The Firs, Whitchurch
The Firs is a country house in Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire.
History
[edit]The house was built in 1897 for Charles Gray, an officer who fought with the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa.[1] By the 1930s the house was owned by Major Arthur Abrahams from whom it was requisitioned by the War Office in 1939.[2] During the Second World War the house was used by MD1 for the development and testing of various weapons[3] including time delay fuses, depth charges and PIAT guns.[4] The house, which was known locally as "Winston Churchill's Toyshop", accommodated some 250 people at this time.[5] Meanwhile Abrahams was knighted for his services to the British Red Cross in June 1942.[6]
In around 1953 the house became the Central Research Laboratories for Richard Thomas and Baldwins, iron and steel producers.[7] This use continued until 1967 when Richard Thomas and Baldwins was nationalised as part of British Steel.[7] The house has since been converted into offices[4] and in 2016 was owned by Christopher Mann, Chairman of Plenham Publishing.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Whitchurch: funeral". Buckinghamshire Herald. 6 September 1902. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ MacRae, Stuart (2011). Winston Churchill's Toyshop: The Inside Story of Military Intelligence. Amberley. ISBN 978-1445603704.
- ^ "Whitchurch Historic Town Assessment" (PDF). Buckinghamshire County Council. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Vale's role designing WWII weapons for 'Winston Churchill's Toyshop' – or how one man was arrested at gunpoint for throwing bazooka shells around". Buckinghamshire Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ "The Firs, Whitchurch". Buckinghamshire County Council. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ "No. 35586". The London Gazette. 11 June 1942. p. 2475.
- ^ a b "The Firs Veterans Day 16 July 2010". Whitchurch. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ "Village History". Whitchurch. Retrieved 23 October 2016.