Latest news with #warEffort
BBC News
03-08-2025
- General
- BBC News
Greater Manchester's role in the WW2 battle for the skies
During World War Two, Greater Manchester was a hive of activity building planes that played a vital role in the war effort. And the factories - and people who worked in them - were a target for German bombers. Joe Jervis, now 102, began working as an apprentice fitter at the Fairey Aviation works at Heaton Chapel in Stockport in 1937, when he was said he remembered a time when "German planes raided Fairey's but they missed by a few yards and they hit the back of the McVitie's biscuit works". "People stayed calm and we continued to make planes for our aircraft carriers," he said. The munitions factory at Heaton Chapel, which opened in 1917, made hundreds of bombers for the Royal Air Force during the First World site was acquired by Fairey Aviation in 1934 and five years later it was visited by King George VI, who inspected the planes on the eve of the Second World of people worked at the factory during the war, making hundreds of planes like the Fairey Battle, the Fairey Barracuda and the Handley Page were transported from Heaton Chapel and were assembled at the nearby RAF Ringway, which became Manchester Airport in 1957. Roy Clarke, who began work as an apprentice at Fairey Aviation in 1950, said he remembers growing up on a farm at Styal, close to Ringway 90 year-old said: "I watched the planes being assembled at Ringway as a schoolboy and the farm where I was born is underneath the second runway now."I remember the tarpaulins at Manchester Cathedral after a bombing raid and I thought Herr Hitler can't possibly win because he's offended the Lord." Several aircraft factories across Greater Manchester employed tens of thousands of people during the Second World War. Aeroplane propellers were made by De Havilland at Lostock in Bolton, Rolls Royce engines were made at Trafford Park, while Lancaster bombers were made by Avro at Chadderton, then assembled at Woodford in were also component factories in Hyde, Parrs Wood and of the aeroplanes used RAF Burtonwood near Warrington, which was the largest military airbase in the UK during World War Two. Frank Pleszak, 67, an aviation historian from Marple Bridge in Stockport, said: "The war effort around Greater Manchester was so significant and there is a huge legacy."Everybody thinks about Avro being the main local aviation company but Fairey's employed about 24,000 people in Greater Manchester during the war." The Fairey Aviation factory later began producing military bridges and the company is now owned by the European defence giant 450 people now work at the factory in Heaton Chapel, where they also have a contract to help produce Boxer armoured vehicles for the British Army.A concert to mark VJ Day, featuring the KNDS Fairey Aviation Brass Band, is taking place at the Romiley Forum Theatre in Stockport on Sunday 17 August. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 223
Fast Company
14-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Powering innovation
In 1943, Tulsa, Oklahoma–based energy company Williams Brothers stepped in to help support the U.S. war effort, building two pipelines to bring critical oil resources from Texas to the northeast. 'We built that in under a year so that we could deliver fuel to help our friends and allies around the world,' says Chad Zamarin, executive vice president of corporate strategic development for Williams, as the company is now known. Throughout its more than nearly 120-year history, Williams has recognized the importance of moving energy to the right places at the right time. Today, the company specializes in producing and distributing natural gas, transporting that fuel through major pipelines around the U.S. and readying it for export to global markets. As the world becomes increasingly electrified, Zamarin believes the company is playing a crucial role in helping to meet rising energy demand around the globe. But it's not just the rise of power-hungry AI or the shift to electric vehicles that's driving the need for more energy. Zamarin notes that energy is a key economic development catalyst in areas where electricity is unreliable or cost prohibitive. In these markets, reliable access to clean and affordable energy can provide a student with the light to study at night or give a rural doctor the ability to use powerful technology tools to make faster and more accurate diagnoses. 'Energy truly is the link between evolving communities out of poverty and advancing quality of life,' he says. WINNING THE TECHNOLOGY RACE Williams' pipelines move more than a third of the natural gas in the U.S. and help power millions of homes and businesses. Increasingly, the company is delivering liquefied natural gas [LNG] to shipping terminals for export to global markets. The U.S. provided Europe with a critical source of natural gas after many countries stopped imports from Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In recent years, the global market has been booming for the U.S., which has become the world's largest producer and exporter of natural gas. Continuing to meet that global demand, however, is putting stress on the nation's existing energy infrastructure. Zamarin notes that more capacity is needed, yet lengthy permitting processes and other bureaucratic red tape can push the timeline for a new pipeline to five years or more. Modernizing this energy infrastructure will require a huge cooperative effort, but it's work that Zamarin believes we need to prioritize. While it's one thing to boost export capacity, it's also critical for the U.S. to ensure that it has the energy it needs to support innovation in areas such as AI. 'The relationship between energy and technology is more important than ever, and we're not going to be able to scale up to our full technology potential without energy scaling along with it,' Zamarin says. 'That's why we're so focused on making sure that the infrastructure that we have in the United States positions us to win the technology race.' Zamarin also champions the sustainable benefits of natural gas. In fact, he notes the shift from coal to natural gas over the past 10 years has driven roughly 60% of the emission reductions in the U.S. during that time. And he wants to continue the push to decarbonize existing energy solutions and systems around the world—especially in areas where it's cheaper to use high-emission fuels. 'We've got to provide them with a solution that is more sustainable than cutting down a tree or digging coal out of the ground and lighting it on fire.' A TRADITION OF INNOVATION Throughout its history, Williams has continued to adapt and evolve along with the marketplace. In the 1970s, the company augmented its energy business by selling fertilizer and steel, operating retail stores, and dabbling in commercial real estate development. And in the 1980s, Williams ventured into the telecom space, using old pipelines to run fiber-optic cables. For more than two decades, Williams has been sharply focused on energy. But that doesn't mean the company has lost its entrepreneurial edge. Indeed, Zamarin believes that innovation will be what continues to drive Williams forward. It's why the company focuses on creating an environment where employees are encouraged to think creatively and come forward with big ideas. And it's also why Williams is exploring ways to support the data centers that provide the backbone for AI tools, including through the real estate it owns along its pipeline network and the massive amount of fiber-optic connectivity that follows much of the company's pipeline routes. 'We care about our employees, and we care about the communities that we work in. But we also want to be very aggressive in innovating and looking toward the future,' Zamarin says. 'We're making sure that we're not only delivering in the here and now, but also to make sure we're positioned to do that going forward.'
