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The War Years and In Between - Part 1 |
| The
outbreak of World War I coincided with an important
and completely successful artillery transport
test, organised by Earl Fitzwilliam. It involved
14 high-powered cars, all equipped with Avon pneumatic
tyres, which moved a battery of heavy guns at
21 miles per hour without mishap. Later, it was
noted "As this epochal demonstration was
carried out under direct War Office supervision,
it is not surprising that throughout the war Avon
tyres were largely used by all branches of H.M.
Services."
The Admiralty was a particularly
large user of Avon products and in 1914 called
for some 40 tons of rubber sheeting and 20,000
ft of hose and tubing. Avon was also the leading
manufacturer of paravane diaphragms used in minesweeping
operations.
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Avon
office staff 1920
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Within the first
year of war being declared, over 300 employees
had volunteered for duty - and the number serving
in the Armed Forces on Armistice Day 1918 was
566. Towards the end of the war, the dwindling
strength of skilled male workers created serious
difficulties and occasioned much improvisation.
However, it was noted that "Women and
girls stepped into the breach and performed with
loyalty and efficiency many jobs which hitherto
had been looked upon as suitable only for men." |
| In 1915, Avon took over the Sirdar Rubber Works
at Greenland Mills in Bradford on Avon. The company
had gone into bankruptcy the previous year and
Avon took it over to supply munitions for the
war effort. This acquisition swelled the workforce
by another 300 people.
In every theatre of the
war and under conditions of unprecedented severity,
Avon tyres performed outstandingly well on naval
and military bicycles, motorcycles, cars, lorries,
aeroplanes, ambulances, traveling workshops and
mobile field kitchens. Manufacture was also directed
towards munitions of sorts, including suction
and delivery hoses for draining the trenches,
fuse cap protectors and tubing. In order to conserve
its productive capacity and to ensure adequate
supplies of its products, Avon output was controlled
by the Ministry of Munitions from November 1915.
It was in the Avon laboratories
that petrol resistant tubing was evolved for the
Air Ministry. This was so markedly superior to
any other material that, with Avon's consent,
the formula and processes were divulged to several
competitors so that greater output could be obtained
quickly to aid the war effort.
In November 1917 Avon's
Works were visited by His Majesty King George
V, accompanied by Queen Mary, who showed themselves
keenly interested in the various processes they
inspected and also in the welfare work organised
under lady superintendents. |
At the end of the war, men began to return to
their pre-war jobs from all parts of the world.
By the end of the year 1919, the number employed
by Avon at Melksham had increased by 50 percent
and new distribution depots were being set up
in London, Newcastle, Leeds & Bristol. The
demand for Avon products went from strength
to strength after the war and Avon switched
its efforts to producing the "best possible"
sporting equipment for tennis, football, golf,
swimming, etc. In 1921, the first tennis ball
was made at Melksham and within a year thousands
of dozens weekly were being sold through the
famous House of Wisden. The Avon tennis ball
was the first to be mass produced in stitchless
form.
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An Avon football
bladder
circa 1920
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