During the 1914-1918 war the British Government became the sole importer of petroleum products. Distribution of petrol remained in the hands of the existing petrol companies, each of which was allotted a fixed percentage related to its previous share of the market and given sole rights of distribution in a particular area. The Government controlled both the wholesale selling prices and the distributing companies' profit margin. This pattern was to be repeated during the second World War, despite the large increase in the number of supply companies. After the war private motoring and the commercial use of vehicles developed rapidly, with a consequent increase in the consumption of petrol and in the number of retailers selling petrol. Little initial capital was required; petrol dispensing equipment was obtainable from the petrol companies on payment of a small deposit, with very generous repayment periods, and the petrol companies undertook maintenance. In 1920 Anglo-American introduced the first hand-operated petrol pumps with underground storage tanks of 300-to 500-gallon capacity. Thereafter any site which had previously sold petrol in cans was regarded as a potential pump site and equipment manufacturers and petrol companies both competed to secure orders or representation. By 1929 there were some 28,000 retail outlets with more than twice as many pumps; by 1938 there were over 35,000 outlets with some 100,000 pumps and an average annual throughput of 24,000 gallons per station or 8,500 gallons per pump. Many stations provided efficient service; others were failures and were abandoned and later became derelict.

There were 4 nationalised supply companies and some 'independent'. Among the independents the chief ones were Power Petroleum Co. Ltd. (established in 1923) and Russian Oil Products (R.O.P., established in 1924) both of which distributed Russian petrol imported from Batum on the Black Sea. Both sold at prices below those of the national companies and both achieved considerable success.

In an attempt to counter the dependence on sales of oil to the biggest Western companies, the Bolshevik government began, in 1924, actively developing its own distribution network abroad, especially in countries where the Soviet products were already known to the consumers.  In August of that year, a Soviet company called Russian Oil Products opened business on British territory, its objective being to organize retail trade in Britain.  The legal grounds for its operations were provided by the Anglo-Russian trade agreement of 1921.  By the beginning of 1925, this firm had set up its own trading system, built oil distribution storage facilities in Bristol and Cardiff, and entered into fierce competition with local companies. In the initial stages, Russian Oil Products pursued a dumping policy, selling petroleum products for 1-3 pence less than other firms did. The Soviet company managed to grasp a place on the British market: of the 250 thousand tons of oil imported into Britain over the first nine months of 1925, Soviet petroleum products accounted for about a fifth, marketed under the brand "ZIP" at 11½d per gallon compared to 1/3d. from the 'nationals'.

Despite attempts by the national companies to counter the activities of the independents, the sales of the independents received further encouragement from the rise in the price of petrol on the world market and the introduction in 1928 of a tax on petrol in the United Kingdom. The effect was to stimulate the buying public's interest in cut-price petrol and, because of the competition between the national companies and the independents, no company was willing to increase its prices. The price level in the United Kingdom is said to have become unprofitable to the suppliers at this time. In January, 1929 the national companies and the larger independents reached agreement in that branding of outlets with clear indication of prices would become the norm whilst some wholesale trading between companies worked to even out price differences. The maintained retail prices typically became 1/5d. for R.O.P. and 1/7d. per gallon for the nationals, the duty being 9d.

In the summer of 1938 the principal suppliers in the United Kingdom - namely Anglo-American, National Benzole, Standard Oil & B.P. and Trinidad Leaseholds - joined together with Government approval to form the Petroleum Board. There is no mention of the status of R.O.P. in relation to the Board. The Board was initially a voluntary body set up to consider the problems of petroleum distribution which would arise in the event of war. On 3rd September 1939 the Board's recommendations became effective and the Board itself became an executive body working under Government direction. The physical assets, working capital and manpower of all petrol companies in the United Kingdom were pooled, each company receiving remuneration and depreciation on the assets contributed at agreed rates; prices, quantities and qualities of petroleum products came under Government control and competitive marketing between suppliers ceased; products were supplied by the members of the Board as far as possible in proportion to their pre-war deliveries, all (except lubricants) were sold under a Pool description, the selling price of each Pool product being subject to Government control. The controlled prices were as far as possible fixed with a view to covering the costs of the Board without providing any profit. In the case of petrol, one grade only was made available. Supplies for civilian use were rationed. By agreement between H.M. Government and the Board, pooling arrangements were to end not more than two years after the end of the state of emergency. Actually the Petroleum Board was not dissolved until June 1948. It is noteworthy that the R.O.P. Ltd company was sold to Regent Oil in 1948 and thence was absorbed into Texaco. The use of the depot however was taken up by Watson's Petrol Company which had already become one of the outlets for ZIP petrol before the war.  After the war however, Watson's would have distributed Fina products.

Wartime Use: George Freeston noted that the GUCCC. re-occupied the site in 1940 and that in the period 1940 to approx. 1980 the site was used for - (i). "Pool" petrol depot [plausible only if the fuel was brought there in lorry-tankers that stayed till empty] , (ii). Northants farmers - a fuel depot, (iii). Derngate Motor Company - storage of exWD vehicles, (iv). Regent Oils, (v). Texaco Petrols, (vi). Watson petroleum and (vii). Mr. Peter Stock - metal construction business having moved from opposite the mill in Blisworth - but not necessarily in that exact order.  George, with his first item, is thus lending support to the idea that, during the war, the depot was kept open for special local use, that is, it could have functioned as a discreet depot for petrol and paraffin users such as local farmers who were not subject to the strictures of wartime rationing but only once the food storage had been mostly moved to the mill.  A Millner letter contradicts this view as there is reference to tanks and pumps being removed in 1940.  The local farmer H. Osborne's records for 1942 and 1943 show that he bought 50 gallons of petrol and 200 gallons of paraffin at a place he referred to as "The Pool" or "The Board".  At first it seems he could have visited a depot rather than a 'street vendor' for such large quantities but, as pointed out by the farmer's daughter, who was 14 at the time, he was only allowed to buy and carry petrol up to 4 gallons and cannot recall any visits to any local depot.  The reference in the farmer's records to 50 gallons must have been in relation to a month's total; probably bought at Freeston's in the High Street.  So it seems that R.O.P. Ltd was in no way involved at the Arm after 1940.  They may well have continued to supply wholesale to the board throughout the war for as long as maritime conditions permitted.

A released Home Office file (HO 144/17917) deals with concern that R.O.P. Ltd. were engaged in dubious activities circa from July 1932 to August 1933. Officials were concerned that this company was being used as a base for communist political activities leading to espionage and sabotage. Apart from the Home Office severely limiting the large number of applicants to join the board of R.O.P. Ltd., there are files which include profiles of communist activists and employees, both Russian and British, and submissions from surveillance officers and ex-employees. For example, in 1932 Volodarsky, clumsily posing as a Romanian journalist, offered bribes to Shell Mex employees in return for oil industry information. Volodarsky was in fact an OGPU agent, posing in Britain under cover of being employed by Russian Oil Products. At this time Volodarsky was living at 160 Highbury New Park, an address associated at the time with many Soviet agents.

R.O.P. Ltd. had offices both in London and in Dublin. The Irish also became concerned with the activities in Dublin. Later, security files also disclose that MI5 kept a close watch on the company which was suspected of being a cover for Soviet espionage during wartime.  The antics of one dubious character, William Denis Kendall, is linked to R.O.P.Ltd. in a way that "is not clear".  This wartime topic might have induced Anthony Blunt, who worked at MI5 at the time, to pay a visit to Blisworth and stay at the Hotel just after the war. His visit is recorded in a Blisworth Hotel register that appeared on Ebay early in 2009.  Blunt's involvement, of course, could have been 'motivated' from either side!  By 1938 R.O.P. Ltd. had 35 depots across England, one of which was at the Arm just a ½ mile from the hotel, and it has been claimed that most were staffed by members of the Communist Party.  But what would the point have been of Blunt's visit after the war with the depot disused for 5 years?  Perhaps he was there to check that a good 'cover-up' had been staged.

Probably stimulated by its unpopularity re. 'dumping', there was a campaign in the 1930’s conducted by a national newspaper to boycott Russian oil, being offered in the UK by Russian Oil Products through a subsidiary in the Medway. Because the first letters of the full name made MOSCO, the subsidiary was taken to have Soviet connections (which of course it had anyway), and so it had to publish reassurances as to its fully non-Soviet, British and independent nature! As often happens, the resultant publicity of this campaign ensured that "Power Petrol", the other main independent brand, became more of a household name and that in fact it was a good fuel at a cheap price and, latterly, was manufactured in Britain.  R.O.P. were also active in marketing; they were unusual in giving away their maps of Britain, one of which had a sketch map of the company's Russian oil fields near the Caspian Sea on the back cover - a feature one can just make out from the inset picture.