[1] It was funded by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and by voluntary funds from industry[2] to investigate the chemical and physical properties of rayon and rayon fabrics, using a wide range of laboratory and theoretical methods.
[4] The BRRA sponsored Andrew Donald Booth's early research into computing at Birkbeck[5] and was home to the first of his All Purpose Electronic Computers built in 1952[6] Under Wilson's leadership, the staff of BRRA grew to nearly 300 and gained an international reputation in textiles research.
[7] The Duke of Edinburgh opened the new BRRA laboratory at Heald Green on 11 May 1955.
[8] British Pathé filmed footage of research, at BRRA, on the strength of fabrics.
BRRA's life ended with its merger with the BCRA to form the Cotton, Silk, and Man-Made Fibres Research Association in 1961, better known as the Shirley Institute.