大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Mairi Campbell of the 大象传媒 on behalf of Ian Rae and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

Since I was born in 1936 many of my early memories are of when I was about 4 years old and remarkably vivid.

Autumn 1939 Burnbank Road Hamilton. With all the concerns about air raids not surprisingly the ARP Air Raid Precautions people and fire services wanted to train people up about what to expect. At this time we lived in a tenement with houses on 2 sides of a rear court which was supposed to be a drying green, and coal houses on the other 2 sides. One dark evening the people from round about gathered in this court yard. In the middle a fireman dug a pit about 3 foot by 3 foot and a foot deep. In it they set of an incendiary device (or a flare) and showed how to deal with it by using wet sand, a scoop, a rake and a stirrup pump. I can still see the faces around the yard lit up by the flames.

Again in the autumn of 1939 in Burnbank road I recall the siren being sounded and being carried on my fathers shoulders with the thrum thrum of the German aircraft going over as we went to the communal shelter built on waste ground near our home. I recall it being a mound of earth with what looked like a trap door in the roof at the opposite side from the door which had a brick wall in front of it. I was wearing a 鈥渢in-helmet鈥� 鈥� literally like a bowler hat with crimped edges, painted olive green with elastic from 2 holes punched in the sides for a chin strap 鈥� bought in Woolworths, it might well have started as s pie dish. My father who was a policeman left my mother and myself at the shelter and went on duty. Inside the shelter were long benches at the sides with wooden duck boards making a passage between them. There was a black valor paraffin heater that I recall and a flower pot with a candle. We sang songs like Roll Out the Barrell, We鈥檒l Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line, Run Rabbit. The Quarter Masters Store as well as the more traditional ones eg I Belong to Glasgow, Loch Lommond. At one stage we heard a whistle that we thought was a bomb but the next day it turned out to be an unexploded AckAck Shell. It blew 鈥� to me 鈥� a big hole, maybe 12 foot wide by six foot deep in the pavement outside the local Ice Cream Shop. 鈥� Peter Equi鈥檚 down the road.

Christmas morning 1940 Burnbank Road, a lovely bright sunny morning, there was I, disappointed little boy sitting on the 2nd floor landing stairs with a wooden maroon painted bren gun that Santa had brought. I had asked for a real Tommy Gun!

Forward, to March 1941, Thorn Road Bellshill. My mother and myself with quilts taking cover under solid oak dining room table as the bombers went over head, it turned out they were heading for Clydebank.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.