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Worker of the Week: Lily Bruce

By March 5th, 2026No Comments
Munitions workers in uniform stood and sat in four rows. This is a black and white photograph from the past.

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  

This week’s Worker of the Week, is Lily Bruce, who features in a group photograph of munitions workers at the factory. Keep reading to find out more about Lily’s life.

Early Life

  • On 28th March 1901 Lily was born in Cordon, Durham.
  • In total, Lily appears to have had 10 siblings.
  • Additionally, her parents were Thomas and Emma Bruce.
  • According to the 1911 census, Thomas was a miner.

Life at H.M. Factory Gretna

  • Although, we don’t know exactly when Lily would have started working at the factory, it seems that she would have been a munitions worker.
  • This is because she appears in a photograph of a group of munitions workers who worked there.
  • Information on the back of the photo suggests that she could have been part of the “Cotton Prep Dept.  A Shift.”

Munitions workers in uniform stood and sat in four rows. This is a black and white photograph from the past.

 

  • Interestingly, there are many more names of munitions workers also on the back of this photo.
  • For instance, the back of the photo suggests that Maud Bruce (of no relation to Lily) is sat in third row, 4th from the left.
  • We know Maud Bruce definitely worked at H.M Factory Gretna and even was awarded a medal for her bravery during her time working there. [1] [2]
  • Additionally, we have other photos of Maud Bruce. Do you think the two photos below look like the same person?
  • Meanwhile, Lily is described as being the second from the right in the first row of the photo.

 

  • Unfortunately, we don’t have any more information about Lily’s time working at H.M. Factory Gretna.
  • We don’t have a comprehensive list of everyone who worked at H.M. Factory Gretna and sometimes all the evidence we have is a name on the back of a photograph… What do you think of this source?
  • Ideally, a relative of Lily’s might come across this blog post and kindly get in touch with us (or someone might come along and loan us a time machine), until then this is the information we have found about Lily Bruce…

Marriages and More

  • After her time working at the factory, Lily seems to have returned to Durham.
  • This is because she married there!
  • More specifically, it appears that Lily married in Auckland, Durham in September 1927 to James Henry Lee.
  • Following this, James and Lily had three children all born in the Durham area.

 

  • Sadly, in March 1933 James passed away.
  • In June of that same year James and Lily’s last child was born.

 

  • It seems that Lily and her children continued to live in the Durham area.
  • Similarly, Emma, Lily’s mother lived there right up to her death in 1962.

 

  • However, prior to that Lily married again.
  • On 9th September 1950 Lily appears to have married Henry Kipling in Durham.
  • We’ve also found that their wedding was witnessed by Robinson and Sarah Kell.
  • Additionally, their vicar was Hector Stanley Horobin.

 

  • Lastly, Lily died on the 7th February 1971.

Sources and Further Information

  1. The Marvellous Miss Maud: From Gretna Girl to Aycliffe Angle. – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/the-marvelous-miss-maud-from-gretna-girl-to-aycliffe-angel
  2.  Maud Bruce Online Database Entry – https://www.devilsporridge.org.uk/hm-factory-gretna-workers-database/name/maud-bruce

Find Lily Bruce’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>

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