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A women sat in a wheelbarrow with a man pushing it. This is an archive photo.

Mystery Photos

By Collections blog

Desray, one of our digitalisation volunteers has been adding these photos to our database and we found them interesting. Desray chose this selection and said “They must have meant a lot to someone as they were put into an album and they are very nice”.

 

These photos are currently being kept in the Museum’s store but we have no idea where they came from or who any of the people in the photos are. The only information we have about the family is that they had links to the SS Avoceta which was a boat that they were pictured on.  We think they show a different side of life in the early 20th Century. We will share some more of these photographs soon.

 

Two Australian flags with the words "Australia Day."

The Australian contribution to HM Factory Gretna

By Collections blog

HM Factory Gretna was the greatest munitions factory on earth in World War One.  It employed 30,000 people (12,000 of them women).  It was a worldwide effort as talent was drawn from across the Empire.

Eastriggs, the location of The Devil’s Porridge Museum, is now known as ‘The Commonwealth Village’ because its place names include Singapore Road, The Rand, Delhi Road and Vancouver Road to name but a few.  The overseas workers left their mark in their contribution to the war effort and in the place names they left behind.

For Australia Day 2020, we thought we would share some information about the Australians we know about who worked in the Factory in World War One (we don’t know the names of all the Factory workers and we haven’t included the name of every Australian we know of who worked there either).

 

James Chalmers Hood c.1895-1957

c.1895 James was born in Oban, Scotland.  He was educated at Perth Technical College.

He became a cadet at the Explosives and Analytical Branch of the Mines Department in Western Australia.

In 1914 he qualified as an analyst and then came to HM Factory Gretna.

Between 1917 and 1919 he worked at HM Factory Sutton Oak.  This factory near Liverpool specialised in the production of poison gas (photographed below).

sutton oak

James then went on to work at Government Chemical Laboratories.  First as a chemist, then senior chemist, acting supervising chemist, deputy government analyst from 1946 and director of laboratories from 1955.

Alfred James Occleshaw

1888-1969

19th September 1888: Alfred was born in Melbourne.  He was educated at a working man’s college where he achieved a Diploma in Chemistry.

From 1904 to 1916 Alfred worked for the Mount Lyell Chemical Company (photographed below).

mount lyell

Between 1916 and 1918 he was involved in operative training and explosive manufacture at HM Factory Gretna.

In 1919 Alfred went to work for Chance and Hunt, an alkali company in Birmingham.

He returned to Australia in 1920 to work for the Mount Lyell Company research group.

Between 1921 and 1923 Alfred was a buyer for the Electrolytic Zinc Company, Hobart.

In 1923 he retired, and lived out his life in Melbourne.

You can see some of the street names in Eastriggs on the map below.  The majority are places in the British Empire/Commonwealth.

In 1919, the following HM Factory Gretna staff left their work in Britain and gave their addresses as listed below:

B E Anderson

c/o Wischer & co

William Street

Melbourne

Australia

 

J R H Bartlett

c/o/ Dalgetty & Co.

15 Bent Street

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

 

W S Bradley

“Leadhills”

Francis Street

Subiaco

W Australia

 

S Hough

c/o Messrs Lever Brothers Ltd

Balmain

Sydney

Australia

 

N S W Hudson

c/o/ T J Darling Esq.

Tymble

Sydney

Australia

 

S Parsons

91 Morehead Street

Redfern

Sydney

Australia

 

A F Parkin

Born 1892 in Victoria

Lived at 24 the Ridge, Eastriggs during World War One and had two children there (Tom and Gretna who went on to become Gretna Weste, a famous Australian botanist, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Margaret_Weste)

Died 1971 in Tobago

In 1919, he gave his future address as:

Studley Avenue

Kew

Melbourne

Australia

 

G W R Powell

Gladstone Avenue

Mossman

Sydney

Australia

 

T M Steele

c/o C S R Co

O’Connell Street

Sydney

Australia

 

G S Skuthorp

Bullfinch Proprietery

G M

West Australia

 

L F N Stutterd

“Ashleigh”

Winyard

Tasmania

 

M B Welch

Boyle Street

Mosman Bay

NSW Australia

 

R G Walker

209 Ripon Street

South Ballarat

Victoria

Australia

 

Operating Staff

S B Abbott

71 Sydney Road

Parkville

Melbourne

Australia

 

N E Beaumont

Australia

 

F A Eastaugh, ARSM, FIC, AIMM

University Club

Sydney

NSW

Australia

 

F F Field, AMSM

21 Landsdowne Street

East Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

 

A F Gourley        Australia

 

E L P Griffiths, BSc, AIC

Chemist’s Branch

Dept of Agriculture

Sydney

NSW

Australia

 

W J Kelly

32 M’Connell Street

Kensington

Melbourne

Victoria

 

J McE King

“Lochnager”

Ballast Pint Road

Balmain

NSW

Australia

 

A J Marsden       Australia

 

A M Munro, MA, AIC, FCS

c/o Bank of Australasia

Melbourne

 

C W R Powell     Chemical Dept

 

C S R Coy

Sydney

Australia

Danger Building Staff

 

A L Aspland, BSc

Lower Kalgan River

Albany

West Australia

 

 

 

 

The front cover of a book titled "The Premier's Clarion Calls to Courage" with an illustration of Winston Churchill.

World War Two Donation to the Museum

By Collections blog

We don’t know much about this recently donated booklet. It was printed in 1941 and contains some of Churchills most inspiring speeches. It is pocket sized so could have been taken anywhere in World War Two. You can imagine soldiers, airmen, sailors, air raid wardens, ATS workers and anyone involved in the war either in service or in the public reading it to raise their morale in their darkest hours. We hope this pamphlet brought the courage it was intended to stir and that you are enjoying reading it.

The booklet was made by a company called Valentine and Sons who were a printing company founded in Dundee in 1851 and grew to become Scotland’s leading manufacturer of picture postcards. The company was then purchased by John Waddington Limited in 1963 who then sold it to Hallmark Cards in 1980. Operations at the Dundee factory ceased in 1993.

The Devils Porridge Museum has two floors. The ground floor focuses on World War One and the first floor focuses on World War Two and the Cold War in our area. Hope you can visit us soon to explore both galleries. To find out more about what’s in the Museum before visiting check out the Guidebooks which we have in our shop: https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/product/the-devils-porridge-museum-guidebook

Here are a couple of pages from the book below:

J C Burnham

John Charles Burnham

By Collections blog

John Charles Burnham was responsible for keeping the greatest factory in the world operating smoothly which he accomplished every day he was there as the factory helped Britain win the war by producing the most cordite out of any factory in the whole world. When leaving the Factory Burnham left behind a meticulous record of his work in the form of a Factory Manuel which is now in the National Archives.

The picture above shows Burnham walking behind the two men, one being King George when he visited HM Factory Gretna.

Owens College, Manchester

J C Burnham studied at Owens College in Manchester from 1885 – 89 and graduated in 1888 with a Bachelor of science, in the first class and was elected an Associate of the College in the same year. In 1889 he became an assistant chemist under Kellner at Woolwich, Arsenal and while holding that position also acted for some years as Assistant Chemist to the Special Committee of Explosives, under the Chairmanship of Sir Frederick Abel. In 1894 he proceeded to India, where he was for five years as a chemist in charge of an experimental cordite factory at Kirkke, before he was appointed manager at the Government of India Explosives factory, Nilgiris. His advice was sought by the government on many occasions, and his services were recognised by the award of the C.S.I. In 1915 he was loaned to the Ministry of Munitions and became Director of the Board of Management and Superintendent at HM Factory Gretna, a post which he held until 1921. In the following year he was appointed General Works Manager of British Dyestuffs Corporation, Manchester and retired in 1924.

This is one of the factories which Burnham worked in before being moved to HM Factory Gretna

 

We’re not sure what Burnham’s role was in the invention of cordite but he did work under Sir Frederick Abel who was one of the people credited as the inventor of cordite. Cordite was the propellant which was made in HM Factory Gretna and that was used in the shells which were made in WW1 and was invented in 1889 by Sir James Dewar and Sir Frederick Augustus Abel and later saw the use as the standard explosive of the British Army.

WW1 Bugle from Quintinshill

By Collections blog

 WW1 Bugle

This Bugle belonged to John Malone who died in the train crash at Quintinshill in 1915

At only 16, he was too young to go into active service at Gallipoli (the age limit was 17) but he was travelling as part of the regimental band which would play a musical farewell to the troops at Liverpool.

We have a display within The Devil’s Porridge Museum of objects and information relating to the Quintinshill rail disaster and in December (when the Museum was closed), we added two new objects to it. One is a seven foot long sign which formally stood at Gretna Green station and the other is a Signal Box showing the route of the trains involved in the fatal collision at Quintinshill at 6.49am on May 22nd 1915.

On that fateful day, a troop train carrying Royal Scots soldiers destined for Gallipoli collided with a stationary train at Quintinshill, near Gretna Green. Shortly after the crash the wreckage was struck by an express train from Carlisle, which sparked a catastrophic fire. This horrific accident killed at least 227 people and injured over 200; only seven officers and 57 soldiers survived the crash, of whom five went on to Gallipoli to face the machine guns of the entrenched Turks. This is still the worst rail disaster in British history.

Quintinshill Rail disaster

The Museum has several objects of significance connected to the Quintinshill rail disaster including a rifle which was bent out of shape by the heat of the fire. There are heart wrenching accounts of trapped soldiers in the train begging to be shot because of the excruciating pain caused by the flames.

We also have a nurse’s uniform from the time of the crash. Patients were taken to Dumfries and Carlisle Infirmaries and doctors came to the scene to help if they could. There are dozens of photographs in the Museum’s collection showing the wreckage and the crowds that came to help and gaze at the spectacle. Many of these were turned into postcards within days of the event such was the interest in it.

Nurses uniform

Another object we have is a bugle which belonged to John Malone. He was aged just 16 when he died in the train crash at Quintinshill. He was too young to go into active service but he was travelling on the train with the regimental band to play a musical farewell to the troops when they boarded their ship in Liverpool.

WW1 Bugle

New Object of the Month

Object of the Month for January

By Collections blog

This object was recently donated to the Museum. It is an Auxiliary Territorial Service (or ATS) coat from World War Two. It was owned by a young woman called Elizabeth who was originally from Lancashire but was stationed in Stirling during the War. Her daughter, from Lockerbie, donated this coat to the Museum.

New Object of the Month

One of the most interesting parts of this donation was inside the overcoat. On the outside, it is a standard issue military style coat but inside are numerous felt badges from different countries and regiments involved in World War Two.  The donor didn’t know what these badges were, and she was curious to know how her mother acquired them.

New Object of the Month

Some of our young volunteers managed to find out what all the badges were, but we don’t know why Elizabeth had them (they were probably tokens or mementoes from people she met during the War).

New Object of the Month

Here are some of the most interesting badges which she has collected:

Igloo with a star: Exercise Eskimo Badge

Rainbow and flaming sword: Post WW2 U.S. Forces European command

Red gate: British troops in Northern Ireland

3 yellow stripes: Overseas service

Tigers face: British army, South East Command UK

New Objects on Display

By News

While the Museum was closed a couple of new items were added to the displays by our Vice Chairman Graham and our Secretary Neil these items are a Gretna Green sign which is above our Quintinshill display and a signal box which is placed on the wall before you enter the café showing the train routes for Quintinshill.

Signal Box

The Quintinshill rail disaster is the worst rail disaster in British history. It involved five trains and caused the deaths of over 229 soldiers. The crash was caused when a local train had been temporarily placed on the southbound mainline in the direct path of a troop train. at 6:55am, 21 carriages full of soldiers hurtled headlong into the stationary train.

Gretna Green sign at the Devils Porridge

The collision was so violent that the train, which had been 195 meters long, was compressed to just 61 meters. Minutes later with debris scattered all over the tracks the Northbound express from London approached Quintinshill. Weighing over 600 tonnes and travelling at full speed, it was powerless to stop and ploughed straight into the wreckage. The crash could be heard miles away. Within seconds a fire broke out and engulfed all three engines, of the 500 troops on board, fewer than 60 made it to roll-call the next day.

A Happy New Year to all of our Supporters

By News

A Happy New Year from all the volunteers and staff at the Devils Porridge. 2019 was a good year for the Museum bet we hope that 2020 will be an even better one. We open again on Monday the 6th January with our new Solway Fishing Exhibition and on 25th January we have our annual Burns Supper, tickets are £10, bookable by phoning 01461 700021. Our year ended on a high note, wit two coaches from the South coming in for a warm welcome on Hogmanay. Our photo shows Chairman Richard Brodie, Trustee Eleanor Oswald and Sheila Gibson, and our youngest volunteer Maddison Wallace.

Agnes Helen Webster

Agnes Helen Webster – Gretna Girls

By Collections blog

Agnes Helen Webster was born on 2nd March 1899 at Burnfoot, Biel Estate, East Lothian. Her father was a gamekeeper on the estate. Agnes was one of a family of four girls and one boy.

 

Agnes attended school at Stenton where she had seven years perfect attendance. Her father the dies when she was 12 years old and her family would have to leave their cottage at Burnfoot.

 

Agnes would probably enter domestic serve until she went to Gretna. The working conditions would be in stark contrast to her rural upbringing and with running water on the floor to prevent sparks, and being exposed to highly toxic and dangerous chemicals, life at Gretna was quite harsh.

 

She returned to domestic service at the end of the war and in 1930 met and married Robert Bathgate Denholm from North Berwick. He was  a master cabinet maker and joiner and an accomplished amateur golfer who represented Scotland on numerous occasions. They had a family of four boys.

 

Agnes died in 1964 having suffered from cancer for many years.

 

Some people on the beach in the distance.

Solway Firth Partnership SMILE project talk

By Events

2020 is Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters.  The Devil’s Porridge Museum is located near the Solway Firth and we are part of the Solway Firth Partnership which works “to support a vibrant and sustainable local economy while respecting, protecting and celebrating the distinctive character, heritage and natural features of our marine and coastal area.”

On January 28th 2020, Georgina Reid from the Solway Firth Partnerhip’s SMILE project will be delivering a talk on the work of the Partnership with a particular emphasis on the SMILE project.

The talk will start at 7pm and the cost is £3 per person (payable on the door, no need to book).

 

SMILE Project

The aim of the Solway Marine Information, Learning and Environment (SMILE) Project is to update the 1996 ‘State of the Solway Review’, using innovative communication methods to gather pan-estuary information, learn from stakeholders and promote a better understanding of the Solway Firth ecosystem.   The update is required in the light of new demands made on the estuary’s resources and in the context of marine planning. The Review will provide some of the evidence by which a sustainable approach to planning and management may be achieved; thereby helping to deliver the ecosystem based marine planning frameworks developed for the Solway. The SMILE Project is a EMFF funded project running until the end of 2020.

Solway Firth Partnership Talk

Biographical information about the speaker

Georgina Reid, SMILE Project officer at Solway Firth Partnership

Studied for her master’s in Marine Spatial Planning and Management in Newfoundland, Canada 2016-18

Interned with the Coastal Zone Management Unit in Barbados in 2018.

For questions and enquiries, please contact Judith on 01461 700021 or email: manager@devilsporridge.org.uk

For more information on the Solway Firth Partnership see:

What is Solway Firth Partnership?

solway firth partnership

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