Fort Halstead

G. E. Bagg, personal communication. Defense Research Agency, Fort Halstead, Kent, U.K., 1993. 

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks Kent TN147BP United Kingdom... 

Guns Using Liquid Propellants are briefly described by A.M. Goodall in ARDE (Armament Research and Development Establishment) Memorandum (P) 31/56, Fort Halstead, Kent(GtBritain) and previous British Reports which are listed on p 16 of the above Memorandum... 

The financial sponsors are warmly thanked. DERA at Fort Halstead funded the work on nitration of deactivated aromatics, and particular thanks are due to our industrial colleagues, Dr. Ross Millar and Dr. Rob Claridge, who made substantial contributions to the development of the ideas. The Government of Qatar is funding the studentship of Saeed Almeer and the EPSRC funded the studentship of Simon Roberts. 

Upon her marriage to chemist W. O. Murch, Pawsey was required to resign her position. Over the subsequent years, she had two daughters but the exigencies of war overruled marital status and, during the Second World War, she was employed in the Armament Research Establishment, Fort Halstead. 

J. M. Groocock, T. R. Phillips, The Effects of High Energy X-Rays on the Thermal Detonation of Service Lead Azide, Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment Report (B) 7/56, Fort Halstead, Kent, England, 1956. 

Defence Research and Evaluation Agency Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, TNI 4 7BP, UK... 

Three esters, viz. GTN, PETN and isopropyl nitrate (IPN), were used for the initial isolation of bacteria. Research quantities of GTN (adsorbed on Kieselguhr, 20% w/w), glycerol 1-mononitrate (1-GMN), glycerol 1,2-dinitrate (1,2-GDN), glycerol 1,3-dinitrate (1,3-GDN) and PETN were supplied by Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent. IPN was purchased from Aldrich Chemicals, Poole, Dorset. 

Dr. John Connor Superintendent, NP1 Division Royal Armanent Research Development Establishment Fort Halstead... 

Jackson, D. and Dadley, D.A. (1969) Investigation into the Manufacture and Properties of Magnesium/Fluorocarbon Compositions for Pyrotechnic Applications, RARDE Memorandum 31/69, Fort Halstead, Kent. 

On his return to Britain, he would have preferred to have returned to academic life, but instead accepted the post of Chief Superintendent of Armament Research (CS AR) at Fort Halstead in Kent part of the Ministry of Supply. He began the design of the first British atomic weapon in 1947, and it was apparent that Fort Halstead would not be adequate for the facilities that would be needed. The project moved to a new site Aldermaston in Berkshire again, another redundant RAF station. 

One was the weapons side, which was initially based at Fort Halstead in Kent, before moving to Aldermaston. There were some outposts the warhead manufacture took place at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Burghfield, and there was another Royal Ordnance Factory in Cardiff. Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast was used for environmental testing and explosives testing for nuclear weapons, although no fissile material was involved. 

Although the civil nuclear programme was one of Britain s outstanding post-war programmes, it derived almost entirely from the military programme. Indeed, the first ten years of the British nuclear programme were almost entirely military in objective. This included the manufacture of uranium at Springfields, the production of plutonium at Windscale, quite a portion of the research undertaken at Harwell, and the work on the bomh itself at Fort Halstead in Kent, Foulness on the east coast and at Aldermaston. 

---