My name is James Mclaughlin, known better as Jim. I was born of 6 Somerville Street Clydebank on in September 1939.
I was 18 months old held in my mother's arms as she stood in the close of number 6 Somerville Street during the raids on Clydebank on the 13th and 15th of M arch. Our family escaped Clydebank soon after the raids, leaving for Bonnybrigg, where we then stayed with my auntie. We were later evacuated to Rothesay where we remained until the war ended.
In 1944 my mother gave birth to my youngest brother Joseph in Rothesay.. My eldest brother John attended school at the time and I had the company of my cousin Jim to play with. Jim and my Aunt Mary had come with us to Rothesay having also been staying in Somerville Street during the Blitz.
This was the second time that they had to move, having come to Clydebank from London escaping the bombings. My cousin Jim and I were very close growing up together in Rothesay and many of my childhood memories involve Jim. My earliest memories are with Jim, playing in the woods at the back of the house, going down to explore the castle that was nearby and going to see the boats down at the harbour.
These areas were all off limits to us, but we used to break the rules. We would go down and wander around looking at the ships that were docked. One day my cousin Jim fell into the water between the ships, and a sailor dived into the water and managed to get him out. I remember the cork life jackets and sailors' hats that would be floating in the water down at the harbour. Some hats had HMS written on them, and not the name of the ships, this sight will never leave me.
Jim and I would have only be around 5 or 6 years old at that time. My mother and my aunt Mary were raging at us for being by the water, we got hell for that. They both had us swear we wouldn't tell anyone about what had happened. My dad and Uncle Jim were both working in Clydebank at the time and we were told that in no way were they to hear about this, to this day I do not know if they ever found out about it.
Another poignant memory I have was when I broke my arm falling off a wall across from the school. Jim and I were both keen explorers, one day we stumbled across a wasp's nest accidentally standing in it, we were both covered in stings. A man came to our aid, put us into a pond and doused us with water, later taking us home where we were stripped, and wasps dead and alive were picked off us. I think we were a couple of boys will be boys' types.
I do not remember when we went back to Clydebank, though I remember a stormy crossing and the war having finished in 1945. My memories of Somerville Street are more numerous, I recall seeing the bombed buildings for the first time, air raid shelters in the street, baffle walls in front of the closes to stop bomb blasts and shrapnel, old gas masks and things like that lay around the back courts. Thinking about it we were really counting on the baffle walls to keep us safe; I had never heard of anyone using the air raid shelters and I don't blame them.
There was a toilet at the bottom of Somerville Street, it went underground and as kids we would swing from the bars like monkeys. When the air raid shelters were taken away it was great, we had a football park with a makeshift goal post that was painted onto the shipyard wall. The gas lights in the street gave us flood lights before any professional football teams had them. This allowed us to play from early morning until late at night. At some stage I started primary school at Our Holy Redeemer Clydebank and then later went onto secondary school at Our Holy Redeemer Clydebank, both within walking distance from the family home.
Somerville Street, I loved it! Climbing and jumping on old wash houses, playing in and out of bombed buildings, unbeknown to my mother and father at the time. Scrapped knees, scuffed shoes, my dad threatened all sorts of punishments for the repair of my shoes. These were the times when I met my lifelong friends. Although my days in Sommerville Street came to an end and at the same time my cousin Jim went back to a bombed London, leaving behind a Blitzed Clydebank.
It was then we moved to a brand new house in Drumry, Clydebank, "Up the hill" it was called, it had a kitchen and inside toilet, all the things that we had never had before. I am not sure what age I was when I moved to Ellisland Avenue which was a complete ly new environment, there was very little traffic, you could cross over and there was nothing but countryside. You could walk away over to the Old Kilpatrick hills, which we did oft en, there were no obstructions in our way, this was before Drumchapel housing scheme was built.
This was another great time for me and my brother Joseph having green fields and burns to explore on our doorstep and a whole lot of new fr iends, still attending school down in Clydebank.
I left school at 15 years old and went on to work in John Browns shipyard, others would probably have started work in Singers or other engineering companies. This was a different chapter of my life. The shipyard was a very hard way to start out working life as a young man, especially in the winter, the conditions were Victorian to say the least. I worked a 45-hour working week, no breaks except for lunch, when we would heat up our cans on the riveter's fire. But the hat men (Managers) would come round and kick the cans of tea over, they were nice chaps...
We worked with antiquated machinery in the yards and I recall one of the toilets in the west yard, we called the iron lung because it was made of iron plates with holes in it . It had spikes sticking out of the back of wall, so that we would not lean back onto the wall to rest during the working day. It is not a wonder that strikes were many and Communists too.
It is amazing to think that the biggest and best ships in the world were built in John Browns yard. Clydebank has changed a lot since my younger days, and not before time. Most of the town had moved up the hill, but they have since seen the light now and are trying to put the heart of the town back where it belongs. The site of the shipyard is now being regenerated and a new health centre, care home, college, flats, council offices, leisure centre, swimming pool etc are being built. The river has been getting cleaner and a new walkway has been created past the old basin where all the great ships were fitted out, overlooked by the Titan crane. These are the only things that remain from the original yard. It is a lovely walk down by the Clydeside now that the water of the Clyde has become much cleaner, you can see cormorants and ducks, swans and at low tide cranes, all feeding on fish. Not much further down the water seals can be see, far better scenery than the dilapidated buildings and machinery that once stood and no more iron lungs thankfully!
When I walk through the site of the old yard I can see the area that I was born, I wish my old street was still there with the goal posts painted on the shipyard wall. I don't think people realise how bad the town of Clydebank suffered the Blitz on the 13th and 15th of March 1941.The town was almost obliterated over two nights of bombing. If the Polish destroyer that was in the Rothesay dock next to the shipyard firing constantly over these two nights of horror, it would have been a lot worse for some parts of the town, many more lives would have been lost. The shipyard was only slightly damaged and our street next to the yard was saved from the damage that would have been done if the polish destroyer had not been there. My mother said they probably saved our lives on both nights.
Rationing
My first memories of that were when it was lifted on the sweets etc and we went from our home in Somerville St reet round the corner onto Dumbarton road to a wee sweetie shop that was opened for business we all queued up to enjoy our first sweets in years.
Clogs'
Wearing clogs' I do remember, I am not sure what age I would have been perhaps 6 or 7. I do remember also wearing a siren suit.
Have you heard of people who lost their families?
I heard of many people who lost their families, ones that were dear to them. One family in particular the Rocks family, virtually the whole family were wiped out, as they were all living in the one house. I think this was the biggest loss of life in one family across Britain at the t me, very tragic.
Do you remember anyone who lost their homes?
Yes I do many people lost their homes.
Do you remember the bombed buildings?
Yes my street was surrounded by blitzed buildings, most of Clydebank was heavily bombed. There was lots of dust, debris and stoor lingering in the air .
Were any of your family serving in the war?
My uncle William Nally (Willy) was serving with the Royal Navy at this time. He was around the Mediterranean and on Russian convoys also. He would have been mid-twenties at the time.
Did you cinema during the war?
I went into Rothesay a few times though cannot remember what I seen so the films couldn't have been that good, there was no popcorn at the time.
Bomb shelters
I do remember these in Somerv ill e Street, they were not taken away for a long time after the war had finished. Some homes that had gardens had bomb shelters dug into the ground.
Do you remember the threat of nuclear war in ‘50s ‘60s
Yes I do but I would have been too young at the time and I didn't give it much thought. It didn't scare me that much as I would have only been a teenager at the time.
What do you remember about school?
When I started school around 1946 we had no paper or pens to write with. We used slate boards that were 9inches by 7 inches approximately. We would have used chalk to writ e with and do o ur sum s on these slates. I left school at 15.
What did people do for work?
Most woman who had a family were full times stay at home mums. Most of the men and friends I had from school went onto work locally in Clydebank in the shipyards or singers or various other engineering companies or went to national service with the army, navy or air force. I myself missed national service call up by only a few months with my birthday being in September. My brother John was called up.
Homelessness
There were two lodging houses in Clydebank, for people who had no home or family to stay with. A lot of people did lodge at the time with other families that would have taken them in, local people supported each other. I cannot remember people sleeping rough in the streets or begging at the time. People who were out of work for some reason or another would go round the back courts, singing or doing tricks etc people would fling pennies out the window to them.
Prefabs
A lot of them were built in Clydebank. These were in use for a very long time after the war ended.
Where did you meet your wife?
I met my wife Florence in the Lacarno ballroom Sauchihall street Glasgow. Dancing was th e most popular thing in those days and most people married relatively young. I loved to dance, but my favourite was the Waltz. My wife and I were both 25 years old when we married. Some of my friends were younger to marry, one of my friends eloped to Gretna because his family were against the idea of him getting married at 16, they are still happily married to this day!
Any Recipes from back then?
Food became more abundant as time went on rations lessened. I didn't do much cooking at the t ime so I couldn't give you many recipes from back then, however nowadays I am a dab hand in the kitchen.
Holiday's
Most of our holiday were spent out in Stirlingshire where we would stay with my Aunties and Uncles for a few days. During longer holidays, particularly the summer holidays we would have also travelled to London where I would be reunited with my dear cousin Jim for a few weeks at a time. By train. Midnight Express. Some Express. Twelve hours to get to London.
