Reg Little on the tale of a secret Second World War weapons site in woods near Abingdon

Thirty years ago amateur historian Nigel Dawe visited a friend who was moving into a new workshop at Tubney Woods near Abingdon. It was a simple trip that was to take him on a journey deep into the past.

His interest had first been stirred by a strange-looking structure — a dark cylindrical dome — on the roof of one of the buildings.

He quickly learnt that it was a fire-watcher’s shelter, used to watch out for bombing raids by the Germans.

For this had been a site that needed protecting: the wood was home to a secret factory, one of only two in Britain producing Bofors gun barrels.

The Bofors Gun, a powerful, highly dependable anti-aircraft weapon was recognised as important to the war effort and the destruction of enemy aircraft.

It would repeatedly prove its worth, not least in the invasion of Normandy.

On D-Day, and soon after, hundreds of Bofors Guns were landed in Normandy, from the landing craft that arrived on the beaches, and many more came two at a time in gliders.

The guns were also used on US Navy ships in the Pacific to help combat the Japanese kamikaze aircraft attacks.

The wood in the Oxfordshire countryside had not been the first location chosen for this specialist armaments factory.

The factory had originally operated at Coventry but after the site was bombed and hit directly four times, an alternative and more remote location was sought.

The density of pine trees to shield the factory from view, meant this 15-acre wood, near Oxford, was viewed as the ideal choice.

Mr Dawe, who lives in Abingdon, said: “When I saw the fire-watcher’s shelter on the roof of what turned out to be No 2 shop, I knew I had to find out more.

“So many people were ill-informed about what had happened there — they said aircraft were made there — but it was gun barrels for the 40mm anti-aircraft Bofors Gun, a superb gun — and it is still used today.”

The former car rental company manager, 67, said: “I had been interested in military history for years. I was fascinated by details and home front history.

“When I found out about the factory in Tubney Woods I wanted to know more.”

The carefully concealed buildings would remain in place until 1992, the year Mr Dawe published the story of the Hush-Hush factory and Tubney’s important role in the war.

The book Tubney Wood At War: The Hush-Hush Factory has just been republished by Longworth & District History Society, with this updated edition including additional information from people who came forward with new information in the intervening years.

It reveals a great Oxford figure, the car manufacturer Lord Nuffield, had been central to the story.

In 1937, as an honorary colonel in the Royal Artillery, Lord Nuffield learnt that Britain was ill-prepared for aerial attack. He arranged for his deputy to go to Sweden and negotiate an agreement with the Bofors armaments firm.

“The Chamberlain government was not interested at first,” Mr Dawe explained. “But when the gun was demonstrated to the War Office, the authorities were also impressed and placed an order for five a week to be made.”

The first Coventry-built Bofors gun was delivered to the military two months before the outbreak of war, first seeing action in Norway.

They would be also converted to combat static guns for fitting to merchant ships to help combat the U-boat menace, also being used in Malta and Gibraltar.

The factory in Coventry was hit in November 1940 when that city was devastated by bombing. Its replacement in Tubney Woods was completed swiftly by the local firm Benfield and Loxley.

Oxford Mail:
Author Nigel Dawe with a copy of his book

“The brick buildings themselves were built to a blast proof construction with concave roofs to hold water and conifers placed in large pots on the roofs for camouflage.”

No air raid shelters were considered necessary on the site, with the blast proof buildings deemed enough protection. The fire-watcher’s shelter built on the roof also served as a look out post.

About 200 gun barrels a week were shipped out of Tubney, with most of the male employees also members of the Home Guard, and required to turn out for regular parades, regardless of shift, to be ready to defend the factory.

Mr Dawe said: “The land in the wood was owned by Magdalen College and Lord Nuffield arranged for the factory to be built. Most of the workers were women, working shifts night and day and cycling to the factory from Witney and all over.

“It was a tremendous part of Oxfordshire’s war effort and perhaps it has been a little bit overlooked, which is why I wrote the book. The factory was supposed to be secret and that is why it was known as the Hush-Hush Factory.”

After the war the site was taken over by the Ministry of Supply to store surgical items, from face masks and gowns to complete surgical theatres. Later Pressed Steel moved in, with the buildings used for making mock-up car bodies.

Oxfam used the buildings for the storage of blankets and clothes, but following its sale by Magdalen College, the site fell derelict.

In 1987 Mr Dawe wrote to the Department of the Environment in an unsuccessful attempt to get the site listed because of its historical past. With demolition beckoning, and the site having been occupied by new age travellers, he was at least able to have the consol shelter removed from its lofty perch 50 years on.

The site was eventually to be home to the new premises of Oxford Instruments plc, the company that began life in a shed and grew into a leading manufacturer of super conducting magnets.

Having failed to save the secret Hush-Hush factory, its new use at least allowed Mr Dawe to reveal some satisfaction.

“It is gratifying to know that the former gun barrel factory is still associated with precision engineering — albeit to a different scale and end use,” he said.