Reid and Sigrist in Desford & Braunstone

[Danone]

No I didn't look at that
I didn't know how to look at the 1939 census for Ernest John woolman.
Steve

[starcat]

My mum during the war wanted to join the land army but her parents wouldnt allow it, so she did fire watching & worked in a factory making aeroplane instruments, would she have  worked for Reid & Sigrist or were there any other companys at the time in Leicester making these parts.

[Thooperfly]

Hi
Iam  Steven woolman
My dads father was Ernest John woolman he came from turlangton Leicester born 1880  he and his family worked there 1938-39 I have a book called home& away you can get it from Coalville library John's son Robert George woolman did the story of what the family did their making aeroplane parts for war effort .it was edited by the springboard centre Coalville.
Steve

Thanks a lot for that Steve. I remember my Dad telling me when I was young that my "Grandad was at Braunstone aerodrome working on the planes and that after the war he worked for Armstrong Whitworth then Auster Aircraft".
That is basically all I have to go on, as my Dad passed away back in 1990.

Braunstone was a satelite landing field during WW2, so I doubt that he was there. I know  either during the war or shortly after it - my Grandparents moved into brick built "prefabs" on Swinford Avenue (previously Stanhope Avenue)  off Hillsborough Road in Glen Parva.
I don't know if these houses were connected with his employment or not.

There was also an RAF parts depot at Blaby Wharf, near what was the County Arms off Lutterworth Road. This wasn't far from the above prefabs.

I'll have to look online for the book you mentioned, as I now live in France.

He could well have been at Desford, I know that at least at the beginning of WW2, he was living in Enderby. He was also in the Home Guard - as I have a photo of him wearing the uniform - rather odd for someone who was of fighting age.

Thanks a lot for the reply,

Cheers,

John.

[Thooperfly]

My mum during the war wanted to join the land army but her parents wouldnt allow it, so she did fire watching & worked in a factory making aeroplane instruments, would she have  worked for Reid & Sigrist or were there any other companys at the time in Leicester making these parts.

Thanks for that info Starcat. That gives a useful insight into local wartime life. Could well be my Grandad was in the Home Guard and also had another activity in the aircraft industry. For some reason he was allowed to stay in the UK, whereas his younger brother, was sent to India an an aircraft mechanic.

[Danone]

Hi my woolman said were at Desford site I was reading the book the other day .
Steve

[Danone]

There was another place in Coalville Owen street that aeroplanes as well Roberts sister married a Sargent Parker from belvoir road Coalville I have tryed to find out about his side but didn't find much if any knows please let me know I think he's proper name was Edward Ray
Steve

[Thooperfly]

On another thread on Rootchat - someone has informed me that Desford Aerodrome had its own Home Guard - part of the Leicestershire Regiment 8th Platoon Home Guard (Market Bosworth).

My Grandad was definately in the 8th Platoon - as I have a photo of him in uniform with "LEI 8" badge on his shoulder.

So it is all fitting in. Apart from being in the home guard, I still don't know exactly what he did during the war - either at Desford or Braunstone. I do know he worked for Beagle/Auster Aircraft in the 60's at Rearsby.

John.

[Danone]

Hi john
Been a while
Getting back to the areodrme I had my work out I found that there were photos of the planes they built there at desford .in Coalville there was a parts place in Owen street .were they kept the parts it's not there now long gone ,my dads father did a magazine called the billet tor soldiers that whent all over the world  were they were fighting .in one it says that he was given some acomadation for this soldiers would ask him to do cartoons for them in it there was a lot in they would send letters back letting family know what's happing ,there was alsorts of stuff in it marriages deaths ,raising money for the war effort for planes and ships and asking about family and saying they had met up with people they knew who were also fighting .i have the magazine my gran passed it on to me before she passedaway .in the 1990s some of it is in the imperial war museum in London I'd love to go and show mine .may be your family who were at desford would have known Ernest John woolman and Robert .my grandad tryed to get Robert on the magazine but couldn't .he didn't say why in the book called at home and away I have that as well. Robert talks all about family were they came from show they were at school with ,work who his aunt was   Were they lived .robert married a Edwards her dad was a Sargent called Ray he was in the army .in the magazine there was soldiers who were caught by the Germans who were brought home by the Americans.my aunts husbands brother he was in operation market garden in Holland he got caught and brought home he got done for desertion by his wife he wanted to fight for his country but she had done for leaving her he was a paratrooper and Sargent he lived in markfield Leicester near Charnwood school.
Ste

[Thooperfly]

Here is another angle (from Wikipedia):

"Reid and Sigrist was an English engineering company based at New Malden in Surrey. It later acquired sites at Desford and Braunstone in Leicestershire. Initially it developed and manufactured aircraft instrumentation and pilot selection aids but later diversified into flying training and aircraft design. During World War II the company was part of the Civilian Repair Organisation repairing, rebuilding and converting warplanes at the Desford site. Post-war it continued to manufacture aviation instruments and guidance systems but also diversified further to produce cameras and optical instruments. In 1954 the company was purchased and taken-over by the Decca Record Company".

"From January 1940 Desford also housed units of the Civilian Repair Organisation (Reid & Sigrist - my note), engaged in aircraft repairs and modifications, originally the Boulton Paul Defiant, and later the B-25 Mitchell. Vickers-Armstrongs also had a factory at Desford to manufacture undercarriages for Supermarine Spitfires, and also carried out the assembly of aircraft there, with about 1,000 Spitfires rolling out of the Desford factory."

Additionally...

"During World War II Reid and Sigrist was one of the companies incorporated into the Civilian Repair Organisation set up by the British Air Ministry to co-ordinate the repair of damaged RAF aircraft. This work was carried out at the Desford site. The initial contract covered the repair of Boulton Paul Defiant two-seat turret fighter, with the first airframe being delivered to Desford in January 1940. This was later followed by an additional contract to convert the obsolete Defiants into the TT target towing version of the aircraft.

Reid and Sigrist also undertook repairs of RAF Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters and also signed contracts to repair and convert North American B-25 Mitchell bombers. Work on Defiant airframes finished in June 1945 and the last Mitchells left Desford in November the same year. "

Apparently Reid & Sigrist was part of the Civilian Repair Organisation. I've just got the feeling that my Grandad Raymond Nelson was involved in this. R&S also had an operation at Braunstone aerodrome, so this wasn't simply a "satelite emergency landing field for Desford" as I first throught. The RAF trained pilots here too as well as at the main Desford base.

At Desford R&S worked on : Airacobra, Defiant; parts of Harvard, Mitchell bombers.

I found this R&S related link as well... which might be of interest...
https://www.revolvy.com/page/Reid-and-Sigrist

The fact that my Grandad was not in the military (or the RAF, unlike his younger brother) and was in the LEI 8 Home Guard battalion rather points to the fact that his occupation must have been a reserved one. From his marriage certificate at Enderby he is listed as an electrical engineer. Postwar I was told that he worked for Armstrong Whitworth, which with R&S and Whittle, had a relationship with them.

Postwar he lived in the Glenhills Prefabs, which were built for Whittle factory workers. Perhaps another connection?

From 1953-63 my Grandad was a Radio Ham and into the 60's he worked as an Aircraft Radio Fitter Foreman for Auster-Beagle at Rearsby. The Auster Heritage group confirmed that another employee remembered his name and on my Grandad's death certificate in 1967 - his job is listed there.

So lots of snippets, but no proper connections and nothing particularly concrete to back most of this up.

I wonder if there is anymore info about the "Civilian Repair Organisation" in Leicestershire?

TIA

Regards,

John.