When, in January 1945, the British Admiralty once again applied the break clause in their torpedo production contracts, V-A were forced to start a run down of the war time torpedo operations at their various dispersal sites. Arthur Reddell had been in overall charge of operations since the early war years and Fred Pritchard, after several years in charge of the work at Staines, suddenly found himself recalled to Weymouth. V-A issued instructions that the torpedo workforce of some 8500 men and women be reduced to  650 and at Weymouth the management team of Reddell, Ashmead, Lewis Jones and Fred Pritchard found themselves with the unfortunate task of deciding who would have to be made redundant.

Fortunately the British Admiralty decided to launch a new torpedo research programme, with the intention of producing an advanced breed of "Z Class" underwater weapons. Most of the ideas were in the realms of science fiction, but valuable work was carried out on engine development and the Ferry Bridge works received some of the associated manufacturing work. By 1949 the "Z" research programme had been halted, but work was allowed to continue on the first British active homing torpedo, called Pentane and two other projects called "Bidder" and "Dealer". This resulted in contracts to build some of the early 21" (Bidder) and 18" (Dealer) electric homing torpedoes. From 1945 onwards Whiteheads also played a large part in the "MACKLE" wire guided torpedo development programme, but by 1956 even that had been cancelled, although work did continue on wire guidance for the Mk 23 torpedo, a weapon that eventually saw service with the Royal Navy. An order for the production of 75 Mk 20 torpedoes also brought much needed employment.

In the late 1940's the Navy began to take an interest in ship launched guided missiles and the Ferrybridge Works became involved in the testing of Royal Navy Sea Slug guided missile, as the photograph illustrates.

In 1950 a 24 inch jet propelled solid fuel torpedo was built and tested for the Admiralty. Testing took place at Weston Super Mare and apparently involved mounting the torpedo on a carriage that was then propelled by twelve rockets, at speeds approaching 500 mph, along a launch track some 300 feet long and 80 feet high.

Meanwhile the Company design team, led by Lewis Jones, had been slowly improving on the pre-war eight cylinder radial torpedo engine, with the aim of achieving speeds of 50 knots out to 5000 metres. When Jones retired in 1950, John McKissack, a Scotsman, carried on with the development of the motor.

With the end of the Second World War it was increasingly obvious to the Management that future production orders for torpedoes would be insufficient to keep the Works in business and that if they were to survive they would have to diversify into other areas of general engineering. There was a major shift in policy and Reddell and his management team travelled far and wide looking for suitable orders. Much of the new work was done under licence and the skilled torpedo craftsmen of Whitehead found themselves making machinery for packaging soap, cigarettes, ice cream, soap flakes and butter. Pumps were made for oil and petrol, there were oil separators for Norway and even stainless steel brewery vats were produced for John Smith's of Tadcaster. One of the biggest tasks was producing parts for the Viscount aircraft, including the intricate Flap Gear Box and undercarriage pistons and cylinders.

The management still endeavoured to carry out as many of the skilled craft jobs as possible within the Works, and apart from fitters, turners and millrights, they also employed shipwrights, carpenters, painters, blacksmiths, tinsmiths and men in the Foundry.

The Foundry in the fifties was busy producing various types of castings poured into moulds set out in special fine brown sand and much of this work was carried out by Frank White and Bill Ball. The initial patterns were produced by the patten makers, usually in one of the more stable soft woods such as yellow pine. The art of the pattern makers was to build up the object in segmental form with the grain of the wood so positioned as to give minimum movement with changes in temperature and humidity. Castings were required not only for torpedo work, but also for many of the external contracts won by the Company. By the end of the decade it was becoming apparent that castings could be produced more cheaply by outside specialist firms and so the Works Foundry was closed down. The Foundry in the 1950's was under the control of Mr G. Wallis. Although the Foundry was shut down, the Blacksmiths Shop was retained until the mid-sixties. One photograph, taken in the late fifties, shows well known Wykeite Gordon Rogers using the Coke Oven before hammering a piece of metal to the desired shape. 

Apart from providing a place to eat, the Works Canteen was also used for meetings or presentations that involved large numbers of the workforce and the Canteen stage was sometimes used by representatives of the Management and Unions when addressing a meeting. The photograph is believe to have been taken at a meeting called to discuss a production problem, when the Management was seeking the co-operation of the workers to resolve the situation.

During the late fourties and early fifties the Works held formal Staff Dinners at the Criterion Restaurant in Weymouth and the Bowling Section of the Sports and Atheletics Club occasionally held dinners in the Works Canteen. The top picture opposite was taken at the Criterion Restaurant in the late nineteen fourties and shows Dick Sargent and his wife in the foreground. Amongst the senior managers on the top table are Reddell and Ashmeade. The second photograph is of a Bowls Club Dinner held in the Works Canteen in the early fifties.

Another event held in the Canteen was the annual Chrismas Party for children of the workforce. The Company paid all the costs of the party and the Canteen was decorated with flags and buntings for the occasion. The photograph shows children enjoying the Chrismas Party of 1950.

The Bowls Pavillion at Downclose eventually became known as the Whitehead Sports and Social Club and it was popular with the workers as a place to relax, particularly after a pleasant afternoon or evening spent on the adjacent sports pitches. The Club boasted a darts board and at some stage a skittles alley was added. Behind the bar of the Club in the fifties were Mr and Mrs Alec Pallister and even some of the Foremen would occasionally relax and enjoy a pint in the Clubhouse.

With young men and women working in close proximity in the Factory it was inevitable that the occasional romance would blossom. That happened to Mick Plunkett and Liz Boyce in the late 50's and the photograph shows them after having received a wedding gift of cutlery from their smiling workmates.

As always, an important part of working at the Ferrybridge Works was taking part in the multitude of sporting activities. At the end of the War the sporting competitions between the various Vickers Works were re-started and in 1946 a large party from Weymouth travelled to Southampton, to compete against the workers of the Weybridge Factory. The group photograph, taken around a Spitfire in its hanger, makes an memorable picture. Mr Ashmeade and Mr and Mrs Pritchard are standing at the front left and several other well known faces can be identified.

In 1950 Mr. Reddell presented a trophy for the winners of the annual cricket match between Weymouth and the Vickers Supermarine Works and a cup was also donated for the annual tennis competition.

Ater the War the Whitehead football team quicklybecame a force to be reckoned with in Dorset soccer and in 1946 they were runners-up in the Dorset League Division One. Because, at that time, Weymouth did not have a Town team, Whiteheads were invited to play Portland United for the A'Court Shield and in a famous victory they beat them 3-1 on their home ground at Grove Corner. The team then was made up of Fred Short, Jack Hoskins, Harry King, Bernard Ashmeade, Reg Clarke, Horace Woods, Ted Pearce, Reg Porter, Charlie Bilke, Albert Vallance, Danny Wilkes, Bert Lovell and Percy Diment. They were trained by Ernie King who had played extensively in league football for West Brom and Brighton.

In 1950 the senior side lost their twelve months unbeaten home record, being defeated by Hamworthy 4-3. Whitehead's scorers were Bob Mullins, R. Johnson and H. Lovell and young players that were just establishing themselves were Appleby, Durston, and Shaw.

In the summer of 1952 the Inter-Departmental tournament for the Wakely six-a-side competition was revived. Crutches were thrown aside, bathchairs abandoned and spreading midriffs were held in check as older workers attempted to turn back the clock. The winners were the Copper Shop `B' of L. Legge, L. Holmes, A. Moore, J. Crabb, J. Vergo and H. Ford. In the following season Fraser Shepherd returned to play for the Club after a long spell with Weymouth Town and with A. Vallance and Percy Diment they formed a strong halfback line.

Percy Diment, a turner in the Works, played for Whiteheads for several years. In 1948 he managed to turn out for the first and the second teams in Dorset League Divisions One and Two. A Bridport football programme from the 1951-52 season (Appendix E) shows him playing in the Dorset Senior League and he was still playing in the Whitehead team of 1954, along with some young men such as Pat Bryce. In 1948-49 Harold King was trainer of the first team, with Mr W. Ashmeade as Chairman of the Football section. A.Weaver was Vice-Chairman, Harry Tonkins was Secretary, and W. Mullins was Team Manager and Harold King and W.Mullins were still involved when a team photograph was taken at Bere Regis in the 1955-56 season. The team included a youthful looking Norman Byden and a fme young goalkeeper in Pat Fitzgerald.

Albert Maynard and Fred Fritchard were leading figures in the cricket arena and two cricket teaxns were usually fielded each season. The first team included such players as F. Newton, A. Corbridge, Bill Dyke, B. Collins, Edgar Reed, Jim Maynard and J Gadd. In 1949 Albert Maynard of the Inspection Department scored 1008 runs in weekend cricket by the end of June and J. Gadd of the Technical Drawing Office had taken 59 wickets for only 588 runs. The year of 1949 also saw the "Torpedomen", under the captaincy of Fred Pritchard, win the Echo Cup competition in front of 400 spectators. The feat was repeated in 1952 when the "Renegades" were defeated by only four runs.

In the 1950's the Downclose cricket strip was regarded as one of the best in the district, being visited by many top class teams, including a Somerset eleven whose Arthur Wellard delighted the locals with some explosive batting.

Although the water polo team was revived after the war under Bill Mounce, interest could not be sustained and the team eventually folded.

Darts was a popular winter sport and in 1950 Whitehead teams won the Clubs and the Devenish Darts Leagues, whilst a third team played in the Huntsmans League. In 1951 Charlie Mullins was in four of the six Inter-Departmental fmals and was successful in the Mixed Pairs partnered by Mrs V. Baker and then in the Mens Pairs with D. Thomas. Dick Sargeant defeated F .Gilbert in the Mens Singles whilst Charlie Mullins, Dick Sargeant, Moey Brown and Alec Pallister featured in a highly successful team of the early 1950's.

A team known as the "Torpedomen" played in the Skittles League in the early 1950's. Secretary of the Section was Cyril Milson and R. Hudson, T. Stone, "Curly" Hampson, H. Jones, C. Peto and J. Spraklin helped on the Committee. In 1952 A. Kaile was presented with an Illuminated Address to mark his score of 80 pins in a league match.

An Angling section was run under the auspices of the Sports and Athelectics Club and keen members were W. Pringle, Cyril Peto and Tom Stone. Fishing was mainly off of the Chesil Bank, or the HMS Hood entrance to Portland Harbour. Mr and Mrs Pringle went fishing in their small boat in the late summer of 1949 and in 75 minutes they caught 125 bass. When he was fishing from the Ferrybridge Tom Stone had some good sport before he landed a bass weighing 11lbs 2ozs. He used "guy" as bait and the catch won for him the Whitehead Sports Club Angling Section cup for the best specimen fish of the year. In the winter of 1952 Tom was fishing from the shore of Chesil Beach when he was amazed to haul in a 12 lb Nurse Hound - a small shark usually found in deep water.

Mr J. Block was the enthusiastic Secretary of the Angling Section and he was always anxious to explain that the rules governing competitive fishing were strictly enforced - that way both the angler and the fish knew where they stood!

Table tennis was very popular in the years after the war and even well into the fifties the Whitehead's teams, led by John Crabb, were winning trophies. Perhaps Ray Bassett, who joined the Works as an Apprentice in 1947, was the star player in the nineteen fifties, for he was a tremendous competitor, winning many trophies, and reaching the last 16 out of some 12000 entries in a National Table Tennis competition. 

Although football, cricket and bowls were the main outdoor sports, a strong tennis section continued throughout the 1950's, with Dick Abbott and his wife still playing, supported by youngsters like Mick Durston and Gordon Holland. Matches were arranged by Secretary "Taffy" Evans against such teams as Weymouth Toc H, Portsmouth Dockyard, Weymouth Electric, and Richmond Park (Bournemouth).

A Small Bore Rifle Cub was formed in 1949 and they used the firing range at the Nothe Barracks for home matches and also took part in outdoor competitions. Secretary was F. Pike and top scorers were usually Den Horsley, H. Wellman, C. Welch and G. Wellman. The section boasted a ladies team which included Nurse A. Lloyd, Miss M. Sandy and Miss C. Morris.

Perhaps the Bowls Club had the largest membership of all the Sports and Athletic Club activities and standards were extremely high, in play and in dress. In 1949 a team was entered in the newly formed South Dorset League and in 1950 a team captained by Gus Wallis won the Dorset County League. At that time W. Ashmeade was Chairman of the Bowling Club and J. Scott was the Secretary. W. Davis, A. Pearce, Dick Sargeant and Gus Wallis were selected to play for the County and in 1952 F.Gilbert received that honour for the first time.

The Annual Dinner and distribution of prizes was often held at the Clinton Restaurant, Weymouth, in the early 1950's, with W Ashmeade presiding, Jack Lymouth, Chief of the Drawing Office proposing the Toast, and Alec Weaver Chairman of the Sports and Athletic Club, providing a response.

In 1958 a Whitehead team won the Dorset County Challenge Cup and the photograph shows all the players competing in both Leagues, complete with the magnificent Challenge Cup and other trophies. Senior managers Reddell (President), Ashmeade (Hon.Life Vice President) and Chapman (Vice President) took pride of place in the group. A. Weaver was the Hon. Secretary, L. Chelsom the Hon. Treasurer, whilst J. Smillie and G. Cox were Captain and Vice Captain.

The second World War had dramatically changed the status of women and by the 1950's they had become a welcome and integral part of the workforce. By the end of the nineteen fifties some of the younger ladies at the Works had formed a netball team to play in the local league.

And so, by the end of the nineteen fifties, by skill, determination and hard work, the management and workers of the Ferrybridge Works of Vickers-Armstrong (Engineers) Limited, had gradually come to terms with the difficult post-war years. In 1959 came the first hint that the coming decade of the nineteen sixties was to be equally difficult and threatening to the Factory's survival. The Vickers Hydraulic Division at Elswick, near Newcastle was suddenly transferred down to Weymouth and this was to prove the first step in a major re-organisation that would see the last tenuous links with the development and production of torpedoes broken forever.