Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Royal Arsenal began as a Tudor warren at Tower Place in Old Woolwich where owners gave permission to prove guns on domestic land in 1651. The site became a military establishment when the Board of Ordnance received the estate in exchange for Gun Wharf and cash by 1671.
Andrew Schalch served as the first Master Founder of the Royal Brass Foundry from 1717 until his retirement in 1769. Jan Verbruggen installed a horse-powered horizontal boring machine in 1770 while Henry Maudslay worked there starting in 1783 to improve the lathe.
The fuze factory was destroyed during the raid on the 7th of September 1940 while the filling factory and light gun factory suffered severe damage. One hundred three people were killed and 770 injured across 25 raids involving bombs, V-1 flying bombs, and V-2 rockets between 1940 and 1945.
Twenty workers formed a food-buying association operating from Plumstead named the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society in 1868. The enterprise grew to half a million members over 115 years providing services including funerals housing libraries and insurance.
The Royal Arsenal ceased to be a military establishment in 1994 when the Ministry of Defence moved out completely. More than 3,000 residents now live in converted Grade I and Grade II listed buildings with plans for additional homes and commercial spaces like Woolwich Works completed by October 2018.