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'On a Par with able-bodied men' Charity, Disability and Work, 1914 - 1929. A online talk that took place on Tuseday 8th November 2022, as part of Disability: Past and Present Project.

‘On a par with able-bodied men’: Charity, Disability and Work, 1914-1929

By Archive, Disability events

From 1914-1918, almost a million British soldiers were permanently disabled in the First World War. These formerly fit young men returned home to an uncertain future. Although the state provided medical care and pensions, disabled soldiers had to find ways to supplement their income and rebuild their identities as productive male breadwinners. Many were unable to return to their old jobs due to their impairments; some faced stigma from employers unwilling to hire a disabled man, and all ex-servicemen were forced to reckon with the difficulties of a wartime economy.

Concerned by reports of starving, unemployed and homeless heroes, generous patrons throughout the country established charities to retrain disabled soldiers in manual labour and find them permanent, meaningful work. At the Poppy Factories, men who had lost an arm or leg mass-produced millions of artificial flowers; amputees at the Lord Robert’s Memorial Workshops expertly fashioned furniture or assembled toys, and blind veterans at St Dunstan’s learned highly skilled, technical poultry farming ‘along business lines’.

This talk will trace the history of charity employment, to uncover the inspiration behind the various types of training offered to disabled veterans during and after the First World War. It will also consider the ways that these schemes portrayed disabled soldiers, how they shaped ideas about war-disability in Britain, and their lasting impact on notions of disablement and work.

Emily Bartlett is a historian specialising in disability, charity, and welfare in twentieth century Britain. She is currently employed as Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Kent, and is writing a book about charity for disabled ex-servicemen after the First World War, which will be published by Manchester University Press in 2024.

This event will be held via Zoom and a joining link will be sent on the day.

Book tickets here >

This event is happening as part of our Disability: Past and Present project.
Learn more about this and ‘The Health of the Munition Worker: A Disability History of the World Wars on the Solway Military Coast’ exhibition here >

Bonfire Bath Bombs a free activity for 6 to 11 year olds, which took place on Saturday 5th November 2022, as part of the Disability: Past and Present Project.

Bonfire Bath Bombs

By Archive, Disability events

Create your own bath bomb in this fun free workshop.

This activity is suitable for children aged 6 – 11 years old.

If you would like any allergen information for this activity please contact the museum prior to this event on: 01461 700021

Due to popularity we are limiting bookings to 3 tickets per person.

Book tickets here >

This activity is happening as part of our Disability: Past and Present project.
Learn more about this and ‘The Health of the Munition Worker: A Disability History of the World Wars on the Solway Military Coast’ exhibition here >

 

H. M. F. Gretna explosives factory undated block plan showing acid, guncotton and nitro-glycerine plants

Proposal to designate HM Factory Gretna site for its heritage significance

By Archive

We’re delighted to share that Historic Environment Scotland have just launched a public consultation to gather views on a proposal to schedule and list parts of the site of HM Factory Gretna. The aim of scheduling is to preserve our most significant sites and monuments as far as possible in the form in which they have been passed down to us today.

The proposal documents for the scheduled monument are here >

HES are also proposing to list the guardhouses and gate piers at the factory’s main entrance; these are amongst the few remaining original buildings on site. Listing protects historically important buildings from inappropriate future development.

The proposal documents for the listed building are here >

They encourage members of the public to send in their views and comments by completing a short questionnaire that takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

An overview of the proposal can be accessed here >

The consultation closes on 3rd November.

A poster for a Maths Week activity for 2022, which was "designing a Cordite Factory: The Map."

Maths Week

By Archive

From 26th Sep – 2nd October, we celebrate Maths Week in Scotland. Tom Briggs, a qualified mathematics Teacher, and experienced museum educator created a great activity for us: “Designing a Cordite Factory: The Map”. If you work in a primary school and would like more information, please contact: info@devilsporridge.org.uk.

A happy person trying on a helmet in The Devil's Porridge Museum.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

By Archive

We’re delighted to share this blog written by Claudia Weyde-Bialas, who spent a week volunteering with us on curatorial projects.

In the course of my research for my thesis on “Self portrayal and (war) role perception in female munition workers’ poetry of World War I in Great Britain” last year, a very nice and helpful contact was established with the curator of the DPM and her team, who provided me with extensive documents and valuable additional information.

I found and find it very interesting that women poets of this era still receive little attention compared to their male counterparts. In particular, the lyrics of working-class women writers are not given the recognition they deserve, historically and culturally. Female munition workers, known as Munitionettes, who made up by far the largest proportion of the female workforce during WWI, published their verses and rhymes in factory magazines and staff journals, which now lie dormant in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in London. But the Devil’s Porridge Museum also has a considerable number of Munitionette poems and has published some of them in the volume Munition Workers’ Poems. 

A Munitionette poem

During my research I decided to travel to Eastriggs and visit the DPM as soon as I had handed in my thesis. – I wanted to see the writings I was working on in the original and also get a personal impression of the research that was done at the museum.

I have now spent a week at DPM and have seen and learned a lot – I did not expect that. It is impressive how much ongoing research and projects are worked on behind the scenes, including the administration and inventory of the constantly growing collection of objects.

As well as getting to see “my” Munitionette poems, or at least some of them, I was allowed to work on the inventory catalogue and do research on people for the Miracle Workers Project. Especially the latter was super exciting, – you get a name and possibly a birth date of a worker at the Gretna factory and then you try to find out more about that person. Often you don’t find anything else, but then again you come across whole stories, and suddenly the people, the “Miracle Workers” come to life. This is a project that is really worth volunteering for!

I also chose an “Object of the month”, which is another ongoing project of the DPM. I picked a cameo brooch, and besides the fact that it was neither antique nor did it have any direct relation to the World Wars, it was – again – the story behind it that makes it special. The brooch belonged to a women who delivered telegrams in WWII, including those containing the death of a soldier. She gave the brooch to her nurse at the Annan hospital to thank her for her care, and the nurse donated it to the museum.

I think this is what history is about, it is about people and their stories. It is about “giving voice.” A museum can display valuable, rare and beautiful pieces in its showcases, but the true value of an object always comes from its story and the people associated with it. The DPM has realised that and that makes its exhibition and the work here special.

Last but not least, I would like to point out – in addition to the great research and administrative staff – the impressive number of volunteers who contribute to the very positive spirit of the facility with their constant friendliness and willingness to help.

THANK YOU!

By Claudia Weyde-Bialas
July 2022

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