Mustard Gas factory

[Gordon WR]

The latest trip saw me at The Valley Works Rhydymwyn last week for a wander round.
Situated in the Alyn valley just outside Mold this area has been locked down since 1939 when work started to build a plant to manufacture mustard gas. The gas was
manufactured,loaded into munitions then charged with explosives and fused here.Both types of gas, Runcol and Pyro were produced here.
At its peak a total of 2,200 people worked here all sworn to secrecy under the official secrets act. So effective that the Germans never found out about the plant
In 1941 a building was used for the Tube Alloys atomic programme,with one of the scientists being Klaus Fuchs. In 1950 he was sentenced to 14yrs in prison for espionage after leaking secrets to the Russians.

The valley site was divided into separate areas with the manufacture and filling area kept apart from the charging and fusing area. In the charging area all the buildings had flat roofs that were designed to blow off in the event of an explosion, entry here being strictly controlled to maintain a spark free and safe compound.


The Pyro production area

Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21


The Runcol production area that is still locked down


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Inside the charging and fusing compound showing the camouflage paint still in evidence on the flat roofed buildings


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

1940s calculations and graffiti


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

This one only dates back to 1957 !!


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

The railway siding came in here, this being the platform where the munitions were sent onwards by train.


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Inside the office area, and directions to the canteen


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Finally a 1940s comic strip !!


Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

Shot with FinePix S5800 S800 at 2009-03-21

[Emjay]

fascinating stuff Gordon, especially liked the cartoons at the end. They really give a feeling of the time and age.

[Coxy]

Absolutely brilliant.

Nice pics and a nice insight into the place.

[Isimmo]

The history of the UK is pretty enthralling sometimes... Love it.

[86audicoupe]

Thanks for the photos and info Gorden, fascinating. History is made even better when you can get your own photographic evidence 60-70 years later! Would love to visit that place just to imagine what it used to be like and study the buildings. Graffiti/equations are excellent and so are the cartoons!

The place where I work (now a digital printers), used to be the old radio station back in the 30s and 40s and used to communicate with ships etc long distance all over the place. Someone wrote a small booklet on the history with photos etc which is very interesting. Not many features are left, but the building is still old fashioned looking - inside and out.