As the Second World War progressed and the established military bases came under enemy fire, small bases were set up in areas of the country considered to be safe from enemy action. A lot of these bases were staffed by administration personnel rather than combatants so as to keep the ever growing military machine running smoothly.
One of these bases was set up in part of Thornley’s brewery at Radford Semele. It was staffed by a contingent of WRNS, the Woman’s Royal Naval Service, who were assisted by a small number of local civilian staff.
Shore based ships!
Interestingly, even shore based naval establishments are classed as ships and given the title HMS. So the question is, did the base at Radford have a name and if so what would you call a base located at a brewery? HMS Malt Shovel perhaps!
Comments
‘HMS Port’ perhaps?!
Several members of the Leamington History Group have tried unsuccessfully to find out exactly what the WRNS were doing at Radford brewery during the war. The most plausible explanation is that they were engaged on coding and cipher work, hence their being housed in a building unlikely to attract too much attention from friend or foe. We could find no record of the brewery ever having been a named naval base which increases the suspicion that what went on there was of a covert nature. A fruitful field for someone to research?
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