May 1915. It was less than a year since the start of the First World War and the conflict had become bogged down in the mud and trenches of France and Belgium. On the 9th May heavy casualties were sustained at the Battle of Aubers ridge, the failure to make any gains further compounded by a shortage of shells “British Soldiers died last week on Aubers Ridge because the British Army is short of shells” complained the commander in chief of the BEF Sir John French, with The Times newspaper taking up the story. Prime minister Herbert Asquith’s Liberal government was soon in political crisis over this. The newly appointed minister of munitions David Lloyd George was tasked with ensuring that there was a sufficient supply of ammunition and shells to the frontline and his first step to ending the “shell crisis” was the creation of a huge munitions factory in the borders of Scotland, HM Factory Gretna.
Located at the very outskirts of the village of Eastriggs, just 5 miles from Gretna in the Scottish Borders, the Devils Porridge Museum tells the story of the development and contribution of the munitions factory HM Factory Gretna to the war effort in both world wars, and the stories of the men and women who worked there.
The original museum was housed in a church until it became obvious that the building was not fit for purpose and was required for more ecclesiastical functions and so the current purpose built museum was built in the 1990s, funded largely by developer contributions from housing developments in the area. The museum is a modern light and airy rectangular building which covers two floors containing an impressively large amount of information in the story of HM Factory Gretna in the two world wars, and beyond.
The introductory displays take you firstly through a mock up of a First World War trench (complete with model rat) and through the story of the shell crisis and the establishment of HM Factory Gretna. The story of the construction of the site, the biggest munitions factory in the world, is covered along with a detailed description of the manufacture of cordite. Nitro-glycerine and cotton were mixed together in huge basins, a mixture christened “The Devil’s porridge” by the writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
On the opposite wall there is a graphic showing the timeline of the sequence of events leading up to the horrific Quintinshill rail disaster which took place in May 1915 only a few miles away. It was, and remains, the worst rail disaster in British history involving 5 trains and the deaths of 214 Royal Scots Guards who were destined for the conflict in Gallipoli. A sobering read.
At the height of its operations there were some 30,000 workers employed at HM Factory Gretna, including 12000 women, and a bedroom has been created to resemble that belonging to a worker at Gretna living in the township so that you can see the conditions in which they lived. The lives and experiences of the men and women who worked here is described with information about their working conditions, the entertainment available to them when they were not at work such as dance halls and cinemas, and important facilities such as hospitals and laundries. Pubs were, for a short time, banned in an attempt to prevent brawling and bad behaviour amongst the workers. There is also a section about the deaths and injuries suffered by workers here who were carrying out this dangerous work with very toxic and explosive chemicals. Anew exhibit exploring the health of the workers at the factory is due to open soon.
At the back of the museum on the ground floor there is a small archive section with folders containing documents about the history of HM Gretna on the ground floor which are available for research purposes.
The second floor covers the contribution of HM Gretna in the Second World War with the first display boards covering the period of transition between the First and Second World Wars.
Other displays show how the war affected Gretna, as it affected all parts of the country, with first hand accounts from local people, information about the child evacuees from Glasgow who were housed in the local area and also the bombing of Gretna by the Luftwaffe in April 1941. A further display details the foundation of RAF Annan in 1942, primarily used for training pilots.
The final display covers the post war era and the construction and life of Scotland’s first nuclear power station at Chapelcross in 1959. In its day it generated enough electricity to power a city of 150,000 people. It was decommissioned in 2004 and its 4 cooling towers, which were local landmarks, were demolished in 2007.
Outside the museum there is a “Dig for Victory” garden with Anderson shelter, a bomb from MOD Longtown, and a Hawker Hurricane engine. A further interesting exhibit is Sir James, the Fireless Locomotive, one of fourteen fireless locomotives used to safely transport the volatile Devils Porridge paste from HM Gretna to another factory in England where further processing turned it into cordite. Finally, a memorial to all of the animals that died in various conflicts such as horses, dogs and pigeons, stands outside the museum.
The site of HM Gretna sits between the village of Eastriggs and the expanse of the Solway Firth and is inaccessible to the public. What remains of the site is behind high fencing with MOD property keep outs signs on it. Small parts of the structures and railways in the site are visible from the perimeter but this site is not signposted and parking is only available in the village. At first sight it does appear to me to be a wasted opportunity which could be used to show visitors the scale of the site. Presumably though, it is inaccessible as the structures are unsafe and the ground contaminated.
The village and surrounding area is very quiet now and it is hard to imagine that at one time this area was home to 30000 people and the largest munitions factory in the world.
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Louise Provan is an architect with a Masters Degree in Military History. Her area of interest is the war at sea during the First World War, in particular the naval reforms of Sir John "Jacky" Fisher but more recently she has been researching the adventures of "Dunsterforce" in Trans Caucasia in 1918