Royal Enfield Motorcycles
Westwood and Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
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In June 1941, during the Second World War, part of the Royal Enfield Company moved from Redditch in Worcestershire to old underground stone workings at Westwood Quarry. In the safety of the quarry the firm carried out the manufacture of Type 3 predictor sights for anti-aircraft guns and control equipment for Bofors guns.
At the end of the war the company made motorcycles, initially from stocks of spare parts. The 250cc Crusader, Meteor and Meteor Minor models were made at Greenland Mills, Bradford until 1963; the Interceptor was made at the former Wilkins brewery in Newtown, Bradford. The Constellation was made at Westwood until 1970.
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The Royal Enfield hostel, seen on the cover of the staff magazine, was erected to house people who had been brought in to work at the factory during WorldWar 2. It contained a tea bar and restaurant and frequent entertainments were held there. It and brick-built housing- the “Red Bungalows” -were demolished by Wiltshire County Council for building new houses.
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The magazine includes a map of the surrounding area, including various “beauty spots”, all of which are public houses! They are marked by a clue to their names. Several- the Seven Stars and New Bear in Bradford, Prince of Wales in Turleigh and Greyhound in Freshford have now closed.
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An advertisement from just after the war ended, promoting bicycles and Bradford/Westwood-made motorbikes.
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