The Rover Company’s main activity was the refurbishment of other maker's aero engines but at Bankfield and Waterloo in Clitheroe they had a small section dealing with a secret project. A man called Frank Whittle had invented what he called a 'jet engine', a totally new concept that did away with propellers and promised far greater power. However, the Rover Company were running into trouble with the project, truth to tell they hadn't the necessary technical expertise and early in 1942 Spencer Wilkes of Rover approached Ernest Hives, general manager of Rolls Royce and proposed a partnership to develop the new idea. Hives didn’t like the idea of joint control and in a famous meeting with Wilkes at the Swan with Two Necks in Clitheroe it was agreed that Rolls would take over the main management of the project and the whole of Bankfield. Rolls moved into Bankfield before the agreement had been drawn up and signed. You know the rest of the story, Rolls Royce went on to pioneer the practical jet engine and are still in business in Barlick. Though not fully realised at the time, this combination of the modernising of the redundant mills for aero engine work and even more significantly, Rolls Royce coming to the town, was the best thing for Barlick since the arrival of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1800.
The effects on the town were immediate. The work force made redundant by the mill closures was highly disciplined, had good technical skills and were ideal for re-training in the new jobs. The shortfall in the labour force was made up by other workers flooding into the town and they all needed lodgings. Rolls built what is now their social club at Coates for female incomers. The old Vicarage became a hostel and the local traders and pubs immediately saw trade improve. Briggs and Duxbury's as the major builder in the town expanded and set on many of the other small builders as sub-contractors. Luckily the German bombers couldn't reach us and workers who came up from the Midlands said that it was paradise after what they had been through. The thing that always strikes me about this story is that it happened completely by chance. During the bad days of the 1930s there had been no government initiatives to help us. Ironically our best friend had been Adolph Hitler and with my tongue firmly in my cheek I have often suggested that we should put a statue up of him in the Town Square!
Throughout the war some of the weaving sheds kept running but under strict government control and with less looms. Once again, the manufacturers were optimistic that conditions would improve after the war and a lot of space was taken up by redundant looms piled two high waiting for happier days. There was another small matter. The new industries paid far better wages than in textiles and in the end this was to become a major problem for the weaving firms that survived.
Calf Hall Shed was taken over completely.
