# No 5 Forward Filling Depot. (FFD)



## Wallsey (Feb 15, 2011)

Forward Filling Depot Number 5, Escrick, North Yorkshire 
Grid Reference : SE676428
Sometimes referred to as West Cottingwith.
It was proposed in 1941 that 5 of these depots would be built. The Forward Filling Depot serving the Bomber Command Airfields in Yorkshire was at West Cottingwith, eight miles south-east of York.
These FFD’S were designed to charge cases with mustard gas.
The chemical name for mustard gas is dichlorodiethyl sulphide. At normal room temperature it is a liquid. 
Contact with the liquid or vapor will cause blisters on the skin similar to third degree burns and if inhaled will cause serious damage to the lungs which will almost inevitable cause death.
Its value in conflict was due to the fact that it does not decompose and will remain active in the ground or on materials it has contaminated for many days, in fact months or even years.
Today only a few buildings remain on the site, these are believed to be the personnel decontamination and changing room, the toxic and non-toxic mess rooms and the guardroom/office.
The layout of the 5 FFD’s were similar in layout. The larger buildings used for storing empty cases. A bonding building and a charging building where the cases were filled.
Underground storage tanks, called POTS, is where the chemical was stored.
West Cottingwith had two tanks, each capable of holding 250 tons of mustard gas.
The depot was served by the Derwent Valley Light Railway.







The Approach






The Guardroom and offices











Miscellaneous Buildings


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## gingrove (Feb 16, 2011)

Good report on an interesting place. The pots were lined with lead so with a bit of luck anybody who tries to nick it will get a nasty surprise!
Thanks for posting


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## TK421 (Feb 16, 2011)

Hello mate, interesting site, I have been meaning to do this myself at some point. I see you are from Malton, I'm across the river in Norton, small world eh!

Great report

Ian


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## godzilla73 (Feb 17, 2011)

This is a really interesting site. Thanks for telling us about it.
GDZ


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## Foxylady (Feb 17, 2011)

I knew that mustard gas was used extensively in WWI, but had no idea that it was still used in the WWII too. That's really interesting. Cheers, Wallsey.


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## krela (Feb 17, 2011)

Foxylady said:


> but had no idea that it was still used in the WWII too.



That would be because it wasn't actually used...


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## Foxylady (Feb 17, 2011)

krela said:


> That would be because it wasn't actually used...


LOL! That explains it.


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## krela (Feb 17, 2011)

Both sides had all sorts of nasty chemical weapons but they were outlawed by the first geneva convention in 1925.

Zyclon B and Carbon Dioxide were used extensively by the Germans in other ways though... =/


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## hydealfred (Feb 17, 2011)

Do you know I have never given any thought before with regards to Bomber Command dropping chemical weapons. That opens up a new avenue of research. Good thought provoking post


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## gingrove (Feb 17, 2011)

hydealfred said:


> Do you know I have never given any thought before with regards to Bomber Command dropping chemical weapons. That opens up a new avenue of research. Good thought provoking post



We also had what were known as Bulk Contamination Vehicles, like a cross between a tanker and a slurry spreader that was designed to be filled with Mustard gas and would drive along and contaminate a 30m wide belt in front of the advancing Germans to slow them down if they invaded. Real last ditch do or die stuff (or perhaps that should be "do and die")


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## Wallsey (Feb 19, 2011)

Foxylady said:


> I knew that mustard gas was used extensively in WWI, but had no idea that it was still used in the WWII too. That's really interesting. Cheers, Wallsey.



Winston Churchill stated that we would not be first to use Chemical Warfare, but if the enemy used it he would not hesitate in using it !


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## krela (Feb 19, 2011)

Wallsey said:


> Winston Churchill stated that we would not be first to use Chemical Warfare, but if the enemy used it he would not hesitate in using it !



Which is pretty much exactly what Hitler said too.


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## gingrove (Feb 20, 2011)

Hitler may have changed his mind had he realised that we had not discovered the nerve agents Tabun, Soman and Sarin at the same time as German researchers between the wars. We would have had no antidotes to deal with them and it was rumoured that the V3 long range super gun that was never finished was designed to deliver nerve agents to London.


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## Trousercowboy (Apr 21, 2011)

An interesting find at this site recently...

HERE


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## dangerous dave (Apr 21, 2011)

the start of MAD i guess


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