The History of Ruddington Depot
HomeThe StoryInterviewsPhotographsResources
Dismantling And Disposal
Dismantling and recycling
Bernard Slack came to the Depot in 1949 and worked in the disposal section:
“The Ministry of Defence were taking on a lot of ex-servicemen at Ruddington, and that’s how I got the job. Everything that the forces had used had to be officially disposed of. Every article came in with a disposal number on it , and it had to be got rid of. There was a very big office section, called Admin disposal, for handling the paper work.”
Goods for disposal usually came in by rail, but some were brought in by road. They were distributed round the various stores on the site and dealt with appropriately. Radio equipment was stored in one of the largest buildings:
“There were great big sections of wireless gear in there. When you went in you were advised to take off your watch, as there were huge magnets inside. If it got stuck on a metal tag you couldn’t get if off. After it was all dismantled the scrap was sent to Sheffield and re-used.”
Weapons were stored in a very secure building.
“Guns and revolvers went into a special disposal place. Armourers from London used to come for them. There was a man called Churchill funnily enough, who was a big gun expert. He used to buy a lot, and they were all going abroad. Ruddington supplied guns to many of the war-torn trouble spots of the world.”
Great quantities of textiles were stored and sorted in another of the largest buildings. Discarded clothing was examined one garment at a time. Any which were tattered, or had been soaked in blood, or fouled by other body fluids, were put aside to be burnt, but not until any pockets had been emptied. This was to ensure that no stray bullets had been left inside them, or secret papers had been tucked away there among sticky toffees, squashed cigarette packets, pencil stubs, dirty handkerchiefs and other debris. It was an unpleasant job and the women who did it are, understandably, reluctant to talk about it even now. Uniform jackets had their brass buttons cut off so they could be sold as scrap. Buttons, badges, emblems and name tapes were removed from clothing which was in good condition, before they were baled up to be sold to dealers.
The Story > Chapter 6 > Section 6.02