Whose history? A participatory project to explore and remember women's history

At the beginning of 2023, I took part in a fascinating women’s history tour of Edinburgh, led by the brilliant Ruth Boreham. We learned about some of Edinburgh’s women - medics like Elsie Inglis, Sophia Jex-Blake, James Barry, writers like Susan Ferrier and Mary Brunton, as well as educators, suffragettes, entrepreneurs.  On the train home to Linlithgow afterwards, I got to wondering about the women who’d been part of the history of our town. We all know Linlithgow as birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, but what about the lives of the ordinary women who’ve lived, worked and died here? What might we learn from their stories, and how might they have influenced the lives we live today?

These things tend - in my experience - to grow arms and legs, and before long we had a Facebook group of 200 people interested in knowing about ‘More than Mary’, the lives of Linlithgow’s more ‘ordinary’ women, and in doing so collectively, with a focus on participatory, inclusive, collaborative historical research. For our first project, we decided to delve into the experiences of the women who worked at Linlithgow’s munitions factory during WW1 and WW2, and this week I delivered a talk to Linlithgow Civic Trust on our findings.

This has been a real labour of love, and it was so exciting to see the room absolutely packed. We had lots of thoughtful conversation afterwards, with thoughts for a more permanent memorial in Linlithgow for the women who served their country with courage and sacrifice.

The full talk (with photos and some references / links for further reading) can be downloaded below.

Munitionettes talk for Civic Trust (Jan 2024) - with photos.pdf

Download PDF • 48.12MB

Update: March 2024

Scotland's National War Memorial, at Edinburgh Castle, have agreed to add the names of the four Linlithgow women killed in war service to their roll of honour. This is a huge step forward in creating a permanent record of the war service of these women, and in recognising the sacrifices of women killed in war-work at home alongside the men who died on front-line service abroad.

Update: November 2024

Having been denied permission to lay a wreath for the munitionettes in the formal Remembrance Day service at St Michael's Church, we created an alternative, temporary memorial on the former site of the Linlithgow munitions factory. Our wreath is made of hand-knitted and crocheted yellow flowers made by women of the Blackness Scottish Women's Institute, and was installed for Remembrance Day weekend alongside a temporary sign explaining the impact and service of our muntionettes. It was lovely that so many people came to visit the installation over the weekend, with many of them laying yellow flowers beside the memorial.

Update: November 2025

I've now been invited to talk about Linlithgow's munitonettes to over 300 local people, via 10 or so local groups. Thanks to a meeting convened this summer by Kirsteen Sullivan MP, and with financial support from Linlithgow Civic Trust, I was delighted to be granted permission to install a permanent plaque to the munitionettes alongside the war memorial in St Michael's Parish Church. This month, the munitionettes were included in Linlithgow's formal Remembrance Day parade for the first time, and I was honoured to lay a yellow-ribboned wreath on their behalf.

This project was covered in the Edinburgh Evening News, and I received a letter of thanks from the Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon John Healey MP:

"I want to thank you for your tireless campainging for recognition of four local women who were killed in the 1942 Nobels munitions factory explosion in Linlithgow. Our nation owes a profound debt of gratitude to those who have served... I want to thank you for your commitment, hard work and dedication".

Minister for Veterans, Alistair Carns MP, added: "Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your endeavours to ensure that this critical and often overlooked aspect of the national effort throughout both Wars is appropriately commemorated via a permanent memorial".