Gretna And Gretna Green

A Memory of Gretna.

I remember all of the things written about Gretna in the 1950s already published. The sweet shop also sold wonderful red ice lollies. My best friend was Linda McTravers. My uncle was drowned in the Solway Firth in 1917, long before my birth but the shadow of his death hung over our lives. My father and his other 5 siblings also went to Gretna school. My father was taught by Mr Glasspool as was I. I remember the fish and chips shop, Toni was the owner. The fair held once a year was held on the bomb crater created when Gretna was bombed in the Second World War. The doctor's surgery was held in the green hut at the bottom of the High Street, next to Tatnals the drapers' shop. I was born in Gretna Green in 1947. I played with my brother in the Blacksmith shop, we often played in the old carriages and we played at stage coaches. I have a copy of the Blacksmith's Story signed by the last Blacksmith Priest in 1940. My grandmother used to talk of the train crashes at Gretna during the First World War. My name was then Dewsnap. I have many more memories but do not want to get boring.
Yours, Judy. I now live in Cornwall.

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