On Wednesday 8th April 2026 you can take the time for some creativity while exploring the museum and make your own poseable cardboard soldier or munitions worker to take away home. This is include in admission to The Devil's Porridge Museum. Learn more: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/wartime-char...

Some relationship advice from this early 20th century postcard: Don't keep telling her about how much you love tomatoes dude she's clearly over it.

On Wednesday's we have been sharing the story of someone from H.M. Factory Gretna. Our first one in April this year is Eric De Clemont. Unfortunately this is a sad one, as Eric died during his time working at the factory. Learn more: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-th... #WorkeroftheWeek

Feeling creative? 🎨 Tomorrow we have FREE drop-in Easter Craft Activities from 2pm to 4pm. Why not join us for some Easter and Spring themed crafts? You'll make something to take home with you.🐣🐇 Learn more and check out what else we have coming up here: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/easter-craft...

Did you know that today is the 89th day of the year, which means yesterday was the 88th day of the year, so yesterday was... World Piano Day? 🎹🎵 Do you know who was good at playing the piano? Ivy Herbet. She held piano lessons in the Gretna Institute in 1916. #WomensHistoryMonth #PianoDay

Here's your reminder that our museum opening hours will be changing next week. ⏰ 💥Until Sunday 29th March 2026 our opening hours are 10am to 5pm on Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. 💥Starting from Monday 30th March 2026, our opening hours will be 10am to 4:30pm on Monday to Sunday.

🤯 Maud has an OBE and it's been over 100 years since she worked at H.M Factory Gretna, yet most people have never heard of her... We know this is a big ask... 👀 but we're over half way there... is there any chance we can get our original post about her to 1,000 likes for Women's History Month? 🙏 🤞

Meet the AMAZING Maud Bruce! 🤩 Bravely, she helped to put out fires at H.M. Factory Gretna. Due to her brave actions she was awarded a medal (a very important one). 🎖️ That's not all! She later went on to work at Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Aycliffe in WW2. #WomensHistoryMonth #WorkeroftheWeek

Does anyone like Lego? We do! 🙋‍♀️ In fact, we like Lego so much that we've planned a whole weekend celebrating it! 🎉 ⏰It's on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th April 2026. Remember usual admission prices to The Devil's Porridge Museum will apply. Learn more: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/lego-weekend...

Our Arts and Crafts Club have been busy crafting mini paper suitcases, decorating eggs, boxes and much more this afternoon!💼 We love to see people enjoying our family friendly events and clubs! 😍

Did anyone else miss World Poetry Day on Saturday? We might have... forgotten... 🤦 Anyway, we'd still love to tell you about WW1 poet Madeline Ida Bedford. She wrote a poem about munitions workers wages and... we think she might have even worked at H.M. Factory Gretna! #WomensHistoryMonth

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating today This photo shows Eid celebrations in Tiger Bay in the 1940s It comes from the Butetown History & Arts Centre Collection, preserved by Tiger Bay & the World www.tigerbay.org.uk We’re pleased to hold the collection at the Archives on their behalf

As Women's History Month continues, we thought we would share the story of Gertrude Menzies Harding. Born in Canada, Gertrude moved to London in 1912 & became a suffragette. We think she worked in the Welfare Department at H.M. Factory Gretna. #WomensHistoryMonth #WorkeroftheWeek

Last week we were proud to have our volunteer Scott play the bagpipes at our museum. Tom, our Youth & Community Engagement Officer, did too! This was part of our Piper's Tale talk which took place to mark International Bagpipes Day. Thank you to Scott, Tom & all who joined us! 😀

⏰Please be aware that The Devil's Porridge Museum's opening hours will be changing on Monday 30th March 2026. Our current opening hours will apply until Sunday 29th March 2026. Please check our admission times page for more details here: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/prices-and-o... Thank you! 😀

To celebrate Women's History Month we will be sharing the stories of some of the amazing women who worked at H.M. Factory Gretna in WW1. Mabel Cotterell was employed to set up the Welfare Department for women working at the factory. Later, she was interested in the State Management Scheme.

It's #InternationalBagpipeDay! To celebrate here are the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in Salonika (c.1916) during #WW1. The photo is part of an album which belonged to Annie Allen, a nurse with the Scottish Women's Hospitals. Her unit was stationed in Salonika in 1916. #histnursing

It's TODAY! It's International Bagpipe Day! Fancy joining us to celebrate? You're welcome to drop in and join us for The Piper's Tale at 3pm. This talk is free, though donations to our museum are welcome. Admission prices apply to anyone looking around The Devil's Porridge Museum. #BagpipeDay

Today is International Women's Day. Did you know that 12,000 women once worked at H.M. Factory Gretna during World War One? Come and visit us to find out more about H.M. Factory Gretna and what life was like for those who worked there!

This week we're sharing our last blog about a group of munitions workers charged with a theft from a local shop in 1917. Each one had to face the consequences of their actions in court. This week's blog is about Ellen Doran. Read more: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-th... #WorkeroftheWeek

Today is World Wildlife Day! 🦔🐾 👀We've been on the look out for animals and we've found... a hedgehog in our archive! 🦔(Although, we should probably clarify that this is an illustration on a cigarette card... 😂) #WorldWildlifeDay

🎾It's World Tennis Day. Did you know that tennis courts were built for those who worked at H.M. Factory Gretna? The townships of Eastriggs & Gretna were built to house and facilitate the factory workers. In addition to housing, this included schools, shops & recreational facilities #WorldTennisDay

Yesterday some of our team at The Devil's Porridge Museum had some first aid training from 1st Aid 4 U. A huge thank you to Stuart for the informative session and making the day enjoyable! 😀

We're continuing to share the stories about munitions workers who got into some bother for being involved in a theft from a Gretna "fried fish" shop in February 1917. 🐟 This week it's the turn of Isabella Kennedy, who later emigrated to Canada. Read more: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-th...

Do you have any plans for International Bagpipe Day this year? We do and you're welcome to join us! On Tuesday 10th March 2026 at 3pm we have The Piper's Tale. Explore the history and folklore of bagpipes with performances from pipers in our team. This talk is free, though donations are welcome.

Wondering what's been happening at The Devil's Porridge Museum recently? From our Burns Supper, to Cordite Club & some Old Fashioned Fun, there's lots to catch up on. Read about what's been happening at our museum from 19th January to 22nd February here: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/monthly-roun...

Who's joining us for some Old Fashioned Fun tomorrow? Play with a range of traditional toys from the 19th & 20th centuries. Plus, make your own cup-and-ball. 🪀 This is a free activity. No booking needed. Entry prices apply for looking around the museum www.devilsporridge.org.uk/old-fashione...

On this month (February) in 1917, The Dumfries & Galloway Standard reported on a theft that saw a group of munitions workers steal some honey, cheese, corn beef and Worcestershire sauce from a local Gretna shop. 🧀🍯 They all had to face the consequences of their actions. #WorkeroftheWeek

Did someone say pancakes? 🥞🥞🥞🤤 We've found a recipe from 1914 (even if it is in an advert for McDougall's Self-Raising Flour). Is anyone treating themselves to some pancakes for Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday) today? Also do you have any good suggestions for pancake toppings? 😋🥞

Anyone heard of The Solway Viaduct? 🌉 Did you know that during WW1 this helped to supply H.M. Factory Gretna?🤔 The Solway Viaduct was a railway line and bridge that once connected England and Scotland. #EYAConnections #ExploreYourArchive @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social @arascot.bsky.social

We just heard that it's International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 👩‍🔬👩‍🔬 During World War One around 12,000 women worked at H.M. Factory Gretna. Many of these would have worked with the chemical process of making cordite. #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience

Our latest Worker of the Week is Herbert Sharp Greenough. He lived in Vancouver Road in Eastriggs and worked at a chemist at H.M. Factory Gretna.👨‍🔬 Find out more about Herbert here: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-th... #WorkeroftheWeek

On 20th February 2026 come and play with a range of traditional toys from the 19th & 20th centuries and make your own cup-and-ball to take away. This is a free activity for families. Admission prices apply to anyone looking around the museum. Learn more: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/old-fashione...

Have you been watching the Winter Olympics? It's reminded of us of when some Canadian curlers came to visit our museum a couple of years ago. It was lovely to meet them! They were staying in Lockerbie as part of a 3 week tour of Scotland at the time. Learn more: www.itv.com/watch/news/c...

Wilfred Manson Edmondson enlisted in the army in 1914. Following an injury he was discharged. He then went on to work at H.M. Factory Gretna. His relative's kindly shared this photo which shows Wilfred with some of his colleagues. Learn more about him: www.devilsporridge.org.uk/worker-of-th...

Guess who has been in the newspaper?👀📰 We have! Thanks to the Annandale Observer for including us for our Burns Supper. Anyone want our autograph? ✍️😂

We're looking forward to our Cordite Club this afternoon. This is a fortnightly, lunch time, club for local retirees. Last time they were treated to a Burns Lunch with haggis and an excellent talk about Robert Burns in the local area. This week we're having some Old Fashioned Fun. 🎲

This steel mess tin belonged to Private Sidney Gordon Wedd from Royston. It's more than just a utensil; it's a testament to resilience, creativity, and the human need to remember. It's also our entry to this year's Herts Museums Object of the Year. Please vote and share! tinyurl.com/59z8krca

From what we have found James Auld seemed to have a rather turbulent time while working at H.M. Factory Gretna. 1️⃣First him and his pal Robert Wetherspoon were threatened near a local cemetery. ( For clarity this was by an entirely different Robert, accused of theft. No ghosts were involved. 👻)

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day This is Stanislaw Zasada. He spent two years in a concentration camp. He then came to a resettlement camp at Cannon Hall

Today, on #HolocaustMemorialDay, we remember the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, the millions more murdered under Nazi persecution, as well as all those who have been persecuted during genocides worldwide buff.ly/tuqqfvy

To mark this #HolocaustMemorialDay we share this blog post about a holocaust survivor, Elsie Marechal, who wrote down her experiences to send to the teacher training college she attended in Norwich. Read it here - norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/2017/01/27/s...

As yesterday was Burns Night (yes, we're late, but we were busy), he's a page from a H.M. Factory Gretna worker's autograph book, featuring The Selkirk Grace. Autograph books like this one were made by people who worked at the munitions factory to remember their time there & those they worked with.

It's a bit chilly out, but does anyone fancy some football? ❄️⚽ It was this month (January for those who've time travelled) in 1918 that The Mossband Swifts played a match against a team consisting of wounded soldiers. The Swifts were a women's football team formed in 1917 at H.M. Factory Gretna.

Hello. We're new here. 👋 Wondering what devil's porridge is? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle coined the phrase to describe the explosive materials he saw munitions workers at H.M. Factory Gretna mixing in large pans. They were making cordite. Please don't eat devil's porridge. 💥 #DevilsPorridge #WW1history