Swaythling passenger cars in the UK, leaving the Southampton made Transit as their only British-made vehicle. In 2009, with the new Kocaeli, Turkey, plant in full production, Ford reluctantly halved production at Southampton and reduced the workforce to just over 500. Employing 500 workers, the factory produced up to 35,000 Transit chassis/cab variant vehicles annually, of which 50% were exported. The Ford Southampton plant closed on 26 July 2013. The very first branch of the DIY chain B&Q was opened in Swaythling in 1969. The shop was owned by Messrs Block and Quayle. Swaythling railway station is on the main line
David Block David Block Brigadier David Arthur Kennedy William Block CBE, DSO, MC, (13 June 1908 – 2001) was a British Army officer who, during the Second World War, won a Military Cross when commanding "C" Battery of the Ayrshire Yeomanry in North Africa and the DSO in Italy the following year. He was later was appointed ADC to the Queen. Block was born at Cothall in Aberdeenshire and was the twin brother of Major-General Adam Block. He was educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton and at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich before being commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1928.