Worker of the Week: Alice Maud Trent

Alice Maud Trent in a police uniform. We think this is the uniform she would have worn at H.M. Factory Gretna. This is a black and white photo from Ancestry Public Member Tree.

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 the factory 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

This week’s Worker of the Week is Alice Maud Trent. We think she went from a domestic servant to a police officer! A huge thank you to our volunteer Nigel for this research on this one and another thanks goes to all our research volunteers.

Early Life

Firstly, Alice was born on 9th July 1887 in Dorset.
Her parents were William and Arabella Trent.
Additionally, she nine siblings that we have come across.

Following this, the 1891 census shows the family still to be living in the same Dorset village, Winfrith Newburgh.

Domestic Servant

When she was 14 years old, Alice was employed as a domestic servant.
According to the 1901 census, she was working at Silverdale Boarding House on Gilbert Road, Swanage in Dorset.

Life During World War One

During World War One, we know one of Alice’s brothers Arthur William Trent was serving with the 7th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment.
Sadly, Arthur died on 22nd February 1916 in the isolation hospital, Weymouth.
Could this have helped to inspire Alice to join the police? We have no evidence for this either way.

We think Alice could be wearing her Women’s Police Force Uniform from H.M. Factory Gretna in this uniform. What do you think? This photo is from Ancestry Public member tree.

We know she was in the Women’s Police Force at H.M. Factory Gretna, as her name appears on the Valuation Roll for the factory site, which is dated 1918 to 1919.
According to the valuation roll, “Miss Alice M. Trent, police” was living at Number 2 Women’s Police Barracks in Gretna.
It seems that she would have started in the Women’s Police Force in 1917.

As a member of the Women’s Police Force at H.M. Factory Gretna, Alice would have helped ensure the smooth running of the factory and helped to keep the work force out of mischief.
It was not unheard of for members of the Women’s Police Force to check the back row of the cinema for instance… [1]
Additionally, they would have also searched munitions workers on their way in and out of the factory to make sure they didn’t smuggle in any contraband such as matches by mistake or become a bit too fond of any of the cordite they were making. [1]
Not only that, but it seems that they used to patrol and guard certain areas of the factory and two townships built for it (that’s Eastriggs and Gretna by the way, but the actual site of the factory stretched from Dornock all the way to Longtown on the other side of the border). [2]
Members of the Women’s Police Force also had to escort unwell munitions workers home after their shift (the fumes inside some areas of the factory could be very strong). [2]

Ministry of Munitions Women’s Police Service badge from the Museum collection. This would have been used at H.M. Factory Gretna.

It seems that the Women’s Police Force might have even helped to keep an eye on the crowds of factory workers when King George V and Queen Mary came to visit in 1917.
Plus, some members of the Women’s Police Force were presented to the royals too. Admittedly, we don’t know if Alice would have been among them.

The woman's police force lined up at a train station. King George V and Queen Mary stand before them. This is a black and white archive photo.

Travels

Where next? Well, it seems Alice continued to work in the police!
By 1921 she was a member of the Walsall Brough Police, according to the census records.
However, by the October of the same year she was living in Barking, Essex.
According to the passenger lists for the SS Commonwealth on 20th October 1921, she is still described as a policewoman and was set to travel to Sydney in Australia.

Following this, we’ve found evidence that suggests that she moved to Utah in 1923. [3] [4]
It seems she used the Canadian Pacific Railroad to travel from Regina in Canada to the USA.

Marriage and Later Life

On the 19th May 1924 she married George Galbraith in Farmington City, Utah.
They had two children.
The first was born in 1925 and sadly died that same year.

Lastly, Alice died on 14th March 1937.

Sources and Further Reading

Members of the Women’s Police Force at H.M. Factory Gretna – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/members-of-the-womens-police-service-at-hm-factory-gretna
Women’s Police Service at H.M. Factory Gretna – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/womens-police-service-at-hm-factory-gretna
Alice M. T. Galbraith, Ogden Standard – Examiner Newspaper, March 1937.
Funeral Wednesday for Mrs. Galbraith, The Ogden Standard – Examiner Newspaper, March 1937.

Mabel Alice Trent Photo Source: Ancestry Public Member Tree.

Find Alice Maud Trent’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>