Pictures from the Heritage Archives

In June 2022, the Heritage Trust was approached by Dennis Liggins' nephew, asking whether we knew anything about his uncle, who was awarded the British Empire Medal on 10 June 1944, with a citation stating it was for his work with ‘blades’. Peter believed his uncle had worked for Armstrong Siddeley Motors at Millthorp Mill, Sedburgh, during WW2.

Research showed this mill was one of the many ‘secret factories’ set up by Armstrong Siddeley Motors (ASM) after the chaos caused by the bombing of Coventry in 1940/41, at which time ASM’s Parkside factory suffered heavy damage, having attracted rather too much attention from the German bomber pilots. It would appear that after this, Dennis was sent to Millthorp Mill on a top-secret mission to develop and oversee production methods and testing of turbine blades, but what was the engine and why the award of the BEM?                                                                                                          

Fast forward to October 2026, and ASHT's fledgling museum at Pentre Shropshire received the latest large artefact ever entrusted to our care; the ASX prototype jet engine. This engine is an experimental prototype gas turbine engine that ASM built and tested from a theoretical design developed at R.A.E. Farnborough. Work began in late 1942; it received its first firing in 1943 and reached full power in 1944, with a thrust of 2200 lbs, later improved to 25000 lbs.

This experience led ASM to become one of the leading manufacturers of gas turbine engines in the late 1940s and through the 1950s.

After four years, the reason he was awarded the BEM became clear; the sequel to this story will appear in the next Issue of Siddeley Times.

In the picture above, you can see the engine sectioned to show the compressor stage, fourteen discs, clearly showing the different sizes and shapes of the turbine blades.