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The Devils Porridge

A green house made out of plastic bottles.

Eco Greenhouse

By Events

Over the weekend February 8th and 9th The Devils Porridge Eco Club would like your help to build a bottle green house at the Museum.

Many hands make light work so whether you can help over both days or just have a spare half hour to come along 12 till 2 on Saturday and Sunday.

 

The green house will be made using empty 2 litre plastic juice bottles so if you have any empty bottles between now and the even bring them along or drop them off at the Museum. (we will need a lot).

 

As well as building the green house there will be plenty of other gardening jobs to be done as we strive to get our Dig for Victory garden ready for Spring.

WW1 Fireless Locomotive

By News

Outside The Devil’s Porridge Museum there stands a train, a fireless locomotive called Sir James, which was built and used in World War One. By the time it came to the Museum, it was in a rusty and poor state of repair.  The Museum spent a lot of time and money restoring the engine and it is now one of our most popular displays.

 

This engine was used to transport the ‘devil’s porridge’ paste through HM Factory Gretna (the greatest munitions factory on earth at that time, it stretched nine miles from Dornock in Scotland to Longtown in England).  The paste was made into cordite, a propellant in the English side of the Factory.  Cordite went inside all the bullets and shells used in World War One.

 

Sir James is an unusual locomotive.  It is powered by steam but there is no fire inside.  This was a safety precaution as the Factory produced explosive material and the train was used to transport it.  There was a genuine concern that there might be a major explosion (there were several fires and explosions here during World War One but the safety record was remarkably good given that 30,000 people worked at the Factory in total and we know of only twelve deaths directly attributable to accidents).

 

Sir James was built by Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock, Scotland and in World War One, it would have been charged up with steam from an external boiler before setting off.   For these locomotives to work, it was necessary to have three charging stations en route to maintain pressure.  These ‘crazy green and brown patchwork’ camouflaged fireless locomotives could pull ten loaded wagons and return the empty wagons on one charge of steam.

At the end of the War, the Factory eventually closed and much of the machinery was sold off.  Sir James was sold in 1924 to the Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company at Brimsdown Generating Station and then in 1975 to the Lakeland and Haverthwaite railway before joining us at the Museum and being restored to its former glory in 2011.

If you enjoyed this article you might be interested in the following items from our online shop…

HM Factory Gretna’s Unique Railway System Booklet

Sir James Postcard

A lady sitting in a wheelbarrow with a man pushing it. This is an archive photo.

Mystery Photos 2

By News

This is the second part of the mystery photos which the Museum has in its store which we know nothing about as we don’t know who is in the pictures or where they came from. The only thing we know about the photos is that the boat which they are occasionally pictured on is called the SS Avoceta.

 

One of our Volunteers Desray found these photos interesting while she was adding them to the Museums collections database. 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”.

 

If you would like to see the last group of photos we made an article on see: https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/mystery-photos

Two happy children outside The Devil's Porridge Museum.

Events at the Museum in February

By News

Events taking place at the Museum from Monday 17th of February to Sunday 23rd February. All of these activities are free and only the trip to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow on Saturday the 22nd requires booking. If you wish to book phone: 01461 700021, email: info@devilsporridge.org.uk or pop into the Museum during our opening hours. Drop in sessions can be joined at any time while the session is running and last as long as the activity takes.

 

Monday 17th February (11am – 2pm)

Warhammer Workshop and Painting Competition

 

Come along and find out all about Warhammer. We will have mini-games set up for beginners to learn and play as well as space for more experienced players to set up their own epic battles.

Paint and take home one of our Space Marines as part of the painting competition. All paints and models will be provided! There will also be space and paint for anyone looking to paint their own models.

Tuesday 18th February (11am – 2pm)

Pop in Poetry

 

Local artist and published poet Hugh McMillan will be running a series of drop in poetry workshops aimed at all ages.

Find out about WW1 poets and try your hand at writing some poetry of your own inspired by the Museums collection.

 

Wednesday 19th February (11am – 2pm)

Historical Arts and Crafts

 

Running along-side our imitation stained-glass project designing panels for our café renovation, drop into the learning zone and join Alison and Wendy to create your own imitation stained-glass window scene to take home and proudly display at home.

The imitation stained-glass project is a separate event and aimed at older crafters and adults.

 

Thursday 20th February (11am – 2pm)

Time Bandits Living History

 

Historical re-enactors from Time Bandits Living History will be visiting The Devils Porridge on this day.

With live performances throughout the day and a larger range of objects to be handled and explored the Time Bandits will be providing an insight into life on the home front and the roles of Women during World War One.

 

Friday 21st February (11am onwards)

Warhammer 40k Kill team Porridge Championship

 

The first ever Porridge Championship! Build your 40k kill team and battle your way through a series of missions against the other competitors. Prizes for the best painted army and most enjoyable competitor as well as our overall champion!

A painting area will also be provided for anyone adding any finishing touches to their army.

 

Saturday 22nd February (All day events)

Games Club

 

Our regular Devils Porridge Games Club will be running this day (10am – 11am for primary 6 and above 11am – 12noon open to all ages) but there will be different traditional games set up for families to play throughout the rest of the day.

Riverside Museum Trip to Glasgow (bus departs at 9.30 and returns at 4pm)

 

Join us for a free family day out to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. Free return travel to the Museum and entry to the Museum is also free!

Riverside Museum is Glasgow’s award winning transport Museum. With over 3000 objects on display there’s everything from skateboards to locomotives, paintings to prams and cars to a Stormtrooper.

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/riverside-museum

ICI Powfoot group photo.

World War Two photo of ICI Powfoot

By Collections blog

A couple (Ron and Morag) recently contacted the Museum and sent us a photo of Morag’s mother who worked at ICI Powfoot during the Second World War.  She is pictured in the photograph below (front row, second from left) with other people who also worked in the Factory.

Morag’s mother was Mary Taylor Napier (maiden name Dirom) who worked at ICI Powfoot during the Second World War.  She was born on the 11th May 1921 in Templand, Dumfriesshire. She then married on 2nd February 1940 at Dryfesdale, Lockerbie to James Ross Napier (who was on leave from the army). She lived in Lockerbie during World War Two.

After the War, James and Mary moved to Templand in a ‘prefab’ where they had their first child Morag (who gave us this information). Mary and James, with three children and a fourth on the way, emigrated to Australia in 1956 and this is where they lived until Mary passed away on the 16th July 2000 in Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia.

The couple would also be very interested to know if anyone  knew any of the other people in the photo and see if they can identify them. They don’t really know much more information about the photo or who is in it which is why they would like some more information if anyone can help.  Please email: manager@devilsporridge.org.uk if you have any information you would like to share with us.  We have a large collection of objects and material relating to the Second World War in our region and are always keen to know more.

Photo on display of ICI Powfoot workers

This display (photographed below) is on the First Floor of the Museum and focuses on the work done at ICI Powfoot.

A few years ago, the Museum researched and published a book called ‘The Solway Military Coast.’  It contains lots of information about World War Two in Dumfries and Galloway and can be purchased from our online shop (and shipped worldwide): https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/product/the-solway-military-coast-book

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

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