Red Clydeside

Timeline of events

Agreement for manufacture of 18-pounder 4.5-inch and 8-inch shell

29 Mar 1916

During the first world war, the firm of William Beardmore & Co achieved a position of dominance in the West of Scotland economy. This dominance arose as a direct result of the Beardmores engineering facilities being in an unrivalled position to meet Britain's demand for munitions. Beardmores' contribution to war effort included 73 warships, 50 tanks, 516 aircraft and more than 800 six-inch howitzers.

After the war, the company's fortunes began to wane and Beardmores' attempts at diversification proved unsuccessful. William Beardmore's post-war hopes that worldwide demand for aeroplanes would be at the forefront of a new manufacturing boom failed to materialise, and after 1920 nearly every department and subsidiary of Beardmore & Co began to lose money.

The firm began to borrow more and cut back on costs and by 1926 was on the verge of bankruptcy. Sir William Beardmore was ousted from executive control by a Bank of England-guided committee of investigation and reconstruction. Thereafter he oversaw the rundown and dissolution of many of his privately owned businesses until his death in 1936. William Beardmore & Co continued in business on a reduced scale before finally ceasing trading in 1975.

Source: Beardmore Collection, Glasgow University Archives