Margaret Jane Sutherland

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Chargehand, Dornock

Birthplace Durham Jarrow England Date of Birth: September 6, 1898

Biography

‘Mrs St.Clair of Tyne and Weir tells a story that is typical of many. Her mother was a chargehand in the Dornock factory, Margaret Jane Sutherland who met and married an Irish navvy by the name of James Casey from Dublin. Long after the war Margaret died as a consequence of inhaling poisonous fumes during her days in Dornock. It is a sad fact that over 300 women munition workers throughout Britain lost their lives during World War One due to TNT poisoning or explosions. One wonders how many more of those brave ladies met with a similar fate to that of Margaret Casey long after the war had ended!’ – G Routledge, Gretna’s Secret War, (Bookcase 1999), p. 44 and 54..

Disability: chronic lung problems caused by munitions work