factories in bradford/openshaw making ships steel plates

[billysax]

It can only have been the maufacture of steel plates, I doubt a battleship could pass through the Ship Canal to be repaired in situ. I think it may have been the English Steel Corporation in Openshaw. None of the other s mentioned had the equipment or capacity to produce steel plates of this magnitude.

[billysax]

thanks guys
Ill put the names to uncle albert and try to jog his memory, I also thought about gorton tank but that was trains, on gorton lane there is a pub called the vulcan that puts iron and steel to mind and a long brick wall just past the monastry looks like a large works was there.
many thanks
margaret

The large works adjacent to Gorton Monastery was part of Crossley Motors who had another premises in the street opposite Crossley St. They made engines for buses there.

[Peter_uk_can]

hi mack
I got the story from my uncle al and we have settled at :

When Fred returned to England he worked in heavy engineering making steel plates for battleships. This was at Metro Vickers at Bessemer Street, off Ashton old road, Openshaw, Manchester. The company undertook the repair of Battle cruiser HMS Lion at its Trafford park premises and Fred was sent to work on the damaged ship, HMS Lion had been hit by a 12-inch shell salvo fired by the Lutzow at the battle of Jutland in 1916. Dozens of marines were killed. Fred said that the decks were awash with blood when it came to the dockyard.

if I can I like to write a story to go with the history and this one has given me plenty of grief trying to sort it out I have 3 uncles and each has a different version, I hope no-one knows better

The answer to this question may lie with the history of HMS Lion. She was severely damaged during two engagements, the last being at the Battle of Jutland.

Here is one link that describes some of her actions.

https://www.historyofwar.org/articles..._HMS_Lion.html

In this and some other articles I have read, there appears to have been a problem with the strength of her steel armour.

In 1916 she was repaired at Bill Quay on the River Tyne alongside her sister ship HMS Tiger.

Here is some more info about HMS Lion. Hit the Photo Gallery for some great photos of her.

https://www.maritimequest.com/warship..._lion_data.htm

After some more searching I found this account of the Jutland action and some of the movements of HMS Lion.

https://www.worldwar1.co.uk/grant.htm

There is no reference to her being in Manchester.

[Peter_uk_can]

HMS Lion suffered major damage to Q Turret during the Battle of Jutland.

The turret was removed for repairs and the hole in the deck plated over.

There was a company in Manchester, John Hetherington & Sons of Pollard Street, whose main busines had been textile machinery, however they produced and operated some large machines specially designed to cope with the huge weight and dimensions of naval guns.




This is a portable machine for facing the roller paths of gun turrets. The spur gear is 20 ft diameter, and the machine could face from 22 ft to 30 ft diameter, and could machine surfaces with slopes up to 1 in 8.

Perhaps the connection with Manchester. HMS Lion and the repairs to her Q turret are linked.

[billysax]

There is a fascinating book , "A History of Gorton and Openshaw" by Ernest France, ISBN 0 9515528 0 5, which has a section dealing with the various industries in the area, including Armstrong Whitworth, Beyer Peacock etc.
Well worth a look!

[keren]

I know I am a bit late for this thread, but somewhere around the greenside lane area in Openshaw, they used to have train tracks in the road, and a ship was sent across the old road on a train from the steel works to wherever...........We used to follow the train lines in the 70's as bored kids do on a hot summers day, picking the tar from the bubbles on the road as we went, wishing a ship would come while we were there, no idea when the ship went, but it was one of those stories you got told while following the lines. (in the days when old men and ladies would stop and chat with the kids, and tell you the local tales, and no-body would be upset about it)

Probably no help at all, but reading this reminded me of the train tracks and the story.