Rainham Chemical Works
of the Range Works, Rainham, Essex
1915 Samuel James Feldman (a retired solicitor) and Robert William Partridge (an art dealer) agreed to set up a plant for manufacture of picric acid using a process developed by Swiss scientists, Dr David Maron and Dr George Wyss. The plant was divided into 2 parts, one manufacturing for the Ministry of Munitions and the other for the owners to export.
1916 Rainham Chemical Works Ltd was incorporated as a private company to manufacture picric acid (tri-nitro-phenol) and other purposes; the company was formed by Feldman and Partridge after negotiations with the Ministry of Munitions. [1]
1916 One of the feedstocks, di-nitro-phenol, was stored next to the nitrating shed where a fire occurred. This had major consequences because the owners and operators of the plant had not realised di-nitro-phenol was an explosive. The legal case concerning responsibility for damages was appealed to the House of Lords[2]