 |  | | | Wartime Evacuations | There are 11 messages in this section. |
Betty McNulty from Glasgow. Posted 11 Mar 2002.
I remember getting a tin box, coloured blue, full of sweets, at school. I must have been about 7 years old. Every child got one, it was because of the Duke of Yorks Coronation (I think). 1938 was great! I lived in Govan, only five minutes walk from the Empire Exhibition. It was a shame it had to be demolished because war was declared in 1939.
I can remember being evacuated with my wee gas mask; most of the children were crying (not me), I was too busy eating my bar of Ensign Chocolate, and even tried to open my tin of corned beef which, of course, was intended to be your rations. I also remember telling one of the wardens that I had lost it because I felt that I had been greedy.
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|  | Mary McLean. Posted 25 Apr 2002.
My Sister and I were 9-10 years old when we were evacuated to Perthshire and were given accommodation with a lovely couple. The gentleman was the village policeman, he had a bike to go on his rounds, the lady was a housewife. When we arrived she took us outside to the well. She washed our hair with raw paraffin because we came from Glasgow and we might have head lice, the water was very cold. She was making sure we were clean before we went into bed. We were treated very well, they were so very kind to us, great food. The name of the Village was Almondbank. The river Almond ran through the village which was very quiet and peaceful.
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| | Nancy Roy. Posted 12 Sep 2002.
It is my good fortune to have many very happy memories of warime evacuation but in the midst of those there also some rather stressful ones. My brother and I lived for a short time inthe home of two particularly strange ladies. The younger of the two being the companion of the other. One example may suffice to indicate how strange! My brother was six and I just seven and a half. Having been extremely ill I was somewhat of a 'Jane Eyre' character,quiet and obedient andwithout the courage to do anything which might be deemed worthy of the punishment I will now outline. On our return each day from school I would be informed of some imaginary fault I was supposed to have committedand which had been reported to the older lady by a blackbird, thrush, or some other amazing bird! Of course a child in those days would never have thought to contradict. Frequently she would not verbally accuse me but as I took my place at the tea table the signal of my coming punishment was there, for on those occasions no Apostle teaspoon graced my saucer and no meal passed my lips. I knew to leave the table unfed and go to bed totally wretched.She called that teaspoon a 'Holy teaspoon', I had sinned and so it was absent. When I saw recently on TV a set of those spoons the sheer misery of those days was vividly recalled. The period within that home was a mere six months but it has left me with memories which are indeed the stuff of novels.
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| | Meg Boyle from Australia. Posted 16 May 2002.
Hi Betty, I too was evacuated from Glasgow along with my brothers, we were sent to Stirling. We stayed with an old lady and her daughter, they were lovely and very good to us too.
I remember my gas mask too, over my shoulder worn everywhere we went, you brought back the memories.
I am Meg from Shettleston in Glasgow, now living in Victoria Australia.
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| | Ann Young. Posted 10 Sep 2002.
Dear Meg
Were you by any chance evacuated with your mum and 4 other members of your family to a lady who was married to an RAF officer? The reason for my asking is that my friend nursed the gentleman in his home and his wife used to talk about "her" evacuees from Glasgow.
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| | Gina Cowan from Airdrie. Posted 14 Aug 2002.
I was one of those children evacuated. At first Mam wasn't sure what to do.Everyone round her was panicking and afraid of air raids, but she didn't want to be parted from us.In the confusion she was told there was a possibility that accommodation could be provided for her also, if she was prepared to work with the evacuees.And so, in great excitement we all marched that Sunday morning from Ruchill School to Maryhill Goods Station where a special train had been put on to take us on the first part of our journey.Gas mask boxes were slung over our shoulders by string through the handles.Our names and school were printed on labels which were attached to our coats by safety pins.We should have looked a forlorn group of kids, being driven from our homes by the enemy - but we were as excited as if we were going on a Sunday School trip.It was like winning an unexpected dream holiday in a contest.My family knew nothing of holidays.A day trip to Milngavie was a luxury to us.Here we were going to live at the seaside, on an island!What did we care about bombings?Good old Hitler had made this possible for us! And we had Mam with us to share the excitement and provide security. The euphoria died down on the long train journey. Were we never going to reach the seaside?We perked up when we got off the train and saw the ferry.This was indeed an adventure but one that I personally was growing disenchanted with.I remember waking up on the boat and being too tired to be curious about the strange situation.All the portholes on the ship had been covered so that no light betrayed it to enemy planes so we could not see outside. Some of the older boys were running around on the deck above us and the rumour went round that it was Germans aboard.But as long as I had Mam beside me and my cloth pixie doll in my arms, the whole world could fall down around me.
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| | Lindsey Douglas. Posted 10 Sep 2002.
Hi Betty
I am working on the next series of Scotland on Film which features stories on the following topics:
The War, Beauty & Fashion, Birth & Death, Food & Drink, Rural Life and Big Days Out/Events such as The Empire Exhibition.
I noticed that you have particular memories of the war and would love to have a telephone conversation with you about these memories and if you have any more on the topics I've outlined above.
I would be most grateful if you could e-mail me back or call me to have a chat. My telephone number is 0141 338 2891 and I'd love to hear from you. It's just initial research and finding stories from people such as yourselves at the moment so if you can also think of anyone else you think we should be speaking with then that would be really helpful.
Huge thanks in anticipation of your help and hope to hear from you soon.
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| | Pat McClay. Posted 13 Sep 2002.
Hi Lindsey,
My mother was evacuated from Glasgow to Aberdeenshire during the war along with her two brothers and sister. They loved their time there and stayed in touch with their 'foster parents' until Aunt Nan and Uncle Jim died. If you'd be interested I'm sure my mother would love to share her stories with you.
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| | John Meek. Posted 31 Oct 2002.
Dear Friends,
My sister and I were evacuees in Nov 1940 from London. Mother and us bairns went to live in a wee cottage near Blairgowrie High Scool which we both attended. Our mother's aunt was Annie Robertson and lived up the top of Kirkwynd. I was unfortunately a slow academic starter but I had a very good teacher in Isobel Robertson. Our aunt used to say to me Isobel will knock you in to shape boy. Mum and I used tae pick berries, lift tatties and I used to caddie at Rosemount to try and earn wee bit. For us it was good times during bad times, I remember the snow being 30ft deep across the Perth Road. Our tuition was strict as it should be and I was introduced to the scud ( belt) for doing my homework wrong or not completing it. It paid dividends as in Sept 1942 I left Blairgorie to go to a top London grammar school having been awarded a Free Place. Isobel drove me so hard with extra tuition. Imagine writing on the kitchen table and as there was no electricity my work was done by the light of a parrafin lamp. My sister and I belong tae "Blairfolk" the auld ains frae BHS so we have many friends worldwide and communicate daily as a group as we journey through our lives. If you wish to contact us please do on e-mail: john2meek@aol.com
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| | Kathleen matthews from toronto Canada. Posted 22 Apr 2004.
ARE YOU STILL RECORDING STORIES ON THE EVACUATION?
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| | JOHN MEEK from WEMBLEY LONDON. Posted 16 Oct 2006.
Weare knocking on a wee bit but my sister Joan and I would love to hear from any of our school friends who remember us.
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