大象传媒

September 3rd will be the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War. I thought that it might interest the children of Gourock primary school to know what it was like to be a child of that time.

I was ten years old and I can recall so clearly the day that war broke out. I was sitting in St John鈥檚 church with my father when the minister was handed a note which he read out, announcing that war with Germany had been declared. I remember asking my father why so many ladies of the congregation were quietly crying and he whispered to me that they had all lived through the First World War when so many men had been killed in it.

My own father had fought in that war and had been wounded at Gallipoli in Turkey and was never able to go back to the job he had before he joined the army.

My mother had decided some time before, when it was obvious that war was likely to happen, that she would stock up with some food stuffs which would keep for some time, like tea and sugar. I can remember her buying, like everyone else, black material to line all the curtains so that there would be no light showing from the house to help the enemy should there be air raids

At school we were given gas masks which were in strong cardboard boxes that had a long cord so that you could carry it across your body. They were issued early in the war because gas had been used in the First World War against the troops in France and since planes would probably be used in the Second World War. The Government was worried that German planes might drop bombs on this country containing deadly gas.

I lived in Royal Street near the Darroch Park and all the closes were shored up in such a way as to be used as a shelter in any air-raid. Air-raid shelters were also built in the park for those who did not have a close so when the air-raid siren sounded we would go into the close, shut the doors back and front and we could hear people hurrying along the street towards the park, the shelters and safety.

Living so near to the pier we could hear our guns firing at the enemy planes and one night we had some of our windows at the front blown in. They were replaced with glass which we could not see through and stayed like that till the end of the war. We missed not seeing the River Clyde full of ships or across Kilcreggan.

Being a child I took things in my stride, the black-out especially in winter when every place was so dark you had to use torches to see your way about. The shortage of food meant that basic foods like eggs, butter, jam and meat were rationed and the amounts that you were allowed were very small. Can you imagine only getting a few sweet every week and not much of a choice? I almost forgot what a banana or an orange tasted like as anything that came from abroad could not be brought into the country.

Even clothes could only be bought with coupons, however children were allowed extra coupons if they were above a certain height or had large feet. I qualified for extra coupons because I was tall and my friend got them because she had large feet. I sold my extra coupons to my big sister as I was a bit of a tomboy and not that interested in clothes. I cannot remember what I spent the money on!

The river Clyde always seemed to be full of ships during the war. They were of every kind, troop ships, ships of war and cargo ships of many nationalities. Why mention this is because my parents kept an open house for many sailors who could not go back to their own countries. I particularly remember a Norwegian cargo ship which had been at sea when Germany had invaded Norway and so they had sailed into the Clyde.

Many were homesick and would enjoy being taken into our home. I can remember one sailor would watch me doing my homework so that it would help with his own English.

We did not go on holiday during the war however on the school breaks especially the summer break I would go and stay with relatives elsewhere in Scotland.

What I wanted most during the war was a bicycle but there were none to be had, new or second-hand. It was the first thing that my parents bought for me at the end of the war and I loved that bike, even though it had black handlebars and wheels (as stainless steel was still not allowed in the making of bicycles). Even the pedals were made of wood and painted black.

I hope you have enjoyed my stories of being a child in Gourock during the war.

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