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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Mairi Campbell of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ on behalf of Cathie McBride of the Glasgow Old Peoples Welfare Association and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

My name is Cathie McBride. I lived in the South side of Glasgow, facing Dixon Blazes. I was 13 years old when war broke out. I was in Civil Defence Training as a nurse when not quite 16 years. Then when I was 17 ½ years I joined the WRNS my parents weren’t too happy as I was the youngest in the family. However, I was a stewardess in the WRNS. After training in London I was stationed at Chatham Barracks. We were billeted in big houses in Rochester, Kent. I thought I was royalty after coming out of a wee room and a kitchen.

I was very friendly with all the girls who were mostly English and Welsh. We loved to go dancing, so if we were all in by 7pm we got in for a shilling. I never took alcohol or smoked, as I used to think if I took a drink and got pregnant my mammy would kill me (changed days)I was also stationed at Eastleigh at Fleet Air Arm Camp.

But unfortunately my mum took ill, and I was stationed in Glasgow. But sometimes on our afternoon off we would go to the Locarno, where we got plenty of dances off ‘yanks’ etc.

I knew my husband since we were 14 years, we never met when we were both in the service.

We married when we were 22 years old. We had 56 years happily married, my husband passed away on June 2004.

I had a very happy life.

PS I was in London on VE Day Partying.

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