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Devil’s Porridge Museum Podcast

By News

Welcome to the Devil’s Porridge Museum Podcast!

 

Through conversations and interviews, our volunteers and other from the local community will be sharing their personal stories and memories with The Devil’s Porridge Podcast team.

 

In this weeks podcast we talked to David Carter about the Royal Fusiliers in World War One. David was meant to do a talk at the Museum about this subject in August which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.

 

One regiment which over the course of the war recruited thousands of men was the Royal Fusiliers. The talk will look at the way in which volunteers from the Empire became involved in different battalions. Some battalions were formed which took account of the knowledge of the volunteers, other men were incorporated into battalions comprised of British volunteers. Their experiences varied, from the time given for initial training, to where they were posted and what they had to do.

 

If you are interested in podcasting and would like to learn more about how to create your own podcast, then you might be interested in the Museums Podcasting workshop happening on Sunday December 13th from 6:00pm – 7:30pm. For more information contact: steven@devilsporridge.org.uk

 

 

You can listen to the podcast below:

Illustration of a Sopwith Strutter plane.

Plane Postcards

By Collections blog

Nieuport 11c1

The Nieuport 11 entered service with the Aviation Militaire in the summer of 1915. A small, single-seat biplane which quickly earned the nickname of ‘Bebe’ it was also used by the RNAS and from March 1916 served with the RFC on the Western Front providing more than a match for the Fokker monoplanes. The Macchi Company built 640 in Italy where they became standard fighters and were also used in Albania. Others served in Belgium and Russia.

 

Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter

This aircraft was used extensively during the Great War by the RNAS, RFC, French, Belgian and United States air services on a range of duties whcih included fighter-reconnaissance, bombing, ground attack, coastal patrol, anti-submarine work and photo reconnaissance. It operated on the Western Front, in Macedonia, Italy, the Aegen area and Russia and was flown from aircraft carriers, battleships and battle cruisers. the 1½ Strutter was the first British service aircraft with an efficient syncronised forward-firing armament. About 1500 were built by eight British manufacturers and some 4500 completed by the French.

 

Robin at the entrance to museum in uniform and kilt.

Autism Training

By News

Our volunteers have been keeping busy during lockdown: getting involved in podcast projects and completing online training.  Robin Hall, a Trustee of the Museum, recently completed Autism Training.  He has written about this experience below…

“What do you do when you are in isolation and not able to volunteer at the Devil’s Porridge Museum, Eastriggs? Well I suppose I could do some training. Enhance my knowledge about HM Factory Gretna…

The phone then rings and it is Steven, the Access and Learning Officer from the Museum wanting to know if I would like to do an online training course about Autism

Like many of our volunteers, I regularly assist with group and school visits to the Museum.   Some of the visitors are on the autistic spectrum and I have limited knowledge of how to interact with them.

In 2019, we had a school group visiting and an incident led to a young boy in the group who was autistic becoming very upset. I did not know how to deal with him.  I also have a grandson who is autistic and find it difficult to communicate with him at times.

So, it was a bit of a no brainier the Museum was offering me a training course and I was looking for something to do during the lockdown.

Robin with Museum Chairman, Richard Brodie.

I completed the course and passed the eight module assessments and final examination.  The course included modules such as diagnosing autism, what causes autism and autistic behaviours. I was awarded a certificate for my efforts having achieved 93%.  I now have a much better understanding of autism which effects one in every hundred people in UK.

I am now 68 years old and still learning. There are further courses in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Dyslexia which I am interested in. I would like to look into becoming the Special Education Needs Co Ordinator for the Museum and work with my colleagues to develop resources for autistic visitors to use.

There are lots of autistic children who are not getting the help they need due to a lack of knowledge. If one in a hundred children is autistic you may know someone who needs help.  Thanks to The Devil’s Porridge Museum I hope to be able to help some of them.”

Thanks to Robin for this account and well done to him and his lovely wife, Wendy, for both passing this course.

The Devil's Porridge Museum's podcast logo with a cartoon munition worker and soldier.

New Online Podcast

By News

Welcome to the Devil’s Porridge Museum Podcast!

 

Over the last few weeks museum staff and volunteers have been working on an inter-generational  oral history project. This project is now available for you to enjoy in the form of the Devil’s Porridge Museum Podcast.

 

Through conversations and interviews, our volunteers and others from the local community will be sharing their personal stories and memories with the Devil’s Porridge Museum Podcast team.

 

The first podcast features museum Chairman Richard Brodie, discussing the origins of the museum with some young visitors. More episodes will follow over the coming weeks, so please come back and listen to more instalment throughout the summer.

 

If you would like to get involved with the project to share your own stories and memories or if you would like to find out more about joining our production team please contact Steven@devilsporridge.org.uk

 

 

You can listen to the Podcast below:

If you would like to know more about the Museum, its collection and history, you might be interested in our Museum guidebook (just £2.50 from our online shop):

The Devil’s Porridge Museum Guidebook

 

Illustration of a Breguet plane.

WW1 Plane Postcards Part 2

By Collections blog

Here are some more of the WW1 plane postcards which are being kept in the Museums store. This post will include information about the Royal Aircraft Factory b.e. 2c.

Royal Aircraft Factory B.E. 2c

The B.E. 2c was designed as an inherently stable aeroplane, easy to fly and an ideal answer to the Royal Flying Corps’ fundamental operational requirement for a good reconnaissance aircraft. It first flew on 30th May 1914 powered by a 70hp Renault engine. When it entered service with No.8 Squadron RFC in April 1915, the 90hp RAF engine had been fitted as the standard power plant. The B.E. 2c’s stability was initially well received by service pilots but with the advent of the true fighter Fokker monoplanes and the Albatros biplanes, they became very easy prey, being to stable to avoid attack and too slow to get away. Nonetheless, production of large numbers continued and 14 squadrons of the RFC and one of the RNAS were equiped with this type. It was still in action on the Western Front during ‘Bloody April’, 1917 where it suffered a large number of casulties. It was operated overseas by both the RNAS and the RFC, serving as a bombing and reconsissacne aircraft in Maceedonia and the Middle East, and in the Dardenells and the Aegen.

 

You can see our previous plane postcard here: https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/ww1-plane-postcards

 

Castle Gateway in Carlisle on a postcard.

Old Postcards Photos of Carlisle

By Collections blog

Recently the Museum was donated lots of postcards. Some of the postcards have photos of Carlisle and the surrounding area, some have photos of Gretna (will be posted at a later date) and some have cartoons and birthday wishes etc.

 

 

Many of the postcards which we have showing Carlisle during the First World War with one even showing the Carlisle Women Munition Workers Football Team (shown below).

 

 

The two images below show the interior and exterior of the Gretna Tavern in Carlisle.

 

 

The photo below is of Warwick Road in Carlisle from 1923

 

The photo below is of the War Memorial Bridge in Carlisle

 

Munition Workers Poems Part 1

By Collections blog

Lots of people are familiar with famous World War One poets and their poetry. Some wonderful, less know poems were written by women about their experiences at HM Factory Gretna (the greatest factory on earth during World War One, The Devils Porridge Museum tells its story).

We have a book on sale in our shop called, ‘Munitions Workers Poems’. For Women’s History Month, we thought we would share a few photographs and poems of women workers from World War One.

This poem is called “Bravo! Dornock” and was written by a woman called Susan M Ferguson.

The complete booklet can be found here:

 

Munition Workers’ Poems

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