大象传媒

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

Peter Caldwell, JP

ARP was very important at that time so I became a warden and was serving at the time of the Greenock blitz when we had 3 major incidents in Port Glasgow. One was at Woodhall where a mine fell on a shelter killing about 30 people and I myself was stationed at the bowling green just above Glen Avenue. A second mine fell on the Football Park killing about 10 people in the burn beside it - I was just going to the door of the Bowling Green shelter and was lifted about 6 feet by the blast. The worst incident was in Shankland Road where a mine fell demolishing all the houses but hardly damaged two red sandstone houses opposite the blast seeming to pass around them resulting in the destruction of houses behind.

I had to go immediately to the Football Park to see to the people in the burn - the works section of the ARP arrived at the same time and were getting the people out.

By the time I got to Shankland Road the worst was over.

We knew the enemy planes would have to follow the route of the River Clyde to get at the ships at the Tail of the Bank. Anti-Aircraft batteries were stationed either side of the river which made it too hot for the planes so that they had to take a long way round. We had built decoy fires on the hillside to try and make the pilots think that that was the target to be bombed. As the route of the planes had to be across the river from side to side they could not release their bombs in time to damage the ships and many landed on the opposite bank. This was repeated and repeated and not a ship was hit. As Port Glasgow was long and thin this was the main feature that ensured we were very lightly dealt with.

The blast from the land mine at the Football Park is as much as I ever wish to experience. I felt as if my breath was stopping. I was trembling and it was a ghastly experience. The noise upset a number of people - also you could see the tracer and the shell bursts. I would not like to see it again."

"What about the children?"

"The children were wonderful - many were in the Glen Avenue closes which were shored up by props. The entrances were shielded by specially built walls. As remarked earlier we missed the worst but it must have made a great impression on some of the children.

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