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Two evacuee Lego minifigures stood in front of a WW1 plane.

Lego Weekend

By Archive

When is our Lego Weekend?

Our Lego Weekend will be on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th April 2026.

This will be on from 10am to 4:30pm. Remember last entry into our museum is 3.45pm.

What will happen at our Lego Weekend?

Join us for a whole weekend celebrating all things Lego!

During the weekend you’ll be able to:

  • See local history and legends recreated in Lego.
  • Help us build some new models ( or build your own creation for us ) from our supply of bricks.
  • Explore our brand new trail of historical Lego minifigures. Can you follow the trail and spot them all hidden around The Devil’s Porridge Museum?

The Devil’s Porridge Museum’s usual admission prices do apply to this event. Find our opening hours and prices by clicking here>

 

A poster for a Lego Weekend happening at The Devil's Porridge Museum on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th April 2026. Join us to celebrate all things Lego. See local history and legends recreated in Lego. Build our bricks. Brand new historic minifigure trail around The Devil's Porridge Museum. The Devil's Porridge Museum's usual admission prices and opening hours do apply.

Do you have a Lego model you would like to display?

Have you ever fancied having your own Lego creation on display in an actual museum? It could be either for the whole weekend or just a couple of hours. Still interested? We would love to hear from you!

Please contact Tom Hughes, our Youth and Community Engagement Officer to arrange this by emailing education@devilsporridge.org.uk or calling 01461 700021

Letting us know if you plan to bring your own Lego creation along in advance helps us ensure we have a suitable space for your model. Unfortunately, we do not have unlimited space so may not be able to house Lego models without forewarning! Thank you for your understanding.

 

Other School Holiday Activities…

Here’s some other Easter school holiday activities you may also be interested in:

Three robots made out of Lego. One is humanoid in shape with two legs and eyes. One has wheels and another is snail like. The robots are on a white circle shape. Some Lego is in the background.

Interactive Lego Robots – FULLY BOOKED

By Archive

When is Interactive Lego Robots?

Thursday 9th April 2026

2pm to 4pm

This is for 8 to 12 year olds.

Tickets for this activity FREE, but booking is essential. To book your place please press ‘Book Now’ and select Interactive Lego Robots.

If you need help booking please contact 01461 700021

What is Interactive Lego Robots?

Build and program Lego robots in this fun FREE workshop!

Try out some simple coding using Lego WeDo software on iPads and interactive bricks to make your creations come to life.

This activity is for children aged 8 to 12 years old.

Tickets for this activity are FREE, but booking is essential and places are limited.

Please be aware that usual admission prices do apply to anyone wishing to explore The Devil’s Porridge Museum.

How to book

Tickets are FREE, but booking is essential. To book your place please press ‘Book Now’ and select Interactive Lego Robots.

If you need help booking please contact 01461 700021

Please be aware that usual admission prices do apply to anyone wishing to explore The Devil’s Porridge Museum.

 

Other School Holiday Activities…

Here’s some other Easter school holiday activities you may also be interested in:

A burnt out train carriage on a railway track with a person hosing it with water. This is a black and white archive photo from the past.

The Quintinshill Tragedy Talk

By Archive

When is The Quintinshill Tragedy Talk?

Friday 22nd May 2026 at 7pm.

This talk is free, but donations to support the work of the museum would be gratefully received.

What will be Happening at This Talk?

111th years on…

Join us on the anniversary of Quintinshill Rail accident for an illustrated talk exploring Britain’s worst railway disaster, which happened not too far from The Devil’s Porridge Museum. This presentation will be by Grant Cullen, a historian of railways and the Great War, who will reveal how the disaster unfolded and some of the personal stories of those involved.

The Quintinshill Tragedy Talk is free, but donations to support the work of the museum would be gratefully received.

No need to book, you’re welcome to just drop-in and join us!

Please be aware you will not be able to look around The Devil’s Porridge Museum during this talk, as it is outside the museum’s usual opening hours.

Monthly Roundup for 23rd February to 22nd March graphic which includes a photo of some Warhammer miniatures, someone playing bagpipes and someone talking.

Monthly Roundup 23rd February to 22nd March 2026

By Archive

This Monthly Roundup is for 23rd February to 22nd March 2026. There’s always something happening at The Devil’s Porridge Museum and our Monthly Roundup is a great place to catch up on everything.

Remember you can find out more about our ongoing activities at the end of this blog post.

***

Monday 23rd February

On Mondays we have Arts and Crafts Club.

***

Tuesday 24th February

Next, on Tuesday evenings we have our Warhammer Club.

A selection of Warhammer miniatures arranged on a table.

 

***

Wednesday 25th February

Some of our team at The Devil’s Porridge Museum had some First Aid Training from First Aid 4 U. This session was very informative and a huge thank you goes to Stewart Rob for sharing his expertise and making the day enjoyable.

Below are some photos from this.

***

Thursday 26th February

Fantastic to welcome a school visit to The Devil’s Porridge Museum. We hope they enjoyed their time at our museum and learned a lot from their visit too!

***

Monday 2nd March

This week our Cordite Club:

  • Enjoyed baked potatoes with their choice of cheese, tuna or baked bean filling followed by tea or coffee and biscuits;
  • A few round of card bingo;
  • And were treated to some tales and legends from the local area too.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for this!

***

Our after-school, Arts and Crafts Club for young people also joined us at The Devil’s Porridge Museum today. It’s always lovely to have them and amazing to see what they create.

***

Lastly, our Youth and Community Engagement Officer, Tom, headed of to represent our museum and give a talk to Castle Douglas History Group. Thanks to them for having him!

***

Tuesday 3rd March

Can you guess what happens on Tuesday evenings at The Devil’s Porridge Museum? That’s right it’s Warhammer Club!

All materials are provided at The Devil’s Porridge Museum and this club is free!

A Warhammer rule book next to some dice with some miniatures in the background.

***

Thursday 5th March

Brilliant to have a group visit at The Devil’s Porridge Museum today and we hope you all enjoyed your look around our museum.

***

Friday 6th March

We were proud to help host a 104th Birthday Party at The Devil’s Porridge Museum today. It was a delight to be involved! A huge thank you Helen and her family for giving us the opportunity to help them mark the occasion. It was fantastic to meet them all and we would like to wish Helen a very Happy Birthday again!

***

Our first Youth Council Meeting of the year also took place at our museum today. They have a couple of plans for upcoming events at The Devil’s Porridge Museum too… Hopefully, we’ll have more details coming soon…

***

Monday 9th March

Monday 9th March marked the start of a busy week at The Devil’s Porridge Museum. It was lovely to have a big school visit join us for not one, but four days this week starting on Monday!

***

Arts and Crafts Club was on later on today too. This is a free activity and all materials are provided at The Devil’s Porridge Museum.

***

Tuesday 10th March

The school visit continued today and that’s not all!

Did you know Tuesday 10th March was International Bagpipe Day? We marked the occasion at The Devil’s Porridge Museum with a talk all about the history and folklore of bagpipes. Additionally, we were proud to have performances from some excellent bagpipers in our team. Thanks to everyone who joined us for this! Find some photos of this event below.

 

***

Naturally, Warhammer Club was on again from 6pm to 8pm.

***

Lastly, a representative of The Devil’s Porridge Museum gave a talk at The Cumbria Museum of Military of Life. Thanks to them for inviting us!

***

Wednesday 11th March

You might have already guessed it, but today the school visit at our museum continued! It’s lovely to have them and we hope they all learnt something new from their visit to our museum.

***

Thursday 12th March

Thursday marked the last day of our large school visit to The Devil’s Porridge Museum! It was fantastic to have them take the time to all come along and visit our museum. We hope they all enjoyed their time with us.

***

Monday 16th March

Our fortnightly, Cordite Club was running again today. The subject of this week’s session was dairy stories, were the attendees could:

  • Enjoy
  • Play a some rounds of card bingo;
  • Handle old dairy artefacts;
  • And even try out butter making.

 

 

***

Following this was our after-school, term-time, Arts and Crafts Club.

***

Wednesday 18th March

We were delighted to be joined by a group visit at The Devil’s Porridge Museum today. A huge thank you to them for visiting!

***

Thursday 16th March

Guess what? Today we had another group visit. It was fantastic to have them and thanks to them for joining us!

***

Conclusion

This Monthly Roundup has drawn to an end for now. We would like to say thank you to everyone who has joined us for any of the events, activities and more mentioned above. Another thank you goes to our team and all who have helped to make this possible.

We’ll see you again in April for our next edition. In the meantime you can always check out our last Monthly Roundup by clicking here>

If you want to find out more about any of the regular events or any of the other activities please take out a look at the list below.

 

A collage of four photos which include some slices of corn beef, a bowl of Worchester sauce, a jar of honey and some grated cheese.

Worker of the Week: Ellen Dornan

By Collections blog

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  A huge thank you to all our research volunteers.

This week’s Worker of the Week is munitions worker, Ellen Dornan.

Early Life

  • On 17th September 1896, Ellen was born in Whitehaven, Cumberland.
  • Her mother was Catherine Doran and there is no record on her father.

 

  • The 1901 census shows Ellen to still be living in Whitehaven with her mother.
  • Interestingly, Ellen is described as the sister in law to head of the household fisherman, John William Anderson.
  • Seemingly, Ellen appears to actually be John’s step daughter.

 

  • Although the family have moved to a new address in the 1911 census, they are still living in Whitehaven.
  • At this point, Catherine is listed as having 7 children in total (including Ellen) with 5 surviving.
  • Notably, all of them, excepting Emma, have the family name Anderson.

Time at H.M. Factory Gretna

  • During World War One we know that Emma worked at munitions factory, H.M. Factory Gretna.
  • Apparently, she worked as a munitions worker and we know she must have worked there from at least February 1915.

 

A collage of four photos which include some slices of corn beef, a bowl of Worchester sauce, a jar of honey and some grated cheese.

 

  • How come? Well, if you’ve read some of our other recent Worker of the Week posts you might already have an idea… [2] [3]
  • Emma was one of a group of munitions workers who were in the local Gretna “fried fish” shop when the candle was blown out on a Sunday afternoon.
  • The following day, shop owner Bani Toni found a selection of items from his shop missing!
  • Accordingly, as described in the local newspaper, Ellen was one of those who:

” pleaded guilty to stealing nine cheese plates, two cans of corned beef, six boxes of honey, and three bottles of Worcester sauce from the shop at Springfield, Gretna, occupied by Baldi Toni between 5th January and 15th February.”

–  The Dumfries and Galloway Standard, Wednesday 21st February 1917. [1]

  • Could Ellen and the other four girls involved have been regulars? After all..

“a large number of the factory girls were regular visitors at the fried fish, shop, especially on Sunday evenings.”

–  The Dumfries and Galloway Standard, Wednesday 21st February 1917. [1]

  • Either way, something tells us that they might not have been as welcome as usual after this incident…
  • Especially after they all were charged with theft! [1]

Life After the Factory

  • On 9th July 1920, Emma seems to have married Anthony Fisher in Whitehaven.
  • Later records indicate that they both continued to live in Whitehaven.
  • Additionally, Anthony appears to have worked as a colliery stone worker.

 

  • Lastly, on Christmas Eve, 24th December 1991, Emma died.

Sources and Further Information

  1. ‘Thefts BY GRETNA GIRLS,’ ‘The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, Wednesday 21st February 1917.
  2. Worker of the Week: Minnie Turnbull – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-minnie-turnbull
  3. Worker of the Week: Isabella Kennedy – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-isabella-kennedy

Find Ellen Dornan’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>

A red flower growing in The Devil's Porridge Museum's Dig For Victory garden. The Devil's Porridge Museum is in the background.

Gardening Volunteer Needed

By News

Would you like to help develop and maintain our ‘Dig for Victory’ garden at the Devil’s Porridge Museum?  We’re looking for new volunteers to join the team and help care for our vegetable patches and flower planters.

The Devil’s Porridge Museum tells wartime stories from the local area and the growing of vegetables to supplement rations is part of this, these days the produce is used in our Café.  We also have large pans from the munitions factory which are now re-used as planters for flowers.  Visitors enjoy exploring the large artefacts in the museum grounds and discovering the wartime garden, so there’s chance to chat to people in this work, along with support from other museum volunteers and staff.

Working in the museum gardens can be arranged to suit volunteer availability and needs.  This volunteer role is suitable for anyone aged 15 or over, but no upper age limit.  Tools and materials are provided and we’ll support you with a friendly introduction to get you started.  There’s no complicated application form needed, just get in touch with our Youth and Community Engagement Officer, Tom Hughes to arrange an informal chat by emailing education@devilsporridge.org.uk or call 01461 700021.

Currently we are searching for a Gardening Volunteer, but we are also looking for Front of House and Café volunteers.

Find out more about our volunteering opportunities at The Devil’s Porridge Museum by clicking here> 

 

A collage of three photos, including a table set up for The Devil's Porridge Museum's Burn's Supper, the museum's Cordite Club and some old fashioned toys. There is some text, which reads, Monthly Roundup 19th January to 22nd February 2026.

Monthly Roundup 19th January to 22nd February 2026

By Archive

Time for our next roundup. This Monthly Roundup is for 19th January to 22nd February 2026. Keep reading to find out about the return of our Cordite Club, Arts and Crafts Club and successful annual Burns Supper.

***

Monday 19th January

We’re kicking off this Monthly Roundup with our Cordite Club. It was fantastic to have them back at the museum and we were delighted to welcome a couple of new members too.

This week they had a Burns Night celebration where they had:

  • Haggis, neeps and tatties followed by shortbread with tea or coffee.
  • A few rounds of card bingo.
  • A excellent talk about Robert Burns in the local area from Tom, our Youth and Community Engagement Officer.

Below are a couple of photos from Cordite Club.

Today also marked our return of our FREE Arts and Crafts Club for 7 to 11 year olds. A huge thank you to Wendy for making this possible.

***

Tuesday 20th January

Tuesdays evening from 6pm to 8pm is our FREE Warhammer Club at The Devil’s Porridge Museum. All materials are provided at The Devil’s Porridge Museum or you can bring your own Warhammer items if you would like to.

Arrangement of Warhammer miniatures on bases on a table.

***

Thursday 23rd January

Brilliant to have a group visit to The Devil’s Porridge Museum. They also stayed for lunch with a three course Burns Supper including Lentil Soup, followed by Haggis, Neeps and Tatties and then Shortbread for afters. It was lovely to have them at The Devil’s Porridge Museum.

Please remember to book your group visit and any food you would like in advance if you are planning on coming to The Devil’s Porridge Museum.

***

Friday 24th January

Our Burns Night took place today, as well as a traditional three course meal (with haggis from our local butchers, Johnstone’s in Annan). We think our volunteers and catering staff did an amazing job on the night too (even if we do say so ourselves 😅).

Additionally, we were proud to be joined by Highland Hustle with Charley for some outstanding Highland Dancing. Plus our volunteer Scott played the bagpipes.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped with this and those who joined us. We hope you all enjoyed your evening as much as we did!

Monday 26th January

Fantastic to have a school visit at The Devil’s Porridge Museum. They were learning all about World War Two and we had lots of hands-on activities for them to enjoy. Thanks to them for joining us.

Arts and Crafts Club was on again at The Devil’s Porridge Museum in the afternoon.

***

Tuesday 27th January

Warhammer Club was back on a running again in the afternoon. Thanks to those who joined us and all who make this possible.

***

Monday 2nd February

Cordite Club this week enjoyed:

  • Homemade Soup with a selection of sandwiches;
  • A few rounds of card bingo;
  • And a talk about old fashioned toys including having a go with a few.

Arts and Craft Club was on again today. This week they were decorating the front cover of books and more.

***

Tuesday 3rd February

On Tuesday evenings we have Warhammer Club!

***

Friday 6th February

Tom our Youth and Community engagement officer represented The Devil’s Porridge Museum by giving a online talk Greenock Philosophical Society in the evening.

***

Monday 9th February

Arts and Crafts was on again today. It’s amazing to see all the things they create.

***

Tuesday 10th February

Guess what happened today? That’s right! Warhammer Club.

A selection of Warhammer miniatures arranged on a table.

Friday 13th February

We were delighted to welcome a School Visit to The Devil’s Porridge Museum today. Thanks to them for joining us. We hope you enjoyed your visit and learnt a lot too!

***

Sunday 16th February

Today we were delighted to welcome a group visit to The Devil’s Porridge Museum. We hope they all enjoyed their visit!

If you fancy bringing your own group visit, please remember to book your visit and any food you would like in advance. We always apricate it when you do and its a huge help for our team!

***

Monday 16th February

This week’s Cordite Club was all about Kitchen Curiosities. In other words, this week they enjoyed:

  • Scotch or Macaroni Pie with beans, followed by a traybake;
  • A few rounds of card bingo;
  • And a look at some kitchen items from the past.

A huge thank you to everyone who joins us and those who helped to make this possible.

 

Fantastic to have Arts and Crafts Club on again in the afternoon.

***

Tuesday 17th February

From 6pm to 8pm we had Warhammer Club at The Devil’s Porridge Museum.

***

Friday 20th February

To round off our Monthly Roundup we had some Old Fashioned Fun!

This was at a free morning and afternoon workshop. People were welcome to come along and drop-in for either the morning or afternoon. Those who came along had the chance to play with a range of traditional toys from the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition too making their own cup-and-ball to take away.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to join us for this.

***

Conclusion

That’s it for this Monthly Roundup! Thank you to all who joined us for any of the events or visits mentioned in this blog. We are proud to work with the local community at The Devil’s Porridge Museum and have an amazing team of volunteers who support our activities, events, group visits and more. A huge thank you to them and everyone who has helped to make these events possible. Rest assured that there’s plenty more still to come in 2026!

Want to find out more about any of the events mentioned in this blog, or wondering what else is coming up soon? We’ve compiled a list for you to find out more.

 

Lastly you can find out what happened in our previous Monthly Roundup by clicking here>

A black and white photo of Isabella Kennedy and a triangle shaped on War Service badge.

Worker of the Week: Isabella Kennedy

By Collections blog

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  A massive thank you to all our research volunteers for making this possible.

This week’s Worker of the Week is Isabelle Kennedy, who was involved in a corn beef theft at Gretna shop during her time working at the factory. 

Early Life

  • On 29th December 1899 Isabella was born in Workington, Cumberland.
  • Her parents were  James and Margaret Jane [Jean] Kennedy.
  • Isabella was the 2nd of 11 children.
Isabella Kennedy in a black and white photo from the past.

Photo of Isabella Kennedy from Ancestry Public Member Tree.

  • According to the 1901 census, the family were continuing to live in Workington and her father was working as a driver fireman at a steel works.
  • After this, the 1911 census, shows them still be living in Workington, although they have changed address.

 

  • Next in 1912, Isabella was enrolled to Workington Higher Standard Girls’ School.

H.M. Factory Gretna

  • Although we don’t know exactly when Isabella started working at H.M. Factory Gretna, we know she must have been working there in February 1917.
  • Why? Well, according to the local newspaper she was involved in a theft from a shop in Gretna. [1]
  • One Sunday afternoon, a group of munitions workers from the factory blew out the light in the Gretna “fried fish” shop. [1]
  • The next day, shop owner, Baldi Toni, found several items missing from his shop stock. These were:
  1. 9 cheese plates;
  2. 2 cans of corned beef;
  3. 6 boxes honey;
  4. and 3 bottles of Worcester sauce.
  • Isabella was accused alongside a group of five factory workers who all plead guilty according to the local newspaper.
  • Consequently:

“The accused were charged with theft, and they all admitted it. Mr I. F. Edgar, solicitor, made a statement on behalf of the accused, and the Sheriff deferred sentence until May.”

– The Dumfries and Galloway Standard, Wednesday 21st February 1917. [1]

Graphic of Worcester sauce, corned beef, honey and cheese.

 

  • Previously, we’ve touched on this theft in more detail in Minnie Turnbull’s Worker of the Week blog (you can find the link to this at the end of this blog post if you would like to read more.) [2]

Further Travels and Life After the Factory

  • Later, by the 1921 census, Isabelle was living in Bolton, Lancashire.

 

  • Following this, in 1933 she emigrated to Canada.
  • It was here, in Ontario on 9th October 1937, that she married Thomas David Allingham.
  • At this point, Isabelle was working as a nurse.

 

  • Lastly, 21st March 1959, Isabelle died in Ontario, Canada.

Sources and Further Reading

  1. ‘Thefts BY GRETNA GIRLS,’ ‘The Dumfries and Galloway Standard newspaper, Wednesday 21st February 1917.
  2. Worker of the Week: Minnie Turnbull – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-minnie-turnbull

Photo source: Ancestry Public Member Tree.

Read Isabella Kennedy’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 will 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>

Vancouver Road, Eastriggs as shown in an Auction Book from 1924.

Worker of the Week: Herbert Sharp Greenough

By Collections blog

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  

This week’s Worker of the Week is Herbert Sharp Greenough, who worked as a chemist at H.M. Factory Gretna.

Early Life

  • On 23rd June1890, Herbert was born in Newcastle.
  • His parents were Mary Hannah Sharp and Edwin Greenough.
  • Sadly, Edwin, who worked a doctor, died when Herbert was very young.

 

  • Following this, Mary and Hebert appear to have moved to the Eccleshill, Bradford, Yorkshire according to the 1901 census.
  • Mary does not appear to have ever remarried.

Studies

  • Herbert attended Edinburgh university, seemingly training as an analytical chemist.
  • In 1884, he graduated university.

 

  • Following that, he proceeded to work as an analyst in 1911.

Active Service

  • On 13th February 1915, Herbert enlisted into the Army.
  • In fact, his enlistment papers were one of a few that survived a fire.
  • Firstly, he is in the 2nd Bradford Pals battalion, or as it officially know, the 18th (Service) Battalion, Prince of Wales West Yorkshire Regiment.
  • Secondly, on 6th September 1915, Herbert was transferred to the Royal Engineers and sent to France.

 

  • However, on the 13th September 1916 he was designated as a class “W” Army Reserve.
  • In other words, his analytical chemist training was spotted and clearly in demand.
  • The ministry of munitions needed chemists to help with the production of munitions.
  • You’ll never guess were he worked next!
A triangle shaped, brass On War Service badge. There is a crown inside the triangle with 1916 underneath it.

H.M. Factory Gretna workers would have been given an On War Service badge during their time working at the factory.

 

H.M. Factory Gretna

  • Yes, Hebert was employed as a chemist working at H.M. Factory Gretna.
  • Significantly, Herbert was  far from the only chemist to be re-directed to work at the factory.
  • One example is Cyril Callister who was sent to work at H.M. Factory Gretna after signing up to the Australian Imperial Force, but that’s far from the only one. [2]

 

Vancouver Road, Eastriggs as shown in an Auction Book from 1924.

Vancouver Road as shown in an Auction Book from 1924 (when the Factory and townships were sold).

 

  • Of course, the rural site of H.M. Factory Gretna stretched all the way from Dornock in Scotland to Longtown in Scotland.
  • Where exactly did Herbert work? Well, we think he worked in the Dornock section of H.M. Factory Gretna.
  • During his time working there he lived in one of the two townships built to serve the factory, Eastriggs (the other being Gretna).
  • More specifically the electoral roll lists him as living at “100 – 102 Vancouver Road.”
  • According to the Factory Manual at the time Eastriggs provided for the “accommodation of those workers chiefly engaged on the Dornock section.” [3]

 

Greenough, Herbert S, chemist, 100-102 Vancouver Road.

The electoral roll record in question.

Married Life

  • In June 1920, Herbert married Christine Muriel Meredyth Renny in Horsforth, Leeds.
  • Following this they seem to have had two children.

 

  • In 1939 the family moved to Essex.
  • At this point, Herbert was working as a Works Manager in Accumulator Manufacture.

 

  • Lastly, Herbert died in Essex in December 1979.

 

Sources and Further Information

  1. Bradford and the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, Bradford District Museum and Galleries –  https://bradfordmuseums.org/bradford-and-the-battle-of-the-somme-1st-of-july-1916/

  2. Worker of the Week: Cyril Callister – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/cyrilcallister
  3.  H.M. Factory Gretna Manual from The Devil’s Porridge Museum’s archives.

Find Herbert Sharp Greenough’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>

A table full of traditional toys, such as Jacob's Ladder and pick up sticks. The Devil's Porridge Museum's Youth and Community Engagement Officer, Tom, is stood behind the table. He looks happy.

Old Fashioned Fun

By Archive

Join us for some FREE Old Fashioned Fun at The Devil’s Porridge Museum

When is Old Fashioned Fun?

This is happening on Friday 20th February 2026.

Morning Session 11am to 12:30pm

Afternoon Session 2pm to 3.30pm

What is Old Fashioned Fun?

Come and play with a range of traditional toys from the 19th and 20th centuries and make your own cup-and-ball to take away.

This free activity for families will take place in the education room at the museum, just drop in to take part in either the morning or afternoon session.  These games and crafts are free, usual admission price applies to explore the museum.

 

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