大象传媒

This contribution is taken from the collections of the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Greenock. Inverclyde Council

"On May 6th 1941, I was going to a dance in Greenock, but my mother would only let me go on one condition, that I went to visit an old friend of ours who had died and to take the condolences of the family. On the road down, the Anti Aircraft guns started up but we carried on, my boyfriend and I. We went up to see her and as we got into the house the guns really started blazing. As we stood looking at the coffin on the trestles, the guns were so strong the coffin actually started to move across the room. However, we paid our respects to this lady and came away. Really we were all upset at this to see the old lady in the coffin moving across the room - it was frightening and yet it was amusing.

We left there and tried to get a bus to Greenock to this dance which was at the West End of the town, but the buses had gone off. We started out to walk but ARP Wardens kept telling us to get off the street and not too politely. However, we were determined to get to this dance but the guns got going very strong so we turned back (to Port Glasgow) and I never got to that dance yet.

However, we turned and went home and the shrapnel was falling all around us as well as incendiary bombs. We got back into the house. My mother was there with all the family in the lobby which was very long together with all the neighbours up the stair. She wanted the boy to stay the night, but I said "Oh no! you can't stay tonight. I can't have a boy in the house." So Willie left then.

We all stayed the night huddled together. Fortunately that night passed over and we were all safe.

Now the next day (night) which was May 7th was a really very bad night. The guns were firing as usual and the incendiaries were going and again we were huddled in the lobby. My father was an air raid warden and he with the girl from up the stair, who was also an air raid warden were keeping guard outside and they saw what they thought was someone bailing out of a plane and they ran up the road to see if it was, and to try and catch him. The road was Broadstone Avenue (in Port Glasgow) where we lived at that time.

When they got further up they saw this thing dropping down but it wasn't a pilot it was a land mine. The force of it (when it exploded) threw them backwards. The land mine landed below us in Lilybank and it destroyed about four or five houses. The rest of the night we were in quite a state and it was horrible guns going, all night long, planes flying over - but by luck and God's will we survived."

"The following morning I wanted to go to my work. I worked in an 'off-licence' at the time and I was in charge because the lady usually in charge was on holiday. My mother said "Don't for goodness sake go to your work - there will be nobody at work today" but I insisted on going.

When I did eventually get down to my work of course the wardens were all outside. They had evacuated the building which was just at the Glen opposite Kingston Yard. They said to me "You can't possibly go in there - there is an unexploded bomb in Kingston Yard. I said I had to get into the off-licence because I had to get the cash. So eventually I persuaded one of the wardens to let me go in.

He gave me exactly 3 minutes to get in and out. It was one of those big old fashioned safes - I got the bag of money out and I was determined to get it to my boss. Where I actually worked was connected with another place at the distillers in Greenock so I started out to walk to Greenock with the bag of money.

Of course all the road down wardens were warning me to get off the road. There was rubble and fires burning round about me but I insisted I had to get down with the money.

When I got down to the Victoria Harbour there was a big chapel burnt to the ground. It was blazing and the distillers that I had to go to had been burned as well. The whisky was running down the road in flames.

I managed to find the man I was to give the money to and he couldn't believe it that I had walked down the road with all that money."

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