The explosives works was important during the First World War, when demand for munitions and explosive ingredients rose enormously. Pitsea's specialised industrial site formed part of a much larger national supply system.
Local historical research records use of the Wat Tyler wharf in connection with wartime horse movements. Horses remained essential for moving military equipment, supplies and casualties.
The explosives works closed in 1929, but its large buildings, isolated position and access towards the Thames made the site useful again when Britain entered another war.
During the Second World War the site became a Sea Transport Stores complex. Existing storage space and river access were useful for equipment connected with troop ships, hospital ships and other vessels.
Local oral-history evidence recalls huge quantities of bedding, mattresses and pillow slips, together with firefighting equipment for ships. Blankets could be washed, folded and stored ready for reuse.
Anti-glider and anti-tank ditches were cut across the flat marshland during preparations for possible German invasion. Defensive structures including a concrete pillbox and anti-tank blocks survive as reminders of this period.
Visitors now walk through a landscape that once supported explosives manufacture, naval supply and national defence. That contrast is one of Wat Tyler's most unusual features.