Skip to main content

To search our directory of workers at HM Factory Gretna either enter any name, place of birth or place of death in the search box or if you know what their job was from select from the drop-down menu.

  • The results are being filtered by the county: County Durham
Page 1 Page 2
Photo of Dorothy Askew

Dorothy Askew

DOROTHY ASKEW

“DORA”

Gender: Female
Date and Place of Birth:

1893 Lamesley, Chester-le-Street, Durham
Date and Place of Death:

13 March 1976 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Nationality: British

Biography
Childhood: Dorothy grew up in County Durham within a large family. She had 11 siblings:

George William (1895-1915)

Matthew (1898-1968)

Annie (1900-1980)

Andrew Wilson (1901 and he died before his first birthday)

Margaret Ellen (1902-?)

Robert Henry (1904-1946) He was killed in WW2

Mary Jane (1906-1992)

Elizabeth Isabella (1908-1992)

Susan Gladys (1910-1996)

Eliza Emily (1912-?)

Allson Monica (1913)

The family lived in the Tanfield and Lanchester area of County Durham.…

Photo of Annie Boak

Annie Boak

Email from Catherine Annie’s granddaughter in Feb 2020: My grandmother was Annie Fowler /Boak who came from the north east. She lost 2 daughters soon after delivery. Then she had two living boys. There was also Hilda Holmes / Bird and Edith Holmes/ Riley. Neither were able to conceive more than 1 child.…

Photo of Lily Bruce

Lily Bruce

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by) : Lily Bruce (Lee). 

Gender: Female. 

Date and Place of Birth: 28th of March 1901, Coundon, Durham, England. 

Date and Place of Death: 7th of February 1971, Leeholme, Durham, England.…

Photo of Maud Ellen Bruce OBE

Maud Ellen Bruce, OBE

Maud Ellen Bruce was born on 20th December 1894 in Coundon, Durham, England to Thomas and Emma Bruce. She was their fifth child and had two brothers and six sisters. Her father Thomas worked as a coalminer.[1] Coundon was traditionally a coalmining village, and Thomas probably worked at either Black Boy Colliery or Auckland Park Colliery, both nearby.…

Photo of Jane Burton

Jane Burton

Name: Jane Burton nee Raine

Date and place of birth: 11th May 1893. Washington, County Durham, England.

Childhood: Jane’s parents had six children, although only three survived to adulthood

Parents: Thomas and Mary Raine

Parent’s occupations: Thomas was a miner

Marital status: Married to Peter Burton in 1921

Trivia: Jane worked at Morecambe (National Filling Factory No 13) in WW1, before coming to Gretna.…

Photo of P Burton

P Burton

  • ‘Mrs Burton of Sunderland remembers: I later worked at Gretna Green and the winter (1917) was the coldest I ever remember. In our hostel our bottles of milk were just blocks of ice, and our towels had to be heated before we could use them, so you can guess what it was like working outside where I was loading trucks.
Photo of Edith Button

Edith Button

Photo of Hannah Rebecca Dunn

Hannah Rebecca Dunn

  • Email from granddaughter: My grandmother’s name was Hannah Rebecca Dunn and she was born in 1899 making her 15 years old in 1914. So would have been at Gretna towards the end of the War.   She came from the Ryhope/Seaham area of Co. Durham. I have recently discovered that my grandmother may have been one of the munitions girls during  WW1. 
Photo of Miss M Estell

Miss M Estell

Member of the Mossband Swifts football team, full back

 

Photo of George William Funck

George William Funck

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by): George William Funck. (He seems to have also been referred to as George Edward Funck).

Gender: Male.

Date and Place of Birth: About 1895, Winalton, Gateshead.

Date and Place of Death: Unknown.

Nationality: British.…

Photo of Miss Ethel Isabella Hair

Miss Ethel Isabella Hair

Biography

 

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by) : Ethel Isabella Hair

Gender: Female
Date and place of birth: 17th May 1871 Hebburn, Durham
Date and Place of Death: 10th November 1947
Nationality: English

Childhood: One of 6, moved from Durham to S Wales
Parents: N/A
Parents occupations: N/A
Schools / universities attended and years of attendance: Church Training College, S Wales.…

Photo of Hazel Maria Malkin

Hazel Maria Malkin

Granddaughter and daughter visited the museum in September 2021, and said that Hazel worked at HM Factory Gretna during WW1. Seems as though she was known as ‘Ann’ during her life

Photo of Catherine Manley

Catherine Manley

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by) :

Catherine ( Kitty/Kate) Manley/Manly

Gender: Female
Date and place of birth : 25th March 1901 No Place, Urpeth, Durham ( Near Beamish)
Date and Place of Death: 6th February 1988 , Washington, County Durham
Nationality: English of Irish background

Childhood: Impoverished, father died when she was 9
Parents: Thomas Munnally ( Manley/Manly) and Catherine nee Keenan( Kinnin/Keelan)
Parents occupations: Coke Drawer
Schools / universities attended and years of attendance:  None known
Occupation: Munitionette
Place of residence at Gretna: Not known
Marital status: Married
Children : 4
Travels : None known
Awards/recognitions: None known
Positions held : None known
Trivia / any other information:  None known
Bibliography

Books published (Title, year of publication, publisher):
Books written about the individual or mentioning the individual (Title, year of publication, publisher):

References

Blogs about the individual:
Websites about the individual:

Further links, notes, and comments:

 

Catherine/Kitty/Kate Manley 1901- 1988 

Catherine Manley, known to her family as Kitty or Kate , was born on 25th March 1901 to Catherine nee Keenan ( Keelan) and Thomas.…

Photo of Sarah Burns McCleary

Sarah Burns McCleary

SARAH BURNS MC CLEARY

Date and place of birth :  2 November 1887  Creetown, Scotland

Date and place of Death :  1965 in South Shields District, County Durham
Nationality: British

..
Biography:    Sarah grew up in Creetown, a small town in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland,

With her four brothers:

John McCleary 1884

Peter McCleary 1885

Nathan McCleary 1889

William McCleary 1890
Parents:

Peter McCleary and Euphemia Joseph were married in Kirkcudbrightshire in 1882

Parents occupation :

Peter worked as a Granite Quarry Labourer Clerk and Euphemia was a Nurse.…

Photo of Marion Oddie

Marion Oddie

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by) : Marion Oddie 

Gender: Female. 

Date and Place of Birth: Darlington, Durham, England. 

Date and Place of Death: N/A. 

Nationality: British. 

 

Biography 

Childhood: N/A.…

Photo of Wilhemina Parker

Wilhemina Parker

WILHELMINA PARKER

Date and place of birth :   June Quarter 1900 in Gateshead District, Durham

Date and place of Death :  June Quarter 1927 in Sunderland District, Durham
Nationality: British

Biography:

Wilhelmina had three siblings:

Ethel Parker 1891

John Parker 1897

Florence Parker 1898
Parents:

John Parker and Annie Steel were married 1896 in Sunderland District, Durham
Parents occupation .    …

Photo of Victoria Robertson

Victoria Robertson

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by) : Victoria Hazel Morris Robertson  

Gender: Female  

Date and Place of Birth: 18/8/1900. Most likely born in Carlisle 

Date and Place of Death: 15/9/1988, Darlington, County Durham 

Nationality: British  

 

Biography 

Childhood: N/A 

Parents: N/A 

Parent’s occupations: N/A 

Schools / universities attended and years of attendance: N/A 

Occupation: After working as an electrician in the electrical maintenance department at Gretna which she began aged 16 in 1916, she was recorded as having unpaid domestic duties in the 1939 Carlisle register.…

Photo of Sarah Ann Robson

Sarah Ann Robson

Photo of Ellen Scholfield

Ellen Scholfield

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by) :  Ellen Scholfield nee Green. 

Gender: Female 

Date and Place of Birth:  25 March 1883, Cornforth, Durham. 

Date and Place of Death: N/K 

Nationality: British 

 

Biography 

Childhood: 

Census 1901: Ellen Green, Housemaid domestic, living at 8 Belle View Park, Thornhill, Sunderland in household of Deborah Doxford.…

Photo of Sarah Hall Seymour

Sarah Hall Seymour

Full name of worker at H.M. Factory Gretna (and any other names they are known by)  Sarah Hall Seymour

Gender: Female

Date and Place of Birth: October 1895 Easington, Co.Durham

Date and Place of Death: 3rd March 1945, 17 Ash Terrace, Murton Colliery, Co Durham

Nationality: English

Biography

Childhood: Spent childhood in coal mining community, Murton Colliery, Easington.…

Translate »
BOOK NOW