Hi all, Does anyone know if VA did any tank production in the Chertsey area during WW2? Was there an overall importance to the area? (I know from Chertsey Museum – Bully Beef and Bullseyes that they were making bombers there.) The reason I ask about the importance is that I found reference to a canceled demonstration of the Archer at that location. Obviously it's closer to London than Elswick, but would it have been Vickers' closest location to London?
Neither Brooklands (Weybridge) or Chobham are far to go from Chertsey. Perhaps Chertsey was a meeting point?
Chertsey was the home of FVPE - the Fighting Vehicles Proving Establishment. There's a bit on its history here: Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment - Wikipedia There is also a fairly recent book on the Chertsey/Chobham site: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00R0IOVNC
Evaluation by the FVPA at Chertsey features heavily in the acceptance of any new AFV or proposed modification into service. And, as has been said evaluation of enemy equipment. I believe a lot of the official photos with a stark, churned up, landscape were taken there. The record books at Kew are thick!
Coincidentally, I just found this ...which gives a good insight into what they did. It mentions geographic locations too. https://www.google.com/amp/s/tankan...-british-report-on-captured-panther-tank/amp/
Funny. Dug it out this morning looking for a cartoon's name. Slightly odd tome. He talks confidently about the time he was at Chobham, but seems a bit more uncertain about the WW2 & pre-war. There's an impression he could access the archives & some nice photographs, but wasn't really that interested. Still worth having for the post-war stuff, which is pretty good. (Hardly surprising given his CV. Looked him up & very much drenched in modern AFVs)
There was definitely no tank production undertaken by Vickers at Chertsey. They had a small workshop for building prototypes - the Tetrarch and Harry Hopkins prototypes were built there - but even in this case the components were usually manufactured at Elswick.
