大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Catherine Garvie, Learning Project Manager at 大象传媒 Scotland on behalf of Elizabeth Aitken from Kilmarnock, North Ayrshire and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was seven years old in 1939. I was born in 1932. During the war I lived in Williamwood in Giffnock. I remember that we didn鈥檛 go to church as we usually did on the day that Churchill announced that we were going to War with Germany. We were listening to the Radio and my father cried. I didn鈥檛 understand what was going or why he was so upset but I remember him telling 鈥測ou鈥檒l find out鈥�.

At one stage of the War we housed evacuees from Glasgow, a pregnant mother and her daughter who stayed with us for a short period of time about a couple of months. My mother used to get clothes and provisions etc., for them as they were very poor. She was very good to them.

Father was a member of the Home Guard and fire watched in the City (Glasgow) from his office on the roof! He was an insurance agent and worked in Royal Exchange Square in Glasgow.

I vividly remember Jewish refugees coming to school at Eastwood Secondary. Families were brought over by the Board of Jewish Guardians in 1939. They got good accommodation and there were some anti Semitic feelings particularly from the older generation in the area who thought that they were getting priority treatment over the locals. It was quite a difficult time.

(This story is linked to articles 8686209 and 8686849)

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