SAA Filling Factory.
* ROF Summerfield; SAA Filling Factory.
* ROF Spennymoor; SAA Factory.
* ROF Steeton; SAA Factory.
* ROF Swynnerton; Filling Factory No. 5.
* ROF Theale; Engineering ROF.
* ROF Thorp Arch; Filling Factory No. 9.
* ROF Wrexham; Explosive ROF.

Thanks all. Great repsonse. I am told that the person I am looking for actually owned the factory though, which suggests it was not government owned....

It is not certain, but the factory may have been called "Frys" (at least that is where he met the woman who bore him a child, so it seems likely it was his own factory). I cannot find anything but chocolate factories of that name though...

Were there private munitions factories in London in WW2?

Other WW II explosive factories

A number of World War II munitions factories in the UK were built and owned by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). These ICI Nobel Explosives owned factories were not considered part of the Ministry of Supply's Royal Ordnance Factory organisation and they were not called ROFs. ICI also managed munitions factories constructed with Ministry of Supply funding. These were known as "Agency Factories" and three of them became part of Royal Ordnance upon the ROFs' privatisation.
[edit] Agency Factories

Some of the ROF Filling Factories built later during World War II were government-owned but managed, as Agency Factories, by private companies unconnected with the explosives industry. For example Joseph Lyons & Co ran ROF Elstow throughout the war.[2] Other Filling Factories were run by Imperial Tobacco Co Ltd, Courtaulds Ltd, The Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), Metal Closures Ltd and Lever Brothers.

Thanks - looks like a lot of research needs doing! :) I do know the owner in question was Irish...

I don't know, but I'ld think a lot of munitions manufacturing didn't take place in munitions factories. Take something simple, like a rifle bullet - there's really 3 bits, the brass cartridge holding the propellant, and the bullet itself. I would guess the actual bullet and the cartridge case were often made by sub-contractors, and the things assembled in munitions plants. All sorts of components must have been made off-site, like radio-proximity fuses, horns for sea mines, etc.

Does anyone have any information or memories of working at Royal Ordnance Factory in Chorley? In particular a lady called Doris Highton who worked in the shell filling station?
Much appreciated
Lisa