Gem From The Archive

Archivist Marcus Buffrey opens up a crucial collection of Second World War records at Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre

A munitions worker’s record from Herefordshire, 1938

The Rotherwas estate in Herefordshire was used as a munitions factory in both world wars, manufacturing crucial ammunition for the British war effort. As well as many other documents, Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre (HARC) has the surviving records of the factory’s workers during the world wars. Here, archivist Marcus Buffrey shares one of the records in the collection.

Can You Tell Me More About The Record?

The form is marked “Royal Ordnance Factories, Woolwich – Record of Service” but with “Royal Ordnance Factory Hereford” stamped above it. By 1939 much of the Royal Arsenal’s ordnance production had moved from Woolwich because of the danger of aerial bombardment. ROF Hereford subsequently became one of the country’s main munitions factories.

The record relates to William George Ruck. We can see that William entered employment at the factory as a labourer in 1938. By 1940 he had advanced to the level of ‘process worker III’. It also shows his rates of pay, with increases that seem to correspond with the changes to his grade of employment.

The record includes vital personal information such as his name, his date of birth confirmed by production of his birth certificate, and his current address (on the reverse). This information can be used to cross-check against other sources, such as the 1939 Register, and birth and marriage indexes. We have been able to establish that William was born in Blakemere, Herefordshire, in 1913, plus the names of his parents and the name of his wife. Exploring these links further we discovered that William’s father, Thomas Ruck, also worked at ROF Hereford and we have his record sheet too.

William’s record also shows that he served with the armed forces, and states his service number and that he was a member of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). He was “called up for services with HM Forces” in June 1940, but dates and payments continued to be entered on this form. Perhaps he was still involved with ROF Hereford through the RASC and the transportation of ammunition. There may be more information in his service record.

Why Did You Choose This Record?

Munitions workers played a crucial role in both world wars, but it can be difficult to find records relating to the people engaged in this dangerous work. Record-ofservice sheets such as this are a key resource and help to give an overview of the work carried out by employees, and reveal other information useful for family history.

Also, the sheet is of particular interest to us because it states that William was an employee at ROF Rotherwas – the worker’s factory isn’t always named.

How Did The Archive Acquire The Records Of Munitions Workers?

It was quite a detective story to track down these records because they’ve been stored at many locations over the years, including sites in Carmarthenshire, Oxfordshire and Greater Manchester. It was eventually established that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) did not hold a staff list for ROF Hereford (Rotherwas) or any other former ordnance factories. However, it did hold an incomplete collection of employee record sheets in a single collection, arranged alphabetically by surname, on a standard form.

The MOD was interested in transferring records over 100 years old to an appropriate institution, and because the collection did not meet selection criteria for permanent preservation in The National Archives, it was agreed to transfer all the records to Herefordshire Archive Service.

We already had a strong connection to research into munitions factories, because

we occupy part of the site of ROF Hereford (Rotherwas), and had managed the Rotherwas ROF Front Line Duty Project. This project, which received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, was developed to honour the individuals who worked at Hereford’s former munitions factory, by collecting names, stories, images and documents. So we were really delighted to become the new home of this national collection.

We now hold all of the surviving record-of-service sheets for ROF workers – roughly 221,000 individual records, in 140 boxes. We hope to increase accessibility to the collection through a project run by Rotherwas

Together, a local group of volunteers who aim to create an index for the records and a searchable online database. Of course, access to the personal information of workers who would now be under 100 years old is restricted, unless proof of death is provided.

What Other Records Do You Have?

The archive service preserves the records of the people and institutions of Herefordshire and the Diocese of Hereford. They reach back to the 12th century, and include wills, parish records, estate papers such as maps and title deeds, letters, diaries, photos, and registers of individuals from hospital patients to prison inmates.

‘We hold roughly 221,000 records of Royal Ordnance Factory workers’