Baker Perkins Historical Society - Virtual Books

BAKER PERKINS AT WAR

5 - DURING WORLD WAR TWO

Baker Perkins Ltd Peterborough

• Preparations for War
• Draughtsmen posted to war duties
• Working Conditions in Wartime
• The men who went to War
• Prisoners of War
• Westwood Works "Under Attack".
• Women at War - 1
• Women at War - 2
• Armaments Production
• The Home Guard
• St John Ambulance and First Aid
• The Baker Perkins Fire Brigade
• War Work at Westwood Works
• Coping with Change
• Keeping the country fed
• Feeding the Troops
• Mobile Field Bakeries
• Static Field Bakeries

Baker Perkins, Peterborough Mobile Bread Making Plant and Oven

• Arrangement of typical mobile field bakery.
• Many mobile bakeries were ordered for American troops
• Not all mobile bakeries had wheels!
• Each Mobile bakery could feed a Division of 16 thousand men
• Details of typical Static Field Bakery
• Five complete Base Bakery Plants sent to France fell into enemy hands
• Confusing the Enemy - Baker Perkins and "Window".
• An Amazing Effort
• Testing guns at Westwood

A Westwood-built Mobile Field Bakery in action

Northern Manufacturing Company, Gainsborough

• Making Naval anti-aircraft gun predictors
• Building ammunition hoists for warships and submarine propeller shaft clutches.

Forgrove, Leeds (Acquired in 1943)

• A First-Aid and Decontamination and Cleansing Station built.
• Pictorial record of life at Forgrove, Leeds during WW2.
• Women at War
• Making gun sights for Peterborough's 25-pounders.
• More than 3,000 6-pounder antitank guns assembled at Leeds.
• The Polsten 20mm Machine gun
• Transwrap machines for anti-malarial tablets
• 1943 - Forgrove and Baker Perkins boards agree on amalgamation.
• Planning a full return to wrapping machinery production

Rose Brothers, Gainsborough (Acquired in 1961)

• Rose Brothers' strong relationship with the RAF.
• New Gun Mountings for the Hampden Bomber
• The Lancaster and an Introduction to Rod-End Bearings.
• Rose Brothers and The Dam Busters
• The Rose Turret
• Creation of Rose Bearings, Saxilby and a Navigational Instrument
• The STAAG Gun
• Rose's work for the Admiralty - 1937 to 1985.

Baker Perkins Inc, Saginaw

• WW2 brings a major threat
• Armaments Production At Saginaw
• Century Machine Company – Mobile Bakeries
• Visitors to Westwood from abroad
• Key Baker Perkins employees seconded to work for US Government.

Century Machine Company Mobile Bakery

Gordon Brothers / Baker Perkins Pty, Australia

• Diverted a major part of its production to war materials.

Other Constituent Companies

• Exploited the concept of ball and pebble mills
• Ball and pebble mills were important to the war effort
• Fulfilled ministry sub-contracts for the supply of tank parts.

William Douglas, Putney (Acquired in 1959)

• Cold Stores for the Ministry of Food
• Ice Plants for the War Office

Rownson Conveyors, Kings Cross, London (Acquired in 1960)

• Gravity Roller Conveyors for Ordnance Factories

William Jack & Sons, Glasgow (Acquired in 1961)

• Parts for Bailey Bridges, Rocket Firing Devices,, Helicopter parts

James Halley, West Bromwich (Acquired in 1961)

• Parts for Bofors and Sten guns, land and sea mines, tanks and torpedoes.

Bedewell Works, Hebburn on Tyne (Acquired in 1945)

• Manufacture of 500lb armour piercing bombs.

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