大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Claire White of 大象传媒 Scotland on behalf of Billy Docherty and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions

I was nine when the war finished and my most vivid memory was being in a railway tunnel in the east end of Greenock (Weir Street) during an air raid in 1941.

There was great humour in the tunnel. There were hundreds of people in there during an air-raid and when a train came past they would shout out "It's OK, it's one of our own!".

There were alcoves in the tunnel where people would shelter. It was rather a silly thing to do because if a bomb landed at the end of the tunnel it would blast right through.

I was too young to feel afraid. I can remember my mother getting us up during the night and I can remember saying "To hell with Hitler (instead of Heil Hitler)!".

In the shelter people were singing and the children were making a noise and one old lady would say "Wheesht, wheesht, they'll hear ya!". People didn't get much sleep!

One morning we arrived back home and the windows of our house (42 Weir Street) had been blasted in by a land-mine that had landed across the street on a piece of vacant ground called the pitch. There was glass all over our living room and the porridge mum had made was splattered all over the kitchen. But the alarm clock was still ticking away undamaged!

The landmine hole on the pitch was soon being used as a swimming pool by local lads! As a wee kid I fell into this pool and nearly drowned. Local girls pulled me out and stripped me down. I was soaked!

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