Manoeuvres at the MOD 30th September 2015

"Pack up Your Troubles" was a weekend of events to celebrate the centenary of the townships of Gretna and Eastriggs. Many events were planned, the most exciting of which was a bus tour of HM Factory, Gretna. This was the largest Cordite factory in the UK during WW1 and is located right next to the Solway Firth. It was built as a result of the Shell crisis in 1915, when not enough shells were being produced to cope with the demand from the front. The factory site is owned by the MOD and entry is forbidden but special permission had been granted for this weekend.
The factory stretched for 9 miles from Longtown, near Carlisle, to Eastriggs and Dornock crossing over the English/Scottish border. It was chosen because of its remoteness - being a munitions factory this was a big consideration! However there was good access for services and supplies.The site was huge and the townships of Eastriggs and Gretna were specially built for the workers. Gretna was the first  "new town" built in Britain, closely followed by Eastriggs. They had their own bakeries, police force, laundries etc and water and power was provided through the water treatment plant and power station  on the factory site.
Within the site the railway network had 125 miles of track, used to transport materials and supplies around the site. There were 30 miles of roads and a telephone exchange. Neither the site nor the townships were lacking in facilities!
The site began production in 1916 and soon the workforce was predominantly women. They produced a huge amount of cordite at their peak, more than any other munition sites in the UK and consequently had a visit from King George V and Queen Mary!
Cordite was known as the Devil's Porridge. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in 1917 that the "nitroglycerin on one side and the gun cotton on the other are kneaded into a sort of a devil's porridge" This is the name of the brand new purpose built museum located in Eastriggs today.
P.S. It is well worth a visit if you are in the area.



After WW1 the factory was dismantled. Almost nothing remains now apart from the shells of buildings, a few foundations and the railway tracks. The layout was such that there was a good distance between buildings to avoid a chain reaction if there was an accident.
Our bus trip around the site was a chance to look around. Our guide on the bus was the manager of the site at Gretna until he was moved to the Longtown site and had many happy memories of his time there.

A map of our proposed route was on our seats on the bus.

Sitting on the seats everyone was quite nostalgic about the bus - it's old lights, seats, push buttons, drivers compartment etc - but we were really looking forward to the ride!

And then we were off!!  We entered the site along the specially built road - used by lorries delivering to and from the site so as to avoid the townships.

Most of the site is now overgrown but, as many of us guessed, it is a haven for wildlife. We only caught sight of a couple of pheasants today. There are still many buildings on the site, many with their own railway tracks right up to the door. It is hard to imagine the activity that must have been going on all the time - people, trucks, trains etc - and now it is so quiet.

Our guide gave us information about the factory and the buildings on site as we travelled around, including how the fence is checked regularly to prevent access to a site with "who knows what" buried "who knows where!" How they could ever declare the site - fit for whatever use someone could come up with - heaven only knows. We even met a police vehicle as we toured around, presumably doing a check of something. We paused at what would have been the Main entrance for all working on the site. Sherlock put in a surprise visit here!

Railway tracks criss-cross the site, appearing and disappearing into the long grass. The sidings are empty but look as if they are just waiting for the next train.

 

 A fascinating insight into HM Factory Gretna - the commentary from the Ex Manager brought the trip to life - without it we would just have been looking at a pile of old run down buildings instead of a previously bustling, important and vital piece of our country's history. There is talk of these tours being run, in conjunction with the museum, on a more regular basis. it would be a very valuable addition to their resources and well worth it.