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Bsa Factory In Blitz

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Edit. This thread is about the BSA factory during the Blitz, specifically about the WW2 bombing in 1940. There are other BSA threads which may be of interest. Please see below.

BSA early years https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...s-early-years-to-late-1800s.48410/#post-21981

BSA 1900s - 1930s https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...gham-small-arms-1900s-1930s.3009/#post-236070

BSA 1940s onwards https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...am-small-arms-1940s-onwards.13894/#post-17374

BSA bikes https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/bsa-bikes-birmingham.8582/





RE the BSA my grandfather lived in bromsgrove street had a plumbers
shop there next door to the leese family or crocks as we called them worked the rag threw cups up in the air and rolled plates over there shoulders all sorts of tricks anyway grandad was was well in with the police he had been in explosives during world war one and helped out on several jobs also a grand master druid I used to go upstairs with him to the attic he had a lot of gunpowder up there and 12 bore guns pistols cleaning kits bullets all sorts and he used to show me how to make cartridges. When the BSA was bombed and they could not get them out of the shelter he was called in and asked about it as it was alongside the canal his idea was to blast the wall by the canal and the water would flood in and wash out the ones trapped. There would be some loss of life but a lot would get out but they would not let him do it and as we know they all died in the shelter often I often wonder how many would have survived if they had let him do it. sorry this so long just wanted to explain
 
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Historymaker, it would not have worked as the canal was to far away and they would have drowned but who can say ...?
But going back to the first post and that wonderful photo which started this thread
I have a photo of the lady in the front.... 3rd one from the left as well as the 4th & 5th one ...watch this space
 
Yes agreed we will never know but to add a bit more ?? Was this fate or??
my uncle was working with the same group that used that shelter and was off two nights sick and the night the bomb dropped was the second night
he should have been working with them he never got over that night.
RIP BOB
 
First of all what a brilliant forum, as you can see this is my first post so forgive me if it is a little long, i lived in Armoury Rd during the seventies with most of my family working at the BSA right back through the war, (my mom used to tell me that she was on ''days'' when it was bombed on the 19/20 Nov, when she arrived for work the next day they wouldn't let her through the gates) A story that she and my nan used to tell me was that a lot of workers were killed in the basement area and that they were unable to get them out (apparently their remains are still there) i was only 12 at the time so didnt pay much attention to this story, however when they were knocking the factory down i used to go over and have a nosey around (how i wish i had a camera back then) it's a little hard to explain but i could see no evidence of any sort of basement anywhere in the 'new' building. (the very large concrete BSA bit), over the years this story has never been forgotten, anyway about 6 yrs ago during my job i was passing the former factory site with a customer and we got talking about things , he told me the same story that my mon had told me all those years ago so i asked myself could it be true? can anyone help confirm either way or point me in the right direction. i have read that it took 6 weeks to get all the workers out, ( could the story be true but relate to another part of the factory ?)any help would be really helpful as i really feel that either way true or not this should never be forgotten.
as a footnote it took the demolition company 3 yrs to flatten the place. on the exact spot were the new building was bombed, (the far end of ''A'' block) they built a dole office,(what an insult to those people who died) it was only operational for a few years. it still stands but empty and unused,
i have a few pics that i took when i lived there , if anyone is interested i could put them on here.
once again a really good forum, cromwell i dont know where you have got your pics from but well done, you are keeping alive the memories of one of the most important pieces of history......thanks.
 
My dad used to work at the BSA,through the war years till 1959 when he died,I remember being told that a bomb hit the BSA in Golden Hillock road/armoury Road and the heavy machinery went through the first floor floor and on into the basement and crushed many men below and was then considered a grave,has anyone else heard this.I noticed going down the small heath bypass that a piece of building was still there All glass windows, was this part of the BSA,the Singer car facory looked very similar,on the cov road where ASDA is now but I can,t remember how far back it was before the Bypass,anyone else remember this
shelagh
 
In 1900 the BSA was making 2500 rifles per week.

In 1940 the BSA factory in Small Heath suffered a direct hit from a German bomb, 53 people, mostly night shift workers, were killed but the council has always declined to erect any sort of monument.
BSA manufactured half of all the armanants used during the Second World War.
 
Capt Black Some pics of the bombing which I sent in are at the Opposition History Forum under the heading Bsa Bombings . I got the pics from a book called The giants of Small Heath. if you can find the book ay your library I think you will find it of great interest Cheers Old brummie
 
thanks for that old brummy, i have read that book at the central libray. its a really good read, can you tell me what or who the opposition forum is?
thanks
 
Capt Black If you Google ........Birmingham History you will find the site /It is a similar site to this one. ...Thats all you need put to findit Chers Old Brummy
 
Old Brummy said:
Louis Dalby Hi Louis I meant to wite to you to see if you knew of this site but I see you allready know of it and of course watching . I write to the opposition site which has a BSA thread also I go as Old Brummie on this site and Oldbrowny on the other . ....Just depends how awake I am as to which alias I use . The flickR video woud not open but the pic of the rifle squad was very good Can you try the engine pic again ??????? On the opposition site some discusion is on about the location of the Air Raid shelter out the back on the waste ground inside the test track. You have a pic I sent you of te old engine and the crane that unloaded the coal for the foundry can be seen in the background Cheers OldBrummie
Click to expand...

Hi, Yes I remember talking about the shelter and how people did not like crossing the bridges, the canal was also at a higher level and a bomb in there would have flooded them !!.

Try clicking on the title bar and it should open where it says sign in. Rgds Lou.
 
Hi Shelagh.
Reading your message reminded me,my family and I visited the National Trust Back to Backs,this time last year.and we sat in on the "story time ghost tale",it was about the B.S.A after it was hit by a German bomb,the story went on saying that the bomb crater was cemented over after all the survivers that could be where recovered.
Later children on their way to school told of hearing people calling for help and crying.Try as hard as I can I could not find any information about this event,but it seems strange that the council wouldn't put up a memorial to victims,could it be a case of "better to forget" I hope not.
Bob
 
A friends father was Sergeant Joseph (Joe) Topham, a BSA Toolroom Foreman and a Sargeant in the BSA Platoon, Home Guard he was awarded the BEM for his actions in trying to save workers wounded in the bombing, 4 HG`s`s were given medals 1 GM, 3 BEM`s including Joe`s, A.F.Stevens GM, A.W.Goodwin BEM, A.R.E.Harris BEM, A.Slim BEM, Ada Deeming MBE, S.S.Ashburner Commended, E.Hoof Commended, Pte F.Knight HG, Commended, Pte G.Treen HG Commended, E. Withe Commended, building had wooden floors, on the top floors there was heavy machinery which crashed through the floors into the very deep cellar and that is where the dead and wounded were found and superhuman efforts were taken to get them, the building became unsafe and reluctantly it was filled with concrete because of possible threat to the health of other workers. I posted this on another thread. Len.
 
Does anyone have the exact date of this particular raid?

Is there a list of those poor souls who perished on that night?

My Grandfather worked at the BSA during this particular period.
 
Yes, of course, silly me should have read it properly.

thank you Neville...
 
A hero of the night of 19th/20th November 1940: Albert William Bailey, G.M. According to "Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids" by Michael Minton, nine other people were also honoured for their work on that occasion and a further two employees were recognised in 1946.

This image from a June 1941 national magazine.

Chris
 
Lyn,

From an old BSA worker thank you for posting that. Can you tell me where that plaque is these days?

Graham.
 
Graham

The plaque is now located in St. John's Church, St. John's Road, Sparkhill, near to Wake Green Road. It records the names of the 53 employees who were killed when the factory received a direct hit during the air raid of 19th November 1940.

Their names are also on the 'Tree of Life' Memorial which is in Edgbaston Street, near to St. Martin's Church in the Bull Ring, see:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2005/10/10/tree_of_life_unveiled_feature.shtml

In the far left hand side of St. Martin's Church, in the De Bermingham Chapel, is a 'Roll of Honour' and a copy of a painting depicting the BSA on the night of the raid. It is well worth a visit if ever in the Bull Ring. (I appreciate where you now live.) Also take a look at and read the poem the 'Tree of Life'.

I have list of the 53 names.

Junie.
 
Len

Thank you...I am aware of the Swanshurst/barra website.

Also interesting :

[ame="https://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aYTXePJtv2Y&feature=related"]YouTube - What was the Blitz?[/ame]

this also gives information about the BSA raid.

Cheers Junie
 
Very interesting video as my mom, May Smith of Newton Road Sparkhill, was one of the lucky ones that night.Rumour has it that some of the dead are still buried on site as it was deemed to dangerous to retrieve them can anyone donfirm this as true as otherwisre?
 
Edit. Unfortunately the images referred to are unavailable.

A montage of photos of the BSA Small Heath works showing the damage done in 1940
 
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Shelagh said:
My dad used to work at the BSA,through the war years till 1959 when he died,I remember being told that a bomb hit the BSA in Golden Hillock road/armoury Road and the heavy machinery went through the first floor floor and on into the basement and crushed many men below and was then considered a grave,has anyone else heard this.I noticed going down the small heath bypass that a piece of building was still there All glass windows, was this part of the BSA,the Singer car facory looked very similar,on the cov road where ASDA is now but I can,t remember how far back it was before the Bypass,anyone else remember this
shelagh
Click to expand...

Hi Shelagh, I lived in Ciryl Road, Small Heath and remember going with my dad to the BSA factory on the morning after the raid. You could still hear men calling but there was nothing anyone could do and it was weeks before the bodies were brought out. I also remember going to a school in the area that had been ste up as a centre for the families who had lost their homes. Mumhelped to make tea and sandwiches. We heard it was hit by a bomb shortly afterwards but I don't know if that was true. I used to go to the Holy Family School which was next to the Singer Factory. I remember going to the gates once and asking for some sewing machine needles! My mother owned a singer sewing machine and she had run out of needles. The guard on the gate was very nice to a seven year old and her friends!
We were machine gunned once, in a daylight raid and then our house was bombed. We moved to Weoley Castle after that.
Bernardette
 
Hi shelagh.i can remember my mom telling me that a bomb hit the bsa works trapping a lot of people under the rubble who couldnt be got out and it was sealed as a grave for the poor unfortunate who were entombed......
 
sandracoley, Go to page #26 in this thread for details of the bombing of the BSA, Armoury Rd. Len.
 
From THE BIRMINGHAM PRESS


8 November, 2010
On the night of the 19th November 1940 Birmingham suffered one of its worst air raids of the blitz when a German bomber dropped two bombs on the Armoury Road site of the Birmingham Small Arms factory at Small Heath.
Many night shift workers that night had stayed at their machines when the sirens sounded. When they did decide to vacate the factory floor the intensity of the raid made it impossible for them to reach the air raid shelters safely.
That night they chose to shelter in the basement of the reinforced concrete factory, only one worker would be pulled out alive after being trapped for 9 hours, the rest were crushed to death when the complete factory building collapsed on top of them after two direct hits.
Wartime reporting restrictions meant that the raid could not be reported by the media.
For the first time in 70 years there will be a wreath laid at Armoury Road at 2 pm on the 19th November by Jon Price the organiser of the BSA Memorial Appeal and webmaster of the Made in Birmingham website.
A small gathering of motorcyclists, some on BSA motorcycles, will proceed to the Birmingham Council House after the wreath laying to attend the Birmingham Air Raid 70th anniversary day organised by local school teacher Doug Smith.
The exhibition, in conjunction with the Birmingham Air Raids Association, is in the banqueting suite and will be open to the public from 10 – 4 pm, there is no admission charge.
Charles Cundall’s painting of the BSA disaster, owned and commissioned by the BSA and presented to BMAG when the factory closed in 1975, will be also on show.Two military vehicles will also be exhibited outside the council house beside the Frankfurt Christmas Market.
There will be also an evening ticket only event commencing at 7pm which will attended by former BSA electrician and 1948 Olympic Games medalist, Tommy Godwin. Tommy’s BSA racing bicycle will also be on show.
 
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