Hello,
I’m doing a research job on the Royal Enfield motorcycles that were built during WW2. Since the early 1930’s Royal Enfield had always used Albion gearboxes. These gearboxes were produced by the Albion Engineering Company, Tower Works, Upper Highgate Street 48-56 in Birmingham.
But in 1942 Enfield introduced a new Army model, the prototype of this model having a Burman gearbox. The early production models still used an Albion gearbox, but very soon Enfield also made a contract with Burman equipped bikes.
It is currently unclear why Enfield suddenly opted for the Burman gearboxes. The rumour goes that the Albion factory had been bombed during the Blitz, so Albion couldn’t produce any gearboxes anymore. I have my doubts about this theory, and I’m trying to find out if this could be true…
The “Demand Date” for the contract for which Enfield built the Burman equipped prototype was July 3rd 1941. Question is: was the Albion Engineering Company bombed shortly before this date?
I have studied the Birmingham Bomb Census map that is available on the Internet (https://drlqq8xn694xu.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20093826/IMG_7180.jpg) . I have made an overlay in Google Earth, but have come to the conclusion that due to redevelopment work in that area, Upper Highgate Street has been “moved a few yards”, see the red Google Earth symbol in the images below. This red symbol shows the approximate current position of Upper Highgate Street 48 - 56, but I’m not sure if the current house numbering corresponds with the wartime house numbering… You will also notice that the red symbol doesn’t match with the position of Upper Highgate Street in the old maps and aerial photograph.
This is the situation “today”:
Thanks to Google Earth, we also have an aerial photograph that was taken in 1945:
This is a fragment of a 1939 map, used as an overlay on Google Earth:
And this is a fragment of the Birmingham Bomb Census map as an overlay on Google Earth:
We can see that incendiary bombs (red dots) fell on these places:
- on the corner of Upper Highgate Street and Highgate Street,
- on the corner of Emily Street and Upper Highgate Street,
- opposite Emily Street,
- two incendiary bombs fell at the North East end of Upper Highgate Street.
One black X (an unexploded bomb) fell on the corner of Angelina Street and Upper Highgate Street.
The Albion factory was at 48 – 56 Upper Highgate Street. But I have no idea where these numbers are situated… Did the numbering start at the South West end or at the North East end? Odd numbers on the left and even numbers on the right or vice versa? How many houses were there in this street?
I did find something on this forum that may give us a clue:
“First hand info.
run downstairs to ask hubbie.
Hubbie lived at 37 upperhighgate street.
In the entry next to his back garden was Millars. his house and then the girls school plus entrance then continuation of houses down the street.
The Albion was demolished many years later.
The opposite corner got bombed.
He said that as he was young it was called a
landmine ??? it cleared the whole area on the opposite side all arond the cromwell passage area to the corner.
He said some of it may have got damaged but not that much, it continued production for many years.
His family lived at no. 17 upperhighagate street before he was born (1936)”
When I compare this story with the 1945 dated aerial photograph, I think we can come to some conclusions. Hubbie lived at number 37, same side as the girls’ school. So the Albion factory must have been on the other side of the street (even numbers). Halfway Upper Highgate Street, at the side of the odd numbers, I can see an area that looks as if it has been bombed. Cromwell passage is nearby. Does this mean that the Albion factory was at the area that I highlighted in green? In that case, according to the Bomb Census Map, it may have been hit by the unexploded bomb (on the corner of Angelina Street and Upper Highgate Street) and an incendiary bomb (on the corner of Emily Street and Upper Highgate Street) mentioned above...
If anybody here would have information leading to the exact location of the Albion factory, this would really make my day! Any information that could confirm the bombing of this factory would also be greatly appreciated! Does the Bomb Census Map that I used as an overlay contain all the bombs that fell on Birmingham? It certainly doesn’t contain the bomb location that was described by Hubbie, and that I may have found on the aerial photograph (outlined in blue). Some maps only show the bombs that fell during a specific period (e.g. this one that unfortunately doesn’t show the Upper Highgate area, in which only the bombs that fell from 19/20 November 1940 until 11/12 December 1940 are listed… https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/5333867878)
Thanks for your help!
Regards,
Jan V.
Bruges,
Belgium
I’m doing a research job on the Royal Enfield motorcycles that were built during WW2. Since the early 1930’s Royal Enfield had always used Albion gearboxes. These gearboxes were produced by the Albion Engineering Company, Tower Works, Upper Highgate Street 48-56 in Birmingham.
But in 1942 Enfield introduced a new Army model, the prototype of this model having a Burman gearbox. The early production models still used an Albion gearbox, but very soon Enfield also made a contract with Burman equipped bikes.
It is currently unclear why Enfield suddenly opted for the Burman gearboxes. The rumour goes that the Albion factory had been bombed during the Blitz, so Albion couldn’t produce any gearboxes anymore. I have my doubts about this theory, and I’m trying to find out if this could be true…
The “Demand Date” for the contract for which Enfield built the Burman equipped prototype was July 3rd 1941. Question is: was the Albion Engineering Company bombed shortly before this date?
I have studied the Birmingham Bomb Census map that is available on the Internet (https://drlqq8xn694xu.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20093826/IMG_7180.jpg) . I have made an overlay in Google Earth, but have come to the conclusion that due to redevelopment work in that area, Upper Highgate Street has been “moved a few yards”, see the red Google Earth symbol in the images below. This red symbol shows the approximate current position of Upper Highgate Street 48 - 56, but I’m not sure if the current house numbering corresponds with the wartime house numbering… You will also notice that the red symbol doesn’t match with the position of Upper Highgate Street in the old maps and aerial photograph.
This is the situation “today”:
Thanks to Google Earth, we also have an aerial photograph that was taken in 1945:
This is a fragment of a 1939 map, used as an overlay on Google Earth:
And this is a fragment of the Birmingham Bomb Census map as an overlay on Google Earth:
We can see that incendiary bombs (red dots) fell on these places:
- on the corner of Upper Highgate Street and Highgate Street,
- on the corner of Emily Street and Upper Highgate Street,
- opposite Emily Street,
- two incendiary bombs fell at the North East end of Upper Highgate Street.
One black X (an unexploded bomb) fell on the corner of Angelina Street and Upper Highgate Street.
The Albion factory was at 48 – 56 Upper Highgate Street. But I have no idea where these numbers are situated… Did the numbering start at the South West end or at the North East end? Odd numbers on the left and even numbers on the right or vice versa? How many houses were there in this street?
I did find something on this forum that may give us a clue:
“First hand info.
run downstairs to ask hubbie.
Hubbie lived at 37 upperhighgate street.
In the entry next to his back garden was Millars. his house and then the girls school plus entrance then continuation of houses down the street.
The Albion was demolished many years later.
The opposite corner got bombed.
He said that as he was young it was called a
landmine ??? it cleared the whole area on the opposite side all arond the cromwell passage area to the corner.
He said some of it may have got damaged but not that much, it continued production for many years.
His family lived at no. 17 upperhighagate street before he was born (1936)”
When I compare this story with the 1945 dated aerial photograph, I think we can come to some conclusions. Hubbie lived at number 37, same side as the girls’ school. So the Albion factory must have been on the other side of the street (even numbers). Halfway Upper Highgate Street, at the side of the odd numbers, I can see an area that looks as if it has been bombed. Cromwell passage is nearby. Does this mean that the Albion factory was at the area that I highlighted in green? In that case, according to the Bomb Census Map, it may have been hit by the unexploded bomb (on the corner of Angelina Street and Upper Highgate Street) and an incendiary bomb (on the corner of Emily Street and Upper Highgate Street) mentioned above...
If anybody here would have information leading to the exact location of the Albion factory, this would really make my day! Any information that could confirm the bombing of this factory would also be greatly appreciated! Does the Bomb Census Map that I used as an overlay contain all the bombs that fell on Birmingham? It certainly doesn’t contain the bomb location that was described by Hubbie, and that I may have found on the aerial photograph (outlined in blue). Some maps only show the bombs that fell during a specific period (e.g. this one that unfortunately doesn’t show the Upper Highgate area, in which only the bombs that fell from 19/20 November 1940 until 11/12 December 1940 are listed… https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/5333867878)
Thanks for your help!
Regards,
Jan V.
Bruges,
Belgium
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