大象传媒

When war broke out in September 1939, I had completed first year as a student in Glasgow and returned there within a few weeks of the declaration of war. There was great speculation as to the immediate results 鈥� most people expected air warfare and possible use of poison gas and rumours were rife with tales of German spies etc. My eldest sister had been recalled immediately as all schools in Glasgow, where she was teaching, were being evacuated at once. She often recalled the journey 鈥� the children, in some cases accompanied by the mother, were labelled and shepherded into hastily commandeered trains which set off with their complement for what was for all except those in command of the exercise, a completely unknown destination. They travelled all day, with frequent long intervals in which they were diverted into sidings so that contra-flow trains carrying troops could move southwards. Eventually they reached their destination which was the small fishing port of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. WVS ladies were waiting with pots of soup which had been ready from early in the day and tasted like nectar to the weary travellers. The children, who came from an inner city environment, were eventually allocated to their respective hosts and in the next months experienced a completely different way of life. One little boy came across a frog on his way to church and was completely fascinated by this strange little creature. He put it in his pocket and all went well until he took it out to have a closer look and it jumped right over the top of the seat, causing complete chaos in the staid congregation. However, as the 鈥減honey鈥� war developed and enemy aircraft were spasmodic and mostly reconnaissance, nearly all the families returned to the city and so the schools resumed normal schedules.

Cross channel sea travel (the only possibility at that time) became increasingly restricted as there were possibilities of spy infiltration via Eire which was neutral. Travel permits were obligatory and mostly confined to those whose journeys were necessary for the war effort. A rigorous check and examination of all personal effects and luggage was carried out on boarding and life jackets had to be carried throughout the crossing as submarine activity was reported in the Irish Sea. The route to Glasgow was limited to once only daily Larne to Stranraer sailing which involved a very erratic train service to Glasgow. A friend of mine had a disastrous experience when she overslept on a rare occasion when the London train was on time. She woke up to the realisation that the ship was underway and she was heading back to Larne.

During my time in Glasgow there were sporadic enemy air-raid warnings and we had regular exercises where students went to the basement and sat on the floor wearing gas-marks, but nothing serious until May 1941 when Glasgow and the Clydebank area were bombed in the same operation as Belfast, with such devastation on the same night. The destruction of homes and the loss of life in both cities was considerable and the experience of even being on the fringe of the activity remains with each person 鈥� my sister and I went with a neighbour who was an air warden to help in a centre for those who had been left homeless.

Travelling by train was usually very crowded and very unpredictable, especially on long distance routes. Later I had experience of these when teaching in England and travelling overnight to Scotland or going home (visits restricted to one per year). There was a strict black-out and only light available came from low wattage bulbs painted dark blue and giving a distinctly eerie hue. At main stations there might be a stall manned by WVS ladies who dispensed tea in waxed cardboard beakers 鈥� it tasted wonderful.

During the early years of the war, invasion was a strong possibility, so as a measure to confuse the invaders, all signposts were removed. This made travelling in a strange area sometimes difficult as it was not advisable to ask directions from the locals, especially in a different accent, in case they would draw the conclusion that you were a spy.

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