In 1938 Bob Martin’s opened a showpiece factory in Southport – it was to play an important role in providing vital medical supplies for British soldiers as well as in maintaining the growth of the company. Production of Bob Martin products was actually halted during the Second World War so that the factory could aid the war effort. The Daily Mail said of water purification tablets produced there for the D-Day landings that they “probably saved more lives in the invasion than any other weapon of defence … through the heroic efforts of hundreds of women in the Bob Martin factory”.