- Contributed by听
- CSV Media NI
- People in story:听
- Claude McQuigg, Miss Williams
- Location of story:听
- Belfast, N Ireland
- Background to story:听
- Civilian Force
- Article ID:听
- A8678749
- Contributed on:听
- 20 January 2006
This story is taken from an interview with Claude McQuigg, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interview was by Walter Love, and transcription was by Bruce Logan.
====
[Your time at Belfast Academic Institute coincided with the war]
It happened to directly coincide. Sept 39-June 45.
[How were you involved in the war?]
In a sense, not more than any other schoolboy. We volunteered for ARP service. I discovered I was a colleague of James [Doherty], who was in D District, whose HQ was in the first floor of Antrim Rd police station, Civil Defence. But I would like to emphasise there was no heroics on my part. We were not allowed, being under 16 years of age, we were not allowed to report for duty until the all-clear warning had sounded. But we were engaged at other times in going round as part of the messenger service. Significantly, none of the ARP posts or very few of them had telephones. So the method of communication was by bike.
[I believe Inst brought in younger teachers]
They brought in older, retired teachers. For example we got Mr Foster, who had been previously Principal of Belfast Academy. At the other end of the spectrum, there were young graduates. Miss Williams who had just got a maths Degree from Trinity. She was a very popular teacher. We nicknamed her 鈥淏londie鈥. But I think we were more interested in her perms than her permutations! But we were agreed that her statistics were vital.
漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.
Recommended story
Story with photo