Greavswasthegreatest
Vital Football Legend
Some may know this .....
Well near where I grew up in forest Gate and then South Woodford , under Redbridge Station on the Central line, a secret aircraft components factory was completed deep underground in what were unfinished tunnels for the Central Line extension at that time. The factory was completed in March 1942,
The factory was operated by the electronics manufacturer, Plessey and after their Ilford factory was bombed in late 1940, they persuaded the Air Ministry and London Transport to let them use the unfinished tunnels between Leytonstone and Gants Hill as a wartime factory. The conversion of the tunnels into a factory was completed in March 1942 at a cost of £500,000, giving Plessey 300,000 sq.ft. of factory space.
The sort of things being assembled in the factory included wiring sets for Halifax and Lancaster bombers,wireless equipment, field telephones, and Enigma Code-breaking “Bombes” for Bletchley Park. Up to 4,000 people – mainly women – worked in the tunnels for the four years that it was in use.
Well near where I grew up in forest Gate and then South Woodford , under Redbridge Station on the Central line, a secret aircraft components factory was completed deep underground in what were unfinished tunnels for the Central Line extension at that time. The factory was completed in March 1942,
The factory was operated by the electronics manufacturer, Plessey and after their Ilford factory was bombed in late 1940, they persuaded the Air Ministry and London Transport to let them use the unfinished tunnels between Leytonstone and Gants Hill as a wartime factory. The conversion of the tunnels into a factory was completed in March 1942 at a cost of £500,000, giving Plessey 300,000 sq.ft. of factory space.
The sort of things being assembled in the factory included wiring sets for Halifax and Lancaster bombers,wireless equipment, field telephones, and Enigma Code-breaking “Bombes” for Bletchley Park. Up to 4,000 people – mainly women – worked in the tunnels for the four years that it was in use.