Hello from bonnie Scotland, place of me birth!!
Our first stop in Scotland was in Annan, just over the border from England at my great Aunt and Uncle's house. We also went to see the Devil's Porridge exhibition a few miles from where they live. Now you're probably thinking: "What the heck is Devil's Porridge? Could I eat it for breakfast on a cold winters morning?" Well, here's the answer .........
NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I wouldn't advise it, unless being dead is the new being alive?!! Devil's Porridge is what Arthur Conan Doyle (who wrote the Sherlock Holmes books) called the mixture of nitroglycerine and guncotton that the women who worked at the munitions factory had to knead with their bare hands. The women were known as the Devil's Canaries cos their hands turned yellow from the mixture they were kneading. Where the exhibition is now, used to be the biggest munitions factory in the world, way back in the times of World War 1, which is almost 100 years ago. Munitions factories are where they used to make AMmunition but I think they forgot the am! Poor old am! The factory was 9 miles long and 2 miles wide and 30,000 people used to work there! They had to build two new towns to house all the workers. The workers weren't allowed to wear anything metal in case the devil's porridge exploded!
I learnt lots of interesting things about history at the exhibition, especially about war history. In the photo as well as the factory pics you can see all sorts of things made from bullet shells, this was trench art. There was a blow torch, a knife, a cigarette lighter and more all made from old bullet shells. A good way of recycling don't you think?!
PS - all you teachers out there, history is my favourite subject, especially about the first and second world wars.
Hi Jamie
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff. I didn't know anything about the munitions factory at Annan. By the way, I think ammunition is what is fired from guns but munitions can include things like bombs.
Did you know that my mum, your great gran, worked in a munitions factory during the second world war in the years before I was born. The factory made shells and my mum worked in the secion where the brass shell cases were made. After a while she became an inspector and had to check that the cases were being made exactly the right size.
I'm looking forward to your blog when you've seen Warhorse!
Love, Grandad
Fascinating!! You are such a wealth of information..
ReplyDeleteHistory is great eh? .. There is so much we can learn from the past .. especially about NOT making all the same mistakes again! Also, in the time of rationing during and after WWII , they had some fantastic recycling and reuse ideas that we can apply today to be more environmentally friendly.. Its amazing how inventive you can be when you have to make do and mend ..
Looking forward to having you back :)
Lulu & Frodo XXX