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Can anyone relate to Chilwell Depot, it used to be massive as a COD but now of course, is much smaller with a lot of the land turned over to housing, but this must be the making of a good topic, I bet folk have lots of memories, come on, lets crack on! unionflag

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We were late with the train as well!

I never worked at Chilwell but did have two very different connections, as the first pic. shows 'work' was involved with a load of tanks for Ashchurch-Pembroke! The 'headboard' indicates to the signal

I used to live on the High Road in Chilwell , just across the road from the Charlton Arms pub. When I first moved in there, that was in 1960, before all the houses around Redland Crescent were built,

:Friends: I remember as a lad visiting my grandma's on Beeston road and watching the tanks going up and down university boulevard in the 50s, never knew at the time that they were coming and going from the chilwell dept.

Now that i live only a stones throw away it all makes sense now. As you say it's not what it use to be, there's still a little left, but most of it has houses or small business's on now..I'm not sure of this but did Central television open a new studio on their..?

Something i do remember well is the road bridge that spanned the site just about where the Corn Mill stands now. The speed limit over that bridge was 30 MPH, now the bridge has gone the speed limit has remained at 30MPH which is catching alot of drivers out because, as you approuch the new light system where the bridge once stood you are in a 40 MPH limit 200 yards before the lights you go down to the 30 MPH limit then 200 by the lights you are back into a 40 MPH limit. There has been so many accidents at those lights that the powers that be have installed a speed camera on one side to catch the unfortunate driver that didn't notice the speed limit change, stupid really because the road hasen't changed in width or conditions. Note that this camera is a speed camera not a red light camera.

IMO the powers to be have seen a nice little revenue earner here, wether it's stopped more accidents i don't now but i doubt it. IMO the problem is red light jumping not the speed one is doing...

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;) Nice one mick. I was expecting you to rip into me for that, but no you resisted or have you given up on me hey! !faint!

Regarding the fire mick that mybe before i moved from Hucknall to Chilwell. Do you know anything about it because i've looked on the internet and there's no mention of it ........I did read somewhere that there was a massive explosion during the second world war killing quit a few workers their....

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B) Well i moved up here in 1976. In the last few weeks i've been looking at bungalows around where you are, there's one on lock lane, looks nice. going to have a gander next week...you never know i might become a neighbour..

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There was a fire at Chilwell Depot, can't quite remember the year, but a complete warehouse shed went up in flames, set on fire by an irate storekeeper, who was later convicted and jailed for arson. Yes there was a massive explosion during the 1st World War when the Depot was used as a shell filling factory, I think it was 1916, production was resumed about month after, and the depot became known as the VC factory. Did you know that every other shell fired in the first world war was made at Chilwell. Eh I know, I work there!!!!

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My Late Dad worked at Chilwell Depot as a civilian driver during the latter part of WW2. He was unfit for military service, so learned to drive at the depot and worked as a driver for them. From there he worked as a bread delivery driver for Prices bakery and Co-op bakery, milk man for the Co-op and then went driving trucks for many years.

Parazone of Colwick being one company and Gurney's of Carlton being another one, ending up driving for Bartons Transport of Chilwell!!

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  • 3 months later...

Hiya,

Sorry for upping this topic again, ( i always seem to be doing that, ooooops!). Is there anything left at the chilwell ordnance depot? I think some of it has been turned into an industrial site, but just wondered if there are any of the old air raid shelters, mod buildings not in use anymore, and the like? If there is any of the old stuff, wouldn't mind a gander down to take some pics.

My Uncle used to be the Senior Storekeeper at Chilwell years ago. (he wasn't the one who started the fire tho!), but he died in 1985 so can't ask anything about it anymore. Would have been good if he was still here to take him back there and see if he could remember places on the depot. Oh well.

:) Sal

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That's right Sal still a little left, some large sheds i don't know about air raid shelters thou.

most of the depot now as been built on, if i go that way and it's not very often i shall take a few pics that's if i don't get arrested by the armed guards that patrol the place..

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4 large sheds and numerous smaller ones are still in existence, The HQ building is still there, now HQ 49 (E) Brigade, the building still has the 'NSFF' logo on the outside wall, there is still the training wing half way up the hill and the married quarters are still there and well occupied! Staffing levels are probably in the region of 2-300, so still a vibrant place to work, although about 75% of the original land has been turned over to housing and shops etc, - Tesco, Lidle, Matalan, Manor Pharmacy and all other types of business premises.

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my uncle who lives in beeston used to take me to watch the tanks being tested on the track on the other side of the road. is the bomb disposal unit still based there?

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Yes

They cover quite an area from Chilwell. I had some dealings with them over the years.

Mad as Fish! they are :crazy:

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Eh Mick - sounds as though you might work at the Depot - do I know you?

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Two questions about Chilwell:

I used to go out to a pub there - on a Sunday night. it was big, on a bend and very popular - this is in 73/74 I'm pretty sure it was on the Nottingham Road. can anyone offer a guess as to what it might have been?

The other thing is about Widdowson's scrap yard - run by Tony - Is it still there? In business? Could any of you give me a phone number for it?

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Two questions about Chilwell:

I used to go out to a pub there - on a Sunday night. it was big, on a bend and very popular - this is in 73/74 I'm pretty sure it was on the Nottingham Road. can anyone offer a guess as to what it might have been?

The other thing is about Widdowson's scrap yard - run by Tony - Is it still there? In business? Could any of you give me a phone number for it?

The Cadland is as you say beefy on a corner but not on Nottingham road Charlie, it’s situated on the High road Chilwell.

The Cadland was one of my locals as well as the Charlton arms, both of which are now good eating-places, I have now become very fond of them both simply because I now live out here in the wilderness they call Sawley where if I fancy a pub meal I have to catch a bus to, that’s if there is one that passes bye, or more important a bus back.

There is no Nottingham road Chilwell, there is a Nottingham road Trowel and a Nottingham road Stapleford but no Chilwell.

Bip.

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  • 4 months later...

When I left school in 1959 I went to work at COD Chilwell, as a clerk and it was indeed far bigger than it is today. I married a soldier from there and we moved into married quarters on camp. The Cadland and the Charlton were the only places most people from the camp went in those days, if we got thrown out of one we would go across the road to the other. My second son who was born there, joined the army and his last tour after 20 years was Chilwell and he and his family moved into quarters on the same road we had lived when he was born. He is out of the Army now but is what is known as Non Regular Permanent Staff there, he was in the Royal Signals and does all the radios for the area, down as far as Cambridge and up to Sheffield. Chilwell was a great place to work and to live, especially then. I can only recognise small parts of it now.

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  • 1 year later...

I otograph of a groupresearching my family and I have come across a group photograph entitled ''SHELL CHECKING STAFF B SHIFT N.S.F.F. CHELWELL SEPT 1916''.

My grandfather is in that photograph and I wonder if there is anyone who knows what a shell checkerf actually did. Perhaps there is someone else whose ancestor worked there during the WW1.

JBQS1933

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