Mills bomb Mills bomb "Mills bomb" is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army and saw widespread use in World War I. William Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the "Mills bomb" at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was inspired by an earlier design by Belgian captain Leon Roland. Roland and Mills were later engaged in a patent lawsuit. Col. Arthur Morrow, a New Zealand Wars officer, also believed aspects of his patent were
Religion in Birmingham and surrounding district continued to grow throughout this period with a number of churches and religious houses being established. The growth in Catholic numbers in the 19th Century was fuelled partly by Irish immigration, and a mix of anti-popery and xenophobia led to some confrontations in the town, notably the Murphy Riots of 1867. However, there was relatively little strife and Catholics in Birmingham began to be accepted by the establishment of the town. Birmingham became an archdiocese in 1911, and the Catholic population continued to grow along with the city, helped by further waves of immigration, primarily from Ireland,