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The Clydebank Blitz in March of 1941 was the catalyst that set in motion the chain of events which culminated in my evacuation, together with Jean, my young sister, to the small village of Ardlamont in Argyll.
My father was a ‘Special Constable’ in Dumbarton in addition to his normal work in the local Labour Exchange. When reports were received of the carnage that was taking place in Clydebank he and several others were sent there to assist in the search and rescue of survivors and the recovery of those who had lost their lives.
This was the deciding factor in my parents giving their consent for the two of us to join the Government Scheme of evacuation.
The departure date was set for the beginning of June and when the bombing of Greenock took place in May with spectacular results visible from our home it convinced them that they had made the right decision.
The bus left at noon from outside Knoxland Primary School leaving behind a tearful collection of parents. We were all properly labelled and had the ubiquitous gas masks in place. No one knew where we were going or how long the journey would take and when we left the Dumbarton area we all quickly settled down. I had only ever been away once on holiday to Ayr so this felt as if I was going abroad.
About five o’clock in the evening we arrived at a village called Millhouse to find the ladies had arranged tea and sandwiches in the school. While we were eating, the headmaster was going round the tables talking to the children and when he reached our table he looked at my name on the luggage label and introduced himself as ‘a fellow clansman’. This prompted him to offer me the choice of where the two of us would like to stay. He asked if we would prefer to live in a town, village or on a farm. My first choice was the farm and this met not only with his approval but that of my eight year old sister.
After we were all safely on board the bus we set off again and drew up outside this large farm looking on to the Kyles of Bute. The lady of the farm was waiting for us and took us inside to introduce us to the rest of the family.
This was the start of my life with the wonderful family of Nicholsons of Kildavaig farm . I still have vividly fresh happy memories of my time with them.

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