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The Ardeer Company and the defence of Nobel’s Explosive Factory
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Scottish History Blog | ScottishHistory.org
In November 1912, Nobel’s Explosive Factory at Ardeer in Ayrshire formed a company of reserve soldiers from their workforce to guard the site in the event of war with Germany. In the ‘precautionary period’ during the July Crisis of 1914, some Territorial Force units, including the Ardeer Company, were mobilised for coastal defence service, with the remainder being mobilised when war was declared with Germany on 4 August 1914. The Ardeer Company guarded Nobel’s Ardeer Factory until November 1914 when it was disbanded so that the men could be employed in vital explosive production for the war effort.