Use of RWA during WW2

Shower block at the RWA built for American GIs in 1942
Shower block at the RWA built for American GIs in 1942

Bristol Aircraft Company (BAC) were based at the RWA to manufacture aeroplane parts. The Germans knew about Filton, so manufacture was spread across the city in buildings that might not be suspected of housing aeroplane manufacture.

Shower blocks (built about 1942 when The United States joined WW2). Part of the RWA was used to accommodate American GIs during WW2.

Post WW2

The Inland Revenue used the building after the war. It went back to RWA use in 1950.

Of particular interest: The geographical context is worth considering. When it was first built (soon after the Victoria Rooms) the RWA was away from the centre and in parkland, Tyndall’s Park. Park Street was so named because it led to this parkland.

A watercolour drawing executed by Samuel Jackson in 1824 in the Braikenridge Collection of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (BRSMG M3435). The view looks east from a position in the area of Park Place across Whiteladies Road and Tyndall's Park to Royal Fort House.
A watercolour drawing executed by Samuel Jackson in 1824 in the Braikenridge Collection of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (BRSMG M3435). The view looks east from a position in the area of Park Place across Whiteladies Road and Tyndall’s Park to Royal Fort House.