Along the Moors - Donnington

Aiding The War Effort

During the Second World War, C&W Walker expanded and diversified its product range, manufacturing a range of assorted military hardware to meet the needs of the nation. Bomb casings, equipment for detonating mines and steel plates for aircraft and large guns were all produced at the Midland Ironworks, demonstrating a versatility that would serve the company well in peacetime. Although the firm continued to be a market leader in the manufacture of gas works and chemical plant equipment, the introduction of natural gas production led the company to concentrate on petro-chemical storage, containers and silos for a range of other industries.

When the administrative division of the firm moved to the new town of Telford in 1979, the firm still employed some 300 workers at Donnington but the divergence of operations eventually led to the complete closure of the site, which was subsequently demolished for housing. The Company itself was merged to create Walker Greenbank PLC in 1986 and the engineering side of the concern was later sold off, enabling the new company to concentrate exclusively on the production of wallpaper and home furnishings.