Reading through the transcript and listening to the edited version of my interview I had quite a number of new memories and thought I would write these down.
I was asked about my memories of the NHS and about home remedies used by my parents at the time. As I said my earliest memories are simply of going along to the doctor and joining a queue to see him. The waiting room always seemed quite crowded but the doctor saw everyone. As to the question of home remedies I could only recall the use of poultices to draw poison from my fingers but I’d forgotten about a wee dab of whisky on my gums for toothache and when I had colds or flu like symptoms my mother gave me hot lemonade with pepper added. The effect was to make you sweat heavily but whether it helped or not I don’t know.
The question about my memories about relics of the war stirred more when I listened to the interview. I spoke about the Anderson shelter in the back garden but I forgot about finding gas masks in the loft of the house. These were all in pristine condition and still in their boxes. As far as I can remember there were five or six of these. I remember too now other things mostly handed down verbally. There was a young lady who lived near our house in Knightswood and I remember she had snow white hair which was strange for someone so young. It was my mother who gave an explanation. She told me the lady had been engaged to a pilot in the RAF who was killed. He was quite tall but when the lady went to his funeral his coffin was too small to contain someone of his size and the shock turned her hair white. The truth of that I don’t know but it struck me as plausible at the time. I also remember one of my uncles talking about the bombers returning from raids over Germany and having to hose out the fuselage. He didn’t say why but it didn’t take much imagination to work it out. There were also photographs around the house of relatives in uniform. I also mentioned the air raid sirens being tested regularly in my early days at school but forgot about the Spitfires flying over from time to time. That was exciting and for a while I wanted to be a pilot and fly them. To be honest that’s something that has stayed with me.
I was asked about rationing and mentioned my dislike of dried eggs but forgot all about the food and clothes parcels we received from abroad in the early 1950s. My mother’s family was spread far and wide to Canada, Australia and New Zealand and following the interview I raked through old photographs, post cards and letters and found one from relatives in Canada promising a parcel soon. Two things stick in my mind. Once we received a parcel of clothes and in it was a suit for me. It was very flashy, a shiny mohair sort of thing, and I was too embarrassed to wear it. Times change right enough. My “going away” outfit after my wedding was a shiny blue mohair suit. The other thing I particularly remember receiving was honeycomb; real honey on the comb and I’m sure that came from Canada too. How they managed to send it by post I’ll never know but I suppose regulations were less strict then.
There was a question about parks and I remember talking about swings and football pitches and the ponds but I forgot all about Knightswood Golf Course which was less than fifty yards from the house in Knightswood. It was a municipal course and well used and it is still there today. I played a bit but was never very good and now I’m a follower of the golf is a good walk spoiled school of thought. There were also bandstands in a lot of the parks and there was regular entertainment around these.
Talking about entertainment we really had to make our own. Most people had bikes and in the summer in my early teens I can remember cycling long distances with my pals. Traffic wasn’t so much of a problem then. We would cycle out past Bearsden and Milngavie and even as far as Luss on Loch Lomond. That’s a fair distance from Knightswood and I don’t imagine thirteen and fourteen year olds would be encouraged to cycle there these days. I always remember my thigh and calf muscles stiffening up after these journeys. I also played a lot of football with the Boys Brigade and remember the gravel football pitches and footballs made out of leather. I still bear the scars and heading a ball wasn’t much fun when the ball was sodden. It was like heading a brick. Having mentioned the Boys Brigade I should also mention Sunday school. In those days Sunday schools were well attended which was probably a throwback to the increase in church attendance during the war. I attended regularly and won prizes for perfect attendance and Bible Knowledge. People who know me will probably be amazed by that but it’s true.
I have found some old photographs and am sending these on with this note. They’ll show fashions of the 1940s and so on. I hope I haven’t gone on too much but find the whole project really interesting.
Graeme St Clair
3/2/21
