Information on Annie Sinclair m. James Mitchell lived in Kilwinning

[loobylooayr]

Hi again,

Caught me just before I go to bed - after midnight here in Ayrshire.

I agree with earlier posters - Annie most likely worked at Ardeer Munitions factory where explosives were produced.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/73/a1119773.shtml

So if the couple married in June 1941, there is a 6 month window for the birth of the baby daughter. A point to remember - if she was born late in December 1941 there is a chance her birth was not registered until Jan 1942.

My own maternal grandmother died of TB in November 1942 leaving behind a 6 year old daughter , my grandfather had been called up for WW2 service while she was ill and her maternal grandparents took over her care. Even if he had been around , he would've needed to work and couldn't take sole care of his child. I would assume James Mitchell was in a similar situation - needed to work and had no support for childcare other than his mother-in-law.

Looby

[pharmaT]

Annie and James' marriage entry shows her as an Explosives worker. I am guessing at a Munitions factory somewhere in Glasgow.

Unlikely to be in Glasgow.

They tended not to put munitions factories in densely populated areas, either because of the risk to life if there was an explosion, or (later on) because munitions factories would be prime targets for enemy bombing raids.

I imagine that the one she worked in would have been the Nobel one at Ardeer, which is closer to Kilwinning. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardeer,_North_Ayrshire

You can view the marriage of Annie McNab Dillon to John Ratcliffe Sinclair at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. This will tell you the names of her parents.

It looks as if McNab was Annie's middle name. There is no record in Scotland of a marriage of an Ann* Dillon to a Mr McNab, and in Scotland it is not the practice to use a maiden surname as a middle name after marriage.

An Annie McNab Dillon was born in Irvine in 1912. You can also view her birth certificate at Scotland's People. This will tell you when and where her parents were married. (But see below)

Interestingly, her death is indexed as Annie McElroy or Sinclair or Mitchell. Not as Dillon or as McNab. This raises the possibility that she was born illegitimate.

lots of people from Kilwinning worked at Ardeer, my FIL worked there.

[q98]

See here: https://www.threetowners.net/forum/search.php?keywords=Factory+deaths

Nobel's or also ICI Ardeer was known locally as "the factory". Over many years, it employed men and women from all over Ayrshire.