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  A huge thank you to all our research volunteers. The information below is supplied through Research Project led by Nigel Crompton. 

This week’s Worker of the Week, is Lottie Louisa Moore went from a member of the Women’s Police Force at the factory to a stewardess! Read more about her below.

Early Life

• Firstly, Lottie was born on 22nd March 1892 in Weybridge, Surrey
• Her mother was Alice Jane Faulkner, who later married Henry Moore.
• Accordingly, Lottie later had three half siblings.

• According to the 1901 census, the family were living in the Stable block of Delrow House in Aldenham, Hertfordshire.
• Could some of Lottie’s family have worked there?

• By the 1911 census Lottie was employed as a domestic servant.
• She was working for the Miskin family in Walton on Thames, who were timber merchants.

Time at H.M. Factory Gretna

• Next, Lottie appears in the book, ‘The Pioneer Policewoman’ by Mary S Allen.
• This suggests that she was one of the original officers sent to H.M. Factory Gretna in 1916.

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

• Following this in 1917, she does indeed appear on the Valuation Role for H.M. Factory Gretna.
• “Miss Lottie Moore” is listed as living Eastriggs.
• Eastriggs was one of the two townships built for those who came to work at H.M. Factory Gretna, with the other being the factory’s namesake Gretna.
• Notably, the rural site of the factory stretched from Longtown in England to Dornock in Scotland, but both these townships played a vital part in factory life, especially for those who worked at the site.

• We know she continued live in the area and work in the Factory Women’s Police Force in 1918. [2]
• By this point she is listed as living at Women’s Police Barracks. [2]

Some members of the Women’s Police Force in front of Women’s Police Barracks No. 3.

• As a member of the Women’s Police Force at H.M. Factory Gretna she would have helped look after the workforce and ensured everything ran smoothly at the factory.
• Some examples of tasks undertaken by members of the Women’s Police Force include guarding or patrolling certain areas of the factory site or townships, escorting unwell munitions workers home at the end of their shift and searching those entering the factory site. [1]
• So far we’ve found no newspaper accounts of any of Lottie’s exploits as a member of the women’s police, but who knows! We might come across something some day…

Some of H.M. Factory Gretna’s Women’s Police Force.

Further Policing

• We always think it’s nice to find member’s of H.M. Factory Gretna’s women’s police force who put their skills to good use after their time at the factory and Lottie did just that!
• According to the 1921 census, she was employed by the Metropolitan Police.
• Admittedly , we don’t know exactly when she joined this force, but she was based at the section house situated on Ixworth Place near South Kensington, London.

• However,  the next time we come across Lottie, she’d moved on to something entirely different…

All at Sea

• Next we find Lottie at sea!
• By 1923, a change of career, led to Lottie become a stewardess on ocean liners.
• On the ‘SS Empress of Britain’ Lottie travelled all the way to New York, arriving on 19th January 1923.
• After this Lottie worked as a stewardess aboard the ‘SS Empress of Scotland.’
• This time she travelled from Southampton to… New York again!
• The ship arrived in New York on 27th January 1930.

• Following this, the 1939 census, shows Lottie to living with her step father, Henry, in Merryhill Road, Bushey in Hertfordshire.
• They appeared to be living in a pub called ‘The Stag.’

Married Life

• On the 19th November 1940, Lottie married John Fayrer Coates in Watford.
• Notably, John worked on the same ocean liners as Lottie, so it is highly likely they met during their time at sea.

• After their marriage, John and Lottie both continued to live in ‘The Stag’ with Henry.

Later Life

• By 1960, John and Lottie had moved to live 21 Moatfield Road, Bushey in Hertfordshire.

• Lastly, Lottie died in August 1975. Her husband John died around two years prior.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Women’s Police Force at H.M. Factory Gretna – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/womens-police-service-at-hm-factory-gretna
2. Electoral Role for H.M. Factory Gretna 1918 to 1919.

Read Lottie Louisa Moore’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>