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"What did you do
in the War, daddy?" was a question children used to ask their fathers. I
was too young for military service at the start of World War II but as a
Boy Scout I helped to collect spagnum moss for first aid dressings and
aluminium pots and pans for making aircraft.
When I left school at 16 I started my apprenticeship in Wilson and Wylies,
a machine tool making firm which had just moved up from London. This
placed me in the reserved occupation category. However, I did don a
uniform as a messenger in the Auxiliary Fire Service at the age of 17.
My first encounter with the Fire Brigade was a bit earlier. When the
threat of war drew near the Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) were initiated
with Air Raid Wardens, First Aid and the Fire Brigade was increased by the
Auxiliary Fire Service. Mock air raid exercises were organised to train
their bodies.
During such an exercise myself and another two boys were acting as
"casualties". We had labels attached to us listing our injuries.
A
"stick of bombs" had been dropped by a German plane and most of High
Street, Main Street and Lainshaw Street were supposed to be badly damaged.
We three were placed at Dr Loyds' three storey building (now the entrance
to the Health Centre) which was supposed to have been hit by a bomb and
was on fire. As we waited for the First Aid ambulance, along came the Fire
Brigade under the command of Fire master Colin C. Bodie. "Ah", he said,
"We'll rescue you from the building". So up we went to the maids room on
the third storey, a ladder was placed against the wall and a fireman
ascended. I was instructed to go out the window head first on the back of
the fireman who would carry me down the ladder on his shoulder. No one
said "close your eyes" and when I saw the pavement far below I went rigid
with fear. I was able to reach over the fireman and grab hold of the
ladder while booking my feet on the window sill and I hung on for dear
life.
Eventually I was
persuaded to release my hold and was carried down the ladder safely. All
three were "rescued", bandaged and transported by a trailer ambulance, via
Springwell Place, the Back Road and the vennel to the back entrance to St
Columba's Hall which was the First Aid Post.
This experience did not put me off and I, as stated at the beginning,
joined the A.F.S. as a messenger. There were five of us - Colin Bodie,
Eddie Campbell, Robert Miller, John Howat and myself. Using our bicycles,
we were trained to carry messages from the fire controllers to the pump
men in event of a large air raid situation. Fortunately we were never
required although some of the firemen were on stand-by duty during the
Greenock Blitz. |