Worker of the Week is a series of blog posts which highlights the workers at H.M. Factory Gretna that our volunteers researched for The Miracle Workers Project. This project aimed to centralise all of the 30,000 people who worked at Gretna during World War One and, although it may be over, our amazing research volunteers are continuing to uncover more stories about H.M. Factory Gretna workers to be added to this database. We are always looking to learn more about H.M. Factory Gretna workers. If you know anything about a H.M. Factory Gretna worker please feel free to get in touch with us by contacting info@devilsporridge.org.uk We would like to thank our research volunteers and the relatives of this week’s Worker of the Week, who kindly shared some information.
This our Worker of the Week is Georgina Little, who was a maid at one of the factory hostels.
Early Life
- On 3rd January 1897, in Asprita, Cumberland.
- Georgina was the youngest of seven children to George and Mary Little.
- Additionally, her father George worked in coal mines according to census records.
- A relative has kindly shared with us that was “known as Ina.”
- Following this, the 1901 census shows the family to be living in West End, Asprita.
- At this point, Georgina would have been 4 years old.
- Later, the 1911 census shows Georgina to be living at the same address with her parents.
- However, some of her siblings have moved out, as only one of her brothers and her nephew appear on the census.
H.M. Factory Gretna
- We first came across Ina’s connection to the factory, due to one of her relatives who kindly contacted us, thinking they had worked at the factory.
- As well as this, they kindly shared that thought that “she was a maid for a manager Miss Tom.”
- Christina Muddie Thom was a matron of one of the hostels at the factory [1]. Could it be that Ina worked with her?
- Yes! The electoral register and the valuation rolls for Eastriggs in 1918 to 1919, show us that she worked as a maid at this hostel with Christina Muddie Thom.[1]
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- Inside a hostel.
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- Inside a hostel.
- For many of the young munitions workers who lived in hostels it would have been there first time living away from home.
- Matrons like Christina Muddie Thom would have helped look after them and we think it is likely that Ina assisted with this.[1]
- Hostels also provided food for lodgers. Perhaps, Ina would have even helped to serve food in the messrooms and clean up afterwards. What do you think?
Messroom inside a Hostel.
- Ina worked as a maid at Drake house hostel, 47 -61 Dunedin Road, Eastriggs.
(Many of the hostels for the factory were named after real people, such as Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale. The hostel that Christina worked in was named after Sir Francis Drake, who is often recognized for circumnavigating the globe and his role in defeating the invading Spanish Armada. However, Drake was involved in piracy, colonialism and slave trade.[2] [3])
Edith Cavell Hostel in Gretna from our archive. The buildings here would have been similar to Drake’s Hostel in Eastriggs.
Married Life
- It seems that Ina returned to Asprita after her time working in Eastriggs.
- In 1936 she married John Thomas Metcalfe.
- Following this, the 1939 census shows Ina and John living at a cottage in Asprita.
- John appears to be working as a horse man on a nearby farm.
Later
- On 24th February 1954, John died.
- At this point John and Ina were still living at the same farm as the 1939 census.
- Ina died in February 1988.
Sources and Further Reading
[1] Worker of the Week: Christina Muddie Thom – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-the-week-christina-muddie-thom [2] Sir Francis Drake Information and Blog Post, The Golden Hind – https://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/discover/sir-francis-drake and https://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/blog/278-drake-was-a-slave-trader [3] Sir Francis Drake, History of England Historic UK – https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Sir-Francis-Drake/
Read Georgina Little’s Online Database Entry by clicking here>
Do you have a relative who worked at H.M. Factory Gretna? We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us by emailing info@devilsporridge.org.uk. You never know maybe your relative could feature in a future Worker of the Week blog post! You can also have a look at some more H.M. Factory Gretna workers on our online database here>
