This news paper photo is supposed to show the royal visit to the BSA works in 1940 (April?),but in the back ground is what looks like a shop, was there a shop in Armoury Rd,also looking at an aerial photo the houses seem to be on the wrong side of the road.
Now whats strange is this photo below looks like the same place with the ramp in the back ground,also the small structure with the louvres is also there,could these motor-cycles be being wheeled out of the new building (built during ww1).
PS got a few weeks off now (furlough) so hope do some research and learning history this is my 1st quest.
Steve's pictures can only have been taken here in my opinion...
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Yes Jan it looks like you pin pointed where the photos with the ramp in the back ground were taken,there was a royal visit by the king in 1915 at the same location,before the the new building was erected,but by the time of the royal visit in 1940 the steel gates and fence had gone,the M20 was assembled in the new building ground floor nearest to Armoury Rd opposite the terraced houses and wheeled out down the ramp at the end of the building.
Above the kings visit in 1915.
Below ground plan of new building.
Below a model of the damage to the new building after the air raid on 19th Nov 1940,the M20 assembly line was not damaged but the two other blocks of the building were hit.
Below photo taken the day of the 1940 royal visit on the Thursday 18th April 1940,part of the new building with camouflage paint.
Below painting of the new building during the air raid,the M20 assembly building is on the far right,the small structure out side the assembly line building is probably the one with the louvres on the first photos near the ramp.
Below an image of the terraced houses opposite the M20 assembly line building,plus a plan of the terraces the red shaded one was The Firs,the others were The Limes,The Poplars and The Chestnuts.
Below two photos taken from on top of the new building in April 1940 showing Armoury Rd,also with camouflage on the building on the left.
Below the assembly line on the ground floor new building,the concrete pillars that support the building can be seen as on the 1916 ground floor plan from 1916.
Great pictures...Here's one taken after the hostilities showing the building lit up with what, at the time, was the largest neon signs in the country....
I've got a brick in my workshop made by a Birmingham brick company that I picked up one of the times I visited the site after the factory closed...Demolition had started on that occasion and the brick came from the competition shop...A works brick in every sense!!...:laughing: Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Below a model of the damage to the new building after the air raid on 19th Nov 1940,the M20 assembly line was not damaged but the two other blocks of the building were hit.
Maybe the M20 assembly line wasn't damaged after the November 19th air raid, but it did have its effect on the production of the M20. When I look in the ledgers, the production was going strong until November 19th 1940 (approximately WM20.30000). Some bikes were despatched the days after the raid, but then we have a gap until the end of December! It looks as if the production of the WM20 was halted for a month due to this air raid!
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