Bowater Paper Mills

1914 W. V. Bowater and Sons purchased a site at Northfleet on the south side of the Thames estuary near Gravesend in May for a paper mill; this was the firm's first step towards becoming a paper manufacturer.

The war interrupted the firm's plans and it was not until 1923 that the construction of a paper mill could be considered. The contractor was Armstrong, Whitworth and Co, a major armaments manufacturer that had turned to other activities after the end of the war.

There were serious flaws in Armstrong's design of the Northfleet mill, and modifications had to be made during construction. These changes led to large cost overruns and delayed the commencement of full production from July 1925 until almost a year later.

The resolution of the serious problems at Northfleet was the work of Eric Vansittart Bowater and this achievement was his stepping stone to the leadership of the firm. .