大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with Hugh McNutt, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interview was by Big Yellow Bus, and transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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The British army arrived. There was a nearby farm named 鈥淢artha Wood鈥檚 farm鈥�. The army took over the fields around the farm, erected barbed-wire fences. They feared that the Germans were coming from Eire into NI.

My father opened a shop, he was ambitious. He sent me to the field in September 1939 to sell chocolates. I was 12years old, on school holidays. He organised a tobacco lid with cigarettes and chocolates round my neck. We went down to the soldiers, and didn鈥檛 believe it 鈥� I was sold out in 5 minutes! I had to go back to get more.

The US forces arrived before D-Day. There were Canadians and even Portuguese sailors.
Magee College was HQ of Atlantic sub bases. Messages were sent there, deciphered and sent out.
Derry was much nearer the Atlantic than any other British port.
It was 90 miles from Malin head, and the U-Boats waited there.

There were Dance Halls in Derry. The Sailors came ashore after 3-4 mths at sea went to pub, had a few drinks, went to dance halls and tried to get off with local girls. The Local lads didn鈥檛 like this, and started fights. Then the Shore patrol came along and took away the Navy.

The US lorry were driven by chains instead of a drive-shaft. The yanks had plenty of money, they could afford to buy anything so the Shops did very well.
They gave us sweets, and at Xmas they gave the kids a party.

There was excitement, v little resentment.
The Springtown camp opened, many locals employed as cleaners. The Canadians were difficult and aggressive when they got drunk, but the others were much easier.

It was good for Derry 鈥� population then was 50k, now it鈥檚 100k.
Derry shirt factories were famous for the shirts.

When the forces left we went back to the old ways of no work and high unemployment. To an extent Dupont filled the vacuum, local men got work.

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