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Taken from a moving train
©Jon S
Dist:0.1km<br/>The gatepost is made of cast iron. There is more about the gateway here http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/985737 and an image of this one's intact companion here http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/986046 How this one came to be damaged is unknown but it could have been shattered by bomb blast during the second world war as it is a matter of record that an air attack took place in 1940 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/984554
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>The gatepost and this decoration are made of cast iron. There is more on the gateway here http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/985737
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>The cast iron gate posts date back to the years when this area was occupied by the huge Great Western Railway factory developed in the mid 19th century by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to manufacture everything needed to run a railway. I don't know the age of these gate posts but they pre-date the second world war and may be even older. Originally they provided access to 24 Shop which I think was used for carriage and wagon repairs. Following contraction and eventual closure of the railway works the workshop was occupied by others including latterly Clares Equipment. That firm sadly went out of business a few months back and the workshop was demolished. I didn't get any shots of that but it can be seen here http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?p=26817
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>In contrast to many other towns and cities in the UK such as Bath, Bristol, Coventry, Exeter and of course London, Swindon largely escaped the attentions of Hitler’s Luftwaffe between the years of 1939 and 1945, largely but not completely. During those years, occasional attacks took place, usually by isolated raiders. In the intervening years all the significant destruction that was caused has been repaired. However, there is still evidence of what happened in those troubled times and small signs can be found of the original damage. At around dawn on 27 July 1942 a lone Heinkel bomber launched an attack on the Great Western Railway gas works the original gas-holder of which still exists http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/323249 Gunfire from the plane set fire to the contents which were later extinguished by firefighters. The plane then released a stick of five bombs, one of which failed to explode. Luckily the UXB was the one closest to the gas-holder. The others exploded at intervals of about 75 metres apart along a line parallel to a cycle track that ran then and still runs south-east from the gas-holder where once there was a canal. The fourth bomb in the stick exploded at approximately SU143855, 250 metres from the gas-holder. It caused damage to workshops nearby. Evidence of the damage caused to the workshops can no longer be found. However, the original substantial iron fence put up years before the war by the GWR is, remarkably, still there and signs of the damage caused by bomb fragments can still be seen. This image shows the fence in its context to the left of the cycle track. The bomb would have landed somewhere to the right out of view. The bombs involved each weighed 250 kg meaning that well over a tonne of bombs fell in this incident. It is perhaps fortunate therefore that there were no fatalities although about twenty people were injured. The above information was extracted from a monograph ‘Swindon Air Raids in World War 2’ by K Walter published privately in 1998, a copy of which can be found in Swindon’s Central Library. Next image in series http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/984556
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>In contrast to many other towns and cities in the UK such as Bath, Bristol, Coventry, Exeter and of course London, Swindon largely escaped the attentions of Hitler’s Luftwaffe between the years of 1939 and 1945, largely but not completely. During those years, occasional attacks took place, usually by isolated raiders. In the intervening years all the significant destruction that was caused has been repaired. However, there is still evidence of what happened in those troubled times and small signs can be found of the original damage. At around dawn on 27 July 1942 a lone Heinkel bomber launched an attack on the Great Western Railway gas works the original gas-holder of which still exists http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/323249 Gunfire from the plane set fire to the contents which were later extinguished by firefighters. The plane then released a stick of five bombs, one of which failed to explode. Luckily the UXB was the one closest to the gas-holder. The others exploded at intervals of about 75 metres apart along a line parallel to a cycle track that ran then and still runs south-east from the gas-holder where once there was a canal. The fourth bomb in the stick exploded at approximately SU143855, 250 metres from the gas-holder. It caused damage to workshops nearby. Evidence of the damage caused to the workshops can no longer be found. However, the original substantial iron fence put up years before the war by the GWR is, remarkably, still there and signs of the damage caused by bomb fragments can still be seen. The bomb would have landed approximately where the blue dust extraction plant can be seen at the right, part of the Doeflex Vitapol plastics factory. The bombs involved each weighed 250 kg meaning that well over a tonne of bombs fell in this incident. It is perhaps fortunate therefore that there were no fatalities although about twenty people were injured. The above information was extracted from a monograph ‘Swindon Air Raids in World War 2’ by K Walter published privately in 1998, a copy of which can be found in Swindon’s Central Library. Next image in series http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/984555
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>The swimming pool, enclosed by a huge dome, is currently undergoing refurbishment.
©Roger Cornfoot
Dist:0.1km<br/>This may or may not be its official title, but this bridge carries the road known as Hawksworth Way across the line of the former North Wiltshire Canal. The canal here has been turned into a pedestrian footpath and cycleway. This was certainly done by the late 1940's, possibly earlier. The bridge is not, of course, contemporary with the canal. Hawksworth Way was not built until several decades after the canal had closed. On the right are steps which lead up to the road. [[2101053]]. [[2101565]].
©P L Chadwick
Dist:0.1km<br/>The former canal, here a footpath and cycleway, is heading for Great Western Way, which it passes under, and the Ferndale Road area. On the left is the factory of Doeflex-Vitapol, a specialist plastics manufacturer. Photographed from Hawksworth Way. For more about the canal:- [[2101053]]. [[2101060]].
©P L Chadwick
Dist:0.1km<br/>The bridge carries Hawksworth Way across this footpath and cycleway, which used to be part of the route of the long closed North Wiltshire Canal. [[2101053]]. [[2101554]].
©P L Chadwick
Dist:0.1km<br/>Hawksworth is an industrial estate developed in the 1960s on land formerly used as a gasworks by the Great Western Railway. Doeflex-Vitapol manufacture plastic compounds by blending together different types of plastic. This is not the same as manufacturing plastics from oil feedstocks which is an altogether bigger type of operation. The tall silver cylinders at the left are storage silos for the raw materials. Each of them has a bag filter on top to trap dust from the air displaced when the silos are filled. Similar arrangements can be seen on cement silos at concrete batching plants. The rest of the plant visible is dust control plant. Dust-laden air from within the factory is passed through filters which separate the dust before the cleaned air is passed to atmosphere via the exhaust stacks. The system is powered by large fans. In the foreground is a cycle track and pedestrian walkway.
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>In contrast to many other towns and cities in the UK such as Bath, Bristol, Coventry, Exeter and of course London, Swindon largely escaped the attentions of Hitler’s Luftwaffe between the years of 1939 and 1945, largely but not completely. During those years, occasional attacks took place, usually by isolated raiders. In the intervening years all the significant destruction that was caused has been repaired. However, there is still evidence of what happened in those troubled times and small signs can be found of the original damage. At around dawn on 27 July 1942 a lone Heinkel bomber launched an attack on the Great Western Railway gas works the original gas-holder of which still exists http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/323249 Gunfire from the plane set fire to the contents which were later extinguished by firefighters. The plane then released a stick of five bombs, one of which failed to explode. Luckily the UXB was the one closest to the gas-holder. The others exploded at intervals of about 75 metres apart along a line parallel to a cycle track that ran then and still runs south-east from the gas-holder where once there was a canal. The fourth bomb in the stick exploded at approximately SU143855, 250 metres from the gas-holder. It caused damage to workshops nearby. Evidence of the damage caused to the workshops can no longer be found. However, the original substantial iron fence put up years before the war by the GWR is, remarkably, still there and signs of the damage caused by bomb fragments can still be seen. This extreme close-up shows the impact mark left by a bomb fragment as it hit the fence. The bombs involved each weighed 250 kg meaning that well over a tonne of bombs fell in this incident. It is perhaps fortunate therefore that there were no fatalities although about twenty people were injured. The above information was extracted from a monograph ‘Swindon Air Raids in World War 2’ by K Walter published privately in 1998, a copy of which can be found in Swindon’s Central Library. First image in series http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/984554
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>In contrast to many other towns and cities in the UK such as Bath, Bristol, Coventry, Exeter and of course London, Swindon largely escaped the attentions of Hitler’s Luftwaffe between the years of 1939 and 1945, largely but not completely. During those years, occasional attacks took place, usually by isolated raiders. In the intervening years all the significant destruction that was caused has been repaired. However, there is still evidence of what happened in those troubled times and small signs can be found of the original damage. At around dawn on 27 July 1942 a lone Heinkel bomber launched an attack on the Great Western Railway gas works the original gas-holder of which still exists http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/323249 Gunfire from the plane set fire to the contents which were later extinguished by firefighters. The plane then released a stick of five bombs, one of which failed to explode. Luckily the UXB was the one closest to the gas-holder. The others exploded at intervals of about 75 metres apart along a line parallel to a cycle track that ran then and still runs south-east from the gas-holder where once there was a canal. The fourth bomb in the stick exploded at approximately SU143855, 250 metres from the gas-holder. It caused damage to workshops nearby. Evidence of the damage caused to the workshops can no longer be found. However, the original substantial iron fence put up years before the war by the GWR is, remarkably, still there and signs of the damage caused by bomb fragments can still be seen. This extreme close-up shows the gouge mark left by a bomb fragment as it went through the fence. The bombs involved each weighed 250 kg meaning that well over a tonne of bombs fell in this incident. It is perhaps fortunate therefore that there were no fatalities although about twenty people were injured. The above information was extracted from a monograph ‘Swindon Air Raids in World War 2’ by K Walter published privately in 1998, a copy of which can be found in Swindon’s Central Library. Next image in series http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/984559
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.1km<br/>In contrast to many other towns and cities in the UK such as Bath, Bristol, Coventry, Exeter and of course London, Swindon largely escaped the attentions of Hitler’s Luftwaffe between the years of 1939 and 1945, largely but not completely. During those years, occasional attacks took place, usually by isolated raiders. In the intervening years all the significant destruction that was caused has been repaired. However, there is still evidence of what happened in those troubled times and small signs can be found of the original damage. At around dawn on 27 July 1942 a lone Heinkel bomber launched an attack on the Great Western Railway gas works the original gas-holder of which still exists http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/323249 Gunfire from the plane set fire to the contents which were later extinguished by firefighters. The plane then released a stick of five bombs, one of which failed to explode. Luckily the UXB was the one closest to the gas-holder. The others exploded at intervals of about 75 metres apart along a line parallel to a cycle track that ran then and still runs south-east from the gas-holder where once there was a canal. The fourth bomb in the stick exploded at approximately SU143855, 250 metres from the gas-holder. It caused damage to workshops nearby. Evidence of the damage caused to the workshops can no longer be found. However, the original substantial iron fence put up years before the war by the GWR is, remarkably, still there and signs of the damage caused by bomb fragments can still be seen. This close-up shows the missing top of one of the vertical fence components together with gouge marks where bomb fragments have grazed the fence or passed through it. The bombs involved each weighed 250 kg meaning that well over a tonne of bombs fell in this incident. It is perhaps fortunate therefore that there were no fatalities although about twenty people were injured. The above information was extracted from a monograph ‘Swindon Air Raids in World War 2’ by K Walter published privately in 1998, a copy of which can be found in Swindon’s Central Library. Next image in series http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/984557
©Brian Robert Marshall
Dist:0.2km<br/>Specialist manufacturer of plastic containers, on Hawksworth trading estate.
©Roger Cornfoot

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