大象传媒

Hugh McLean - Born 1917

In 1938 I filled in a form for the army 鈥� the TA and it was actually a week before the war stared that I got a postcard. I was a lather to trade 鈥� the card came into the house 鈥� my brother brought the card into the workshop and it said I was to go down to Fort Matilda that night 鈥� I signed on and the next day I was in uniform. It was just a spur of the moment thing 鈥� I thought when I went down it was just to ask me questions but I put my name on the dotted line 鈥� I never got the Kings shilling though! The Royal Engineers 鈥� Fortress Company 鈥� we worked the searchlights 鈥� Coast Defence we went from there to Toward 鈥� we built that and manned that for 2 or 3 months then we came back to Fort Matilda got on the train to Glasgow, got on a liner, the Sobieski, a Polish ship, and finished up in Norway. After being there for a while we were evacuated and came back on the Arandora Star 鈥� we had a couple of alerts from aircraft and submarines 鈥� one minute we were told to go up on deck the next to go back down below. Then apparently this was the rumour on the ship, there was a sub following us but he couldn鈥檛 get into position. We then came through the Boom at the Cloch, up to Glasgow onto the train for Dunfermline 鈥� we鈥檇 lost all our kit in Norway 鈥� all I came back with a lousy uniform, literally, a rifle and a bayonet 鈥� all the rest was lost we had to get out so quick. We were on fishing boats and then we got put on the HMS Firedrake and she took us out to the Arandora Star.

It was a mistake to send us there in the first place. I don鈥檛 know why we went there. We came down Narvik Pier 鈥� we were taking ammunition up the line on fishing boats. The British had taken over them but a lot of them were going to the Gerry but put us on on guard. I didn鈥檛 know a word of Norwegian and they didn鈥檛 know a word of English so you can imagine how we got on. We had our rifle and 5 rounds of ammunition. There was collaboration and we were told to let them have it if there was any funny business. This old skipper, the ship was the fastest in the fleet, the one I was on, he took pride in his boat. We were told to keep at a certain speed 鈥� he was always edging ahead. One of our officers came aboard - I took a wee shot and he said slow down slow down McLean. He said, give me the wheel but the ship kept going faster 鈥� it was the Captain down below ignoring the instructions. I see what you mean, he says.

The captain had explained that he knew all about the Lee Enfield 鈥� so I was afraid that during the night he鈥檇 bump me off and through me over the side. But where I lay was in this bunk 鈥� where they used to put the fish 鈥� and I got covered in fish lice 鈥� I said to my mother when I came home 鈥� don鈥檛 let me in 鈥� just through out my clothes. In Norway 6 planes came off the HMS Glorious and they were in a dogfight and we were just standing there watching it 鈥� the officer came over and shouted 鈥� Get in the shelter!!

We were rekitted, back to Gourock and on to another troopship and then on to Iceland. We were there on the coast, talk about rough weather, very very cold, the Khaki uniform, we had a denim suit on top of that, a leather jacket, and a greatcoat and a duffle coat. We had to wear our belt with ammunition on it but we couldn鈥檛 wear it we were so fat. We were there till the following April when we came back to Greenock and then on a train down to Portsmouth. We were there the night of the Blitz 鈥� after a couple of weeks we came home on leave and just missed the Greenock blitz. It was a great sight to see the ships come in and they were still painting them grey. I had a walk around Greenock, and I鈥檒l never forget 鈥� there were battery wirelesses - and I was walking past a bombed out building and the wireless was still going, blaring out.

My brother was a messenger in Greenock 鈥� his job was from Togo House to call out fire engines for different places.

We went back again to Plymouth, to Cardiff, to Tenby where we did some training and then we were on a troopship again 鈥� we laid off Kirn from there to Durban. On the way there was an attack and we lost four ships. Then up to the Western Desert with the 8th army 鈥� we went through Egypt, Sicily, Italy and finished up in Germany and I was demobbed from a place from Munster. I saw the world 鈥� and for nothing too!! Before the war there was a liner 鈥� a fourteen day cruise for 拢14 to Norway leaving from the James Watt Harbour鈥� I had promised my brother 鈥� next year we鈥檒l go to Norway and there the first place I went to was Norway!

I was at a petrol installation prior to Alamein 鈥� at the retreat 鈥� our job was to blow these tanks up 鈥� full of 100 octane petrol. But it never came off so we were kept there till the Front got well off. We then had to take the charges out. We then went to Sicily 鈥� the job there was to rewire the hospitals and things like that and restoring the power. It had been a mental hospital and we were to lower the lights so that the surgeons could do their operations. We had the odd mine to lift and things like that.

We crossed over from Messina to Reggia Calabria 鈥� Bari, Brundisi, Pescara.

We crossed the River Sangro 鈥� on this occasion I was on guard 鈥� a lot of the squares there 鈥� all reminded me of Cathcart Square 鈥� there was a street came down just like Bank St., there was a shop and I was put on guard 鈥� 3 Germans had crossed the Sangro and were filtering in among the people for information. The officer told me to be alert and look out for this. I stood with my back against the shop door 鈥� I hear the footsteps and I turn around 鈥� there was a curfew from 6 and this was about 9 鈥� and I give sit the 鈥榃ho goes there?鈥� and he just walks on 鈥� I gave him three chances. I am the Mayor of this town he says 鈥� I don鈥檛 care who you are 鈥� I am the guard of this town and you don鈥檛 pass here. He says I know your officer 鈥� I don鈥檛 care 鈥� you don鈥檛 know me. You will be stopped. Another thing that annoyed me was the Carabinieri 鈥� they would be in the square and the women would come in with sticks on their backs and with sheep 鈥� and if they were late the carabinieri would hit them with sticks. I got in to bother about that too, but anyway I said 鈥� you are just a citizen like anyone else so its Kalaboosh for you 鈥� we used another shop as a guard room so we put him in there for the night and he was shouting and bawling all night long 鈥� I am the mayor I am the mayor. The next morning the officer sent for me 鈥� McLean, I must congratulate you on last night 鈥� he is a friend of mine I had been up visiting his house. He might be nice but he is no nicer than anyone else. He is the one that鈥檚 laying down the law about these poor women so I says therefore he is getting locked up. He let him out 鈥� during the day we had a rifle but during the day we just had a cane. I was walking about and the Mayor came over to me and said I was a very good soldier. If there is anything you want you just let me know. I am a button key accordion player and I says right 鈥� get me an accordion. He was as good as his word and he got me a loan of an accordion. I had heard that he used to get films for the Germans and I said to him to get some for the British so he got that as well. Incidentally the man who owned the accordion had a wedding a few days later and he asked me to play at it 鈥� so I can always say that I played at an Italian wedding! I had a good ear for music and picked up a lot but I had ruin out of tunes and I played the Flowers of the Forest and they were all up dancing

I can tell you about how I met Lady Astor at Plymouth. She was very good to the troops there 鈥� she ran canteens and she had a cake made 鈥� a Madeira cake 鈥� you could go in outside the North Road station and get a cup of tea and a slice of cake 鈥� this was a luxury. Just up the road was a fish and chip shop so we used to come out of there and go get a cup of tea and a slice of cake. High Tea for nothing.

I met her at Plymouth Hoe 鈥� she engaged all the best bands 鈥� all Service Bands and the dancing was great. We went up this night 鈥� I think we鈥檒l have a seat 鈥� it was 2s for a deck chair and I was watching the band 鈥� they were that good and I was watching the players 鈥� I was watching them and this couple came and stood right in front of us. I tipped her shoulder and said 鈥� excuse me, was your father a Glazier? I can鈥檛 see through you. She turns round to her husband 鈥� and he says 鈥� lets get a couple of chairs. She says I鈥檓 not paying for a seat. I said 鈥楢nd you talk about the Scots being mean? Here鈥檚 us a couple of squaddies, we鈥檝e paid tuppence. This girl at my back taps my shoulder and says 鈥� that鈥檚 lady Astor you鈥檙e talking to! I didn鈥檛 know!

She went over to the microphone and said 鈥� I run these dances for the benefit of the troops 鈥� looking around its mostly civilians that are dancing. I am going to come down and pick a soldier to dance with 鈥� she picked on me. She says why aren鈥檛 you dancing? I said 鈥業 can鈥檛 dance鈥� Well the band was playing the Volita Waltz 鈥� and my toes were tapping so I started to dance. She said 鈥� 鈥榊ou can dance! I said yes but my friend can鈥檛. Well if I run a dancing school will you come to it. I鈥檒l get notices printed. Come down to the house tomorrow and I will give you them. She was the first MP and her husband was the Mayor. We went down the next night to No. 3 Plymouth Hoe and it was one of these bells that you pulled 鈥� ding a ling. The servant answered the door. You will have a coffee 鈥� Lady Astor turned out to be the best pal I had!!

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