Worker of the Week is a series of blog posts which highlights the workers at H.M. Factory Gretna that our volunteers researched for The Miracle Workers Project. This project aimed to centralise all of the 30,000 people who worked at Gretna during World War One and, although it may be over, our amazing research volunteers are continuing to uncover more stories about H.M. Factory Gretna workers to be added to this database. We are always looking to learn more about H.M. Factory Gretna workers. If you know anything about a H.M. Factory Gretna worker please feel free to get in touch with us by contacting info@devilsporridge.org.uk Thank you to all our excellent research volunteers!
This week’s Worker of the Week is James Auld. During his time at H.M. Factory Gretna he was threatened, appears in a newspaper article about “Unbusiness-Like Methods” there and later went on to set fire to some things. Read on to find out more.
Early Life
- Firstly, on the 9th January 1891, James Cecil William Auld was born in Lanarkshire.
- James was the only child of William and Emily Auld.
- According to the the 1891 census, the family are recorded as living at The Manse, Carnock, Fife.
- Perhaps, unsurprisingly given this address, William worked as a Reverend.
- Seemingly, James would have attended Dunfermline High School.
- However, we do not know the exact dates he attended.
- After this, in 1909, James joined the Seaforth Highlanders.
Married Life
- Following this, on 14th September 1912, James married Mary Hillhowas Gowans in Glasgow.
- At this time James was working is an engine fitter.
- Later, they went on to have nine children.
Life at H.M. Factory Gretna
- We know that James Auld worked as a engineer at H.M. Factory Gretna from at least 1917.
- Whilst working at the factory he appears to have lived in G 10, Eastriggs.
- James and Mary’s first son was born in Dornok in April 1917.
- On the record for this James is described as a mechanical engineer of G10, Eastriggs.
H.M. Factory Gretna workers would have been given an On War Service badge during their time working at the factory.
- However, this is far from the only trace we have found of James at the factory.
- He appears in an account of a Dornock robbery in the local newspaper. [1]
- Seemingly, on 26th May 1917 a Robert Douglas Gibson Henderson from Back Lowthertown, Dornock was accused of stealing a purse. [1]
- How is relevant to James? Well, after the theft Robert was then accused of heading to “cemetery, and in a field adjoining the cemetery” where he was accused of having:
“assaulted James Cecil Wallace Auld, foreman engineer, G 10, Eastriggs, Dornock and Robert Wotherspoon, engineer, Jutland House, Eastriggs and threatened to stab them with a knife.”
– The Dumfries and Galloway Standard Newspsaper, 2nd June 1917. [1]
- Although, we don’t know any further details of what happened in the cemetery, it does seem likely that James and Robert [2] would have worked together at the factory.
- Additionally, they both lived in Eastriggs, one of the two vital townships (the other being Gretna) built to help accommodate and facilitate those that worked there.
(Meanwhile, the rural site of the factory actually stretched from from Longtown in England to Dornock in Scotland, despite what the name assigned to it by the government at the time suggests. Although the central administration buildings were located in Gretna, according to the factory manual, the name ‘H.M. Factory Gretna’ could have been a deliberate bit of misdirection. Would anyone want their enemies to know the exact location of their munitions factories, after all?)
- Notably, Robert Wotherspoon [2] must have left quite an impression on James Auld as named his son after him!
Robert Womesly, friend of James Auld, is on the right of this photo.
“Unbusiness Like Methods” at the Factory
- Seemingly, this was not the only time James appeared in the newspaper whilst working at H.M. Factory Gretna.
- Apparently, he may have been involved in some “unbuisness-like methods” in at the factory. [3]
- According to the Dumfries and Galloway standard newspaper, it all kicked of with fellow Eastriggs resident, Harry Ainsworth [4], clocking into his shift at H.M. Factory Gretna early.
- The newspaper recounts how Harry was charged “with having defrauded the Ministry of Munitions of the sum of 14s 6d” after clocking in at 11.23am on 21st February 1918, only to actually start his shift at 6pm. [3]
- After receiving his calling up notice, Harry went to Gretna to make the military authorities aware of his protection certificate (presumably from working at H.M. Factory Gretna) with permission of his supervisor.
- Before heading off to Gretna though he clocked in at the factory, leaving him with a 19 hour long shift!
- However the :
“accused pleaded not guilty”
– ‘Unbusiness-Like Methods” at Gretna’, The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, Wednesday 20th March 1918. [3]
- In fact the defence argued that it was was custom for men to go to Gretna in the Ministry’s time after they were called up and it was done with the knowledge of superior officials!
The train station at Gretna township. Could Harry have been here while he had clocked on at the factory?
- What does this have to do with James? Well, by this time it turns out that “the engineer in charge of the section in which the accused was employed” and indeed Harry’s supervisor was named “Mr Auld.”
- Could this be James? We think it is highly likely, don’t you?
- So what did he have to say about Harry’s claims? Seemingly, Mr Auld gave Harry a train ticket to go to Gretna, but he had not given Harry permission to do this in the Ministry’s time and did not agree with him having done so.
- Unfortunately, for Mr Auld the defence was able to provide some evidence on the point.
- Ultimately, the Sheriff Champion found the case not proven and concluded:
“He was afraid very casual customs might prevail at Gretna. Probably they would be better of revision: but bringing up any particular individual and charging him with an offence under the regulations was not the fairest way to institute reform. Anything more unbusiness-like than this practice one could scarcely imagine, and it was little wonder that expenses ran up at Gretna if this was the way they did business.”
– ‘”Unbusiness-Like Methods” at Gretna’, The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, Wednesday 20th March 1918.[3]
- We don’t know if James faced any repercussions in response to this case, but it was reported that an inquiry should be made into business methods at the Factory, in response to these comments.[3]
- Naturally, it is highly possible that James Auld was not even involved in these “unbusiness-like methods” at the factory, but it does look as though he could have been in charge of the section where it happened. What do you think?
Travels
- Next we find James on 6th May 1918, when he travelled to New York from Glasgow on the ship ‘City of Exeter.’
- Although it doesn’t seem that he was traveling for leisure, as he was working as a ships engineer.
“Careless” Driving
- After this James returned to Scotland.
- In fact we precede to find him in several newspaper articles. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that any of these were for best behaviour.
- Firstly, in February 1936:
“James Cecil Wallace Auld, motor car dealer, St Ronans, Mill Road, Yorker, Dumbarton, was fined £10 with an alternative of 30 days imprisonment.”
– “Motor Car Dealer Fined,” The Scotsman, 28th February 1936. [5]
- The day before, The Edinburgh Evening News records how James Cecil Wallace Auld, a “Fife road offence motor cyclist who fell off his machine” was “fined £10” and plead guilty to the charge. [6]
- Meanwhile, The Dundee Evening Telegraph records James as having been “drunk in charge of a motor cycle.” [7]
- Later in 1937, James was fined for his driving again.
On this occasion, James:
“pleaded not guiltily to driving his car carelessly on 17th July.”
– Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette, Friday 24th September 1937. [8]
Ultimately, though:
“A fine of £3 was imposed. The accused was disqualified from driving for a year.”
– Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette, Friday 24th September 1937. [8]
“Fire-Raising At Three Farms”
- This wasn’t the last time that James Cecil Wallace Auld appears in the newspaper for wrongdoing.
- On the 2nd February 1941 he appears to have set fire to some things.
- More specifically, The Dundee Courier records James as having:
“pleaded guilty to setting fire to eight stacks at three neighbouring Fife farms. Damage caused was estimated at £479”
– The Dundee Courier newspaper, Friday 14th February 1941. [9]
- Similar accounts of the incident can be found in The Scotsman [10] and The Dundee Evening Telegraph. [11]
- As a consequence of this actions James was “sentenced to nine months imprisonment.”
- We haven’t found any more rule-breaking exploits from James in any newspapers after this. Perhaps this final imprisonment was enough to put him off. What do you think?
- Lastly, James died in September 1972.
Sources and Further Reading
- “Robbery at Dornock, ” The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, Saturday 2nd June 1917.
- Worker of the Week: Robert Wortherspoon – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-robert-wotherspoon
- ‘Unbusiness-Like Methods” at Gretna, The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, Wednesday 202th March 1918.
- Worker of the Week: Harry Ainsworth – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-harry-ainsworth
- “Motor Car Dealer Fined,” The Scotsman Newspaper, Friday 28th February 1936.
- “Fife Road Offence Motor Cyclist Who Fell off His Machine Yorker Man Fined £10,” The Edinburgh Evening New Newspaper, Thursday 27th February 1936.
- “Drunk in Charge of a Motor Cycle,” The Dundee Evening Standard Newspaper, Thursday 27th February 1936.
- Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette Newspaper, Friday 24th September 1937.
- “Set Fire to Stacks at Fife Farms,” The Dundee Courier Newspaper, Friday 14th February 1941.
- “Set Fire to Stacks at Farms,” The Scotsman Newspaper, Friday 14th February 1941.
- Dundee Evening Standard Newspaper, Thursday 13th February 1941.
Find James Auld’s online database entry by clicking here>
Do you have a relative who worked at H.M. Factory Gretna? We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us by emailing info@devilsporridge.org.uk. You never know, maybe your relative could feature in a future Worker of the Week blog post! You can also have a look at some more H.M. Factory Gretna workers on our online database here>
