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 Thanks to everyone who makes this possible, including our research volunteers
This week’s Worker of the Week, Valentine Duffy seems to have put their foot in it and got in some trouble while working at the factory. Read on to find out how and more about his life.
Early Life
- Firstly, Valentine Duffy was born on 24th January 1900 in Dublin, Ireland.
- His parents were Charles and Catherine Duffy ( nee Core ).
- Valentine had four siblings.
- By the 1901 census, the family were living at Emerald’s Terrace, Merchant Quay in Dublin.
- Valentine’s father Charles was an electrical engineer.
- Following this, the 1911 census shows the family to still be living in the same area.
- It seems the family did move house, as they were living at 5 Millmount Cottage in Merchant’s Quay by this point.
- Meanwhile, Charles was continuing to work as an electrician.
- Perhaps, Charles occupation inspired Valentine.
- Being too young to join active service until 1918, Valentine worked as apprentice election.
- Can anyone guess where he did so?
H.M. Factory Gretna
- We know you’ve probably worked it out by now, but Valentine was an apprentice engineer at H.M. Factory Gretna.
- Once again we don’t know exactly when Valentine came to work at the factory (if your a frequent reader of our Worker of the Week blog post, you may well have come across that line before and probably will again.)
- However, we do know he was working there by 18th June 1917.
- In fact, he had been “employed at Gretna for some time” by then. [1]
- This is because, Valentine kind of put his foot in it and got into some trouble which ended up in the newspaper.
- It all involved some boots, which Valentine Duffy pleaded guilty to stealing.
- According to the newspaper solicitor Mr I. F. Edgar (he tends to pop up a lot in these cases at the factory) explained on Valentine’s behalf…
“Boots were served out to the workers where the acid destroyed their own boots. Accused got a pair and as he had had a pair of his own boots destroyed, he thought he was entitled to walk out with the books belonging to the factory.”
– The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, June 1917. [1]
- However, it was argued that Valentine had not been given the boats “and they must have been taken from the store.”[1]
- Ultimately…
“The Sheriff remarked that smarter supervision should be kept at the store. Certainly people ought not to be able to go into a store and pick things up like that.”
– The Dumfries and Galloway standard newspaper. [1]
- Perhaps, Valentine’s guilty plea helped, for the Sheriff only “dismissed the accused with an admonition.”
- This seems a much more lenient result than Sarah Carter received when she was accused of stealing another munitions workers hat. [2]
- In March 1917, she was given 10 days imprisonment after pleading guilty to the crime. [2]
- On the other hand, George Bradly and John Irving who both plead guilty to a theft involving 10 stones of potatoes from the factory kitchen, were both “given a fine or 14 days imprisonment” earlier that very same month. [3]
- Bertha Bradly was acquitted of this same crime. [3]
- From this article Valentine’s address was described as “Eastriggs, Dornock.”
- Eastriggs was one of the two townships built to house and facilitate the factory (with the other being Gretna).
- Meanwhile, the actual rural site of the factory stretched from Longtown in England to Dornock in Scotland.
Marriage and More
- It seems that Valentine moved about a lot following his time at the factory.
- By the 1921 census, Valentine is living in Tredeagar, Monmouthshire in Wales.
- After this, Valentine returned to Ireland.
- We know this because, in January 1934, Valentine married Mary Ellen Turner in Dublin.
- Next, in 1939, Valentine had moved again.
- He was living at 19 Middleton Square, Finsbury, London working as an electrician.
- Later it seems that he must have moved to Liverpool.
- It was here Valentine died in 1987.
Sources and Further Reading
- “Theft Gretna,” Wednesday 20th June 1917, The Dumfries and Galloway Standard Newspaper.
- Worker of the Week: Sarah Carter – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-sarah-carter
- Worker of the Week: Bertha and George Bradley – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-bertha-and-george-bradley
Find Valentine Duffy’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>
