After the first production of Ammonia in 1923, Synthetic Ammonia and Nitrates, Billinghams Chemical Works grew from strengh to strengh. As well as the Chemical Works, Billinghams population also increased dramatically. In 1911 the population had been 1085, by the census of 1921 it had already increased to a population of 8058. In 1925, 600 workers were engaged in the manufacture of Ammonia Sulphate.
I worked on amine derivatives till it closed and often went across to amines as part of my job , yes the plants where a bit smelly at times but a great place to work, wages were good and pensions were great. They where a safe place to work as long as you observed the rules and wore the safety equipment freely provided. We also looked after the reed beds near portrack roundabout where effluent was treated by mother nature e.g. by the bacteria on the reeds roots and this worked great and was monitered and tested daily and was covered with wild life. Great days I say, shame it’s all gone.
Just a couple of chemical and historical points.
ICI was set up to exploit the German Haber-Bosch process, which had been invented just before WWI. After the defeat of Germany, the knowledge of the process was passed to Britain as war reparations. It involves reacting hydrogen and nitrogen at very high pressure at 450°C. The reaction was synthesising ammonia, and that is why the ICI used be called the “Synthetic” (as Mr Dee of Richard Hind School used to tell us).
Before then, ammonia was a by-product of coal; gasification. Power Gas Ltd in Stockton, which was a Lufwig Mond company, made a type of gasiifer which produced a lot of by products, including ammonia. With a few modifications and additional bits of equipment, the Power Gas system could be used to make the hydrogen and nitrogen for the Haber-Bosch process. That is how the Ludwig Mond helped to set up ICI. As Ludwig Mond was born in Germany, but moved to Britian around 1870, his knowledege of German would have been vital in getting the plant at the ICI designed, built and operating.
My father, Thomas Leonard Sawyer, was one of the first small group of employees on the Synthetic Plant in 1923. Norman Kidd gave 1922 for his father’s start but the plant did not begin till 1923. I have Dad’s presentation gold wrist watch. “Presented to T L Sawyer 30 years service 1953.”
He gradually moved up the ranks to be a Plant Manager in his later years via Shift Foreman etcetera. Various plants, Gas, Hydrogen all associated in that area of ICI Billingham.
Ken after an explosion at the Brunner Mond works in London 1915-16? the Government moved all such works out of built up area’s it was decided in 1917 the Billingham would become a site for the production of Ammonia for explosives.
The works were built although not finished until 1920 when it was no longer needed the war being over. Brunner Mond took the site over in 1920 and production started later so Norman’s Father could have been among the people trying to get a new and untried plant running, your Father among the very first actual production crew. Having been on new plants starting up it is normal to work up to actual production, there are bugs to iron out first and back then some factor of uncertainty.
The Anhydrite mine was not started until late 1925-6 so brine was probably used from the brine wells which were still running when I retired and from which most household cleaners are made.
My Father remembered that section of Billingham as marsh land and during the latter part of the first world war German POW’s were camped there, they were apparently used to help build the plant and their memory lives on in the name German Road which went past the Nitric acid plant.
My uncle worked in the Ammonia plant, and the awful fishy smell that was on his clothes no matter how many times washed it remained. It cannot have been good for your health, it wasn’t for him, as he died from liver cancer aged 54.
My first time in the WG2 Ammonia plant was as a young apprentice measuring up for some machinery guards, we worked for Francis Brown and contracted in to ICI at the time. My mate had a weak chest and would not go into the plant which at the time and for a long time after was an open pan process which meant Ammonia fumes rose in steaming clouds and to me just about took your lungs out.
I was dashing in up a short flight of stairs doing a rough sketch trying to hold my breath then dashing out and telling my mate what I had measured. I had done this several times passing a chap sitting at a table reading his paper then back out blue in the face much to the chaps amusement. It dawned on me the chap was eating his breakfast as he read the paper, it was a time before rest rooms on every plant. Later he told me he did not smell the Ammonia being used to it, I never got used to it. Many years later working in and around those same plants the system had become a closed and pressurised one, the Ammonia aroma was still present although bearable.
WG1 was called the ball mill where the Anhydrite was crushed then sent to WG2 and processed into Ammonia salts which then went to WG3 for further pocess and over to the Silo for storage and then the Packing shed for bagging and transport out. The complete process in those large building close together being the complete production line for Fertilsers and salts.
Ammonia did not have a fishy smell but just across from the Ammonia plant was the Amines plant which certainly did have a very peculier smell, you could never get it off your clothes so we would do a complete change although even after showering and changing back you could smell that awful scent.
The possitive side was many of the old hands from Ammonia lived well into the 80-90’s something which amazed me, we often got the news that old so and so had gone he was 85, there must have been something in the air, as to the Amines I have no idea, I would use any excuse not to go there.
It must have been the Armines plant my uncle worked in, we often wonder how many people who worked there had health problem? Health and Safety were probably not an issue then, I think I.C.I. should have been made responsible, unfortunately I.C.I. was deemed one of the best employers on Teesside offering a pension plan that most places didn’t have…
Kathleen probably as many as in any factory around Teesside at the time had health problems. In my early years we worked with asbestos to fire proof some fabrications or to insulate others, we had no idea what we were working with or the fact it was dangerous, the shipyards, steel furnaces and places using heat or heat treatments used the stuff and I had two friends died of Asbestosis and here I am clocking the years up no problems.
ICI was a dangerous place to work, Explosions were not unknown, fires fairly common place, Chemical spills and gas escapes quite often although they had for the time very strict safety rules.
ICI also experimented with new processes and one I know was closed down and mothballed soon after being built classed as too dangerous to dismantle. What was the best of Health and Safety then (although we had never heard that term) would not be allowed today, many people even went home in their working clothes which was lazyness as ICI had a good laundry and overall exchange system even then.
I did have a couple of near misses working there, it was no big deal as making a fuss was to us engineers wimpish, my son worked on Ammonia then Arsenic plants and that was a dangerous place, to him it was just a job.
There was no thought of taking firms to court for reward or apportioning blame it never crossed our minds, we took the job knowing all the pitfalls, they paid good wages allowed good holidays and provided the very comfortable pension I have today. ICI with factories both sides of the Tees and all the local people employed servicing ICI though not employed by them gave this area it bread on the table and a roof over your head, they had their faults but is it so different today?
My Father Joe Kidd, joined The Synthetic in 1922, and as one of the “old “Contemptables” . He was invited to join Dr Alexander Fleck who became Director of The Agricultural Division of ICI Billingham, to celebrate with all those similarly placed to the Anniversary of the first Production of Ammonia at Synthetic of Ammonia Company, this became Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). The transfer of Companies took place at sea on The Aquitania in 1926. Despite all the secrecy it was not without tragedy, as Dr Treckman of Ki-Ora killed himself because of this event. This Country owes much to the North East for all the hard graft and sweat that was taken from it, to make this country Great.
Brunner Mond had a factory in London making Caustic soda in the early 1900’s, during the first world war this was turned over to TNT and blew up around 1915-16, the Government then moved such factories away from built up area’s.
My Father told me Billingham was begun late in the first world war and one day as I walked down German Road alongside the Nitric Acid Plant I asked why German Road, I was told it had been built by German POW’s near the end of WW One when Brunner Mond first came to the area.
Before that time although Germany had started oproduction of Ammonia NH3 from chemical means it had been made from animal hoof and horns and was often called Spirit of Hartshorn or Sal Amonniac, it had been known before Roman times in several forms.
The select pile of goods above could well be to show the range of products being made at the new Imperial Chemical Company formed from British Dyestuff, United Alkali, and Nobel Explosives with Brunner Mond or as we locals called it for many years the Synthetic.
The products shown would therefore be the first commercial Ammonia products from Billingham and not a claim to have invented Ammonia.
This note is based on memory of being told a rough history of ICI and my own experience of working there, somewhere there will be an official history, I would like to read it.
I think that your description is amiss… What became ICI Ammonia works was producing ammonia as an intermediate in the production of TNT in WW1
Know what you eat and at the time this picture was taken some of this product would be used in the food industry, biscuits hard breads and other baked produce that did not contain moisture after being cooked. Baking Soda and self raising flour took its place although when cooked the Ammonia had leached out and you could not taste it.
Mix carbon Dioxide with Ammonia and you get (NH4) HC3 or as we once called the cure all Sal Volatile, when they opened the bottle to wave under your nose the exposure to air allowed it to give off Ammonia a wake me up if ever there was one.
It has many and varied uses in Dyes Plastics, Fire Extinquisher dry powders, Fertilsers and too many to list here being the basic product in ICI or the Synthetics early days, it is still the foundation of some Fertiliser although Urea has taken much of its use as general fertiliser.
Urea was also used by the food industry to whiten bread whether it is still used I do not know although reading food labels as I do there are worse things in modern food.