#VEDay75: ‘Team work and resolution’ kept gas flowing during ‘impossible conditions’ during the Blitz

#veday75

The Tottenham and District Gas Company suffered substantial damage during the Second World War – but never once did it fail to supply gas. Even during the heaviest airborne attack, when two large gasholders at the Willoughby Lane gasworks were put out of action and a gasholder at Waltham Cross was destroyed, the team carried on resolutely, maintaining a supply of gas..

During the Second World War, the company actually increased gas production by 22 per cent, including almost doubling gas destined for industrial use. The large works in Willoughby Lane produced 8 million gallons of benzol motor fuel and 1 million gallons of toluol, a raw material essential in manufacture of explosives.

Chief Engineer, William Hawkyard, wrote in the company’s centenary brochure: “These were long weary days of the war and particularly hectic time of the blitz when we were harried both day and night. I look back and think of the team work and resolution of the employees, workmen and staff alike, who were never daunted, and kept gas going out under what we still think were impossible conditions.” 

London’s Regional Gas Centre, a mutual aid association set up by the capital’s gas companies to co-ordinate civil defence, was to officially record 12,226 broken gas pipelines during the Second World War, of which 407 were large 24-inch trunk gas mains.



We’ve worked with Professor Russell Thomas, chairman of the history panel of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers, to produce this special series of stories for #VEDay75 

Most of the images that will appear on these pages are reproduced with kind permission of the National Grid Gas Archive, Warrington.

Cadent

Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network with a 200-year legacy.  We are in a unique position to build on strong foundations whilst encouraging the curiosity to think differently and the courage to embrace change.  Day to day we continue to operate, maintain and innovate the UK’s largest gas network, transporting gas safely and protecting people in an emergency.   Our skilled engineers and specialists remain committed to the communities we serve, working day and night to ensure gas reaches 11 million homes from Cumbria to North London and the Welsh Borders to East Anglia, to keep your energy flowing. 

Future of Gas: Here at Cadent we support the Government’s plans to reach Net Zero by 2050. That means we’re backing the introduction of hydrogen as a low carbon alternative to natural gas for the future. We know people love the controllability of gas and, with our network already in place, it makes sense to switch to the lower carbon alternative offered by hydrogen, which we believe can keep homes and businesses warm for generations to come.

Cadent manages the national gas emergency service free phone line on behalf of the gas industry - 0800 111 999*

Cadent Gas Ltd is owned by a consortium of global investors.

*All calls are recorded and may be monitored.