School Days

A Memory of Clydebank.

I lived at 27 Radnor Street, last but one tennament to be flattened. My first year of school was at the "new high school", on Bouquanaran; 10 class rooms open, we had to scramble among the bricks to get to class. Then I went to Radnor new primary school, next I went to the old high school down in Clydebank, outside toilets and the roofs had been blown off so it was a chilly sit. Then at age 11, back to the now repaired high school at the bottom of Thompson St.
I now live in Trenton, Ontario, Canada, near the largest air base in Canada. Here my best friend, quite by chance we were talking, her father came from Crown Ave, back to back with Radnor St. I also missed that old beacon of Singer's clock when they tore it down, you always knew your way home from all over the Clyde valley. In '56 we moved to Parkhall. My family came from Belfast and I would stand on the deck of the Royal Ulsterman or Scotsman to Belfast, every trip enjoying the side of the yards you could not see from the roads; and to think there were also 5 separate rail lines running through too. On visits back, at times the Clyde seems so quiet, from those days of my youth. It was such a vibrant river then, and going to Dalmuir park during the illuminations. Is the little stone boat still there? Or fishing for minnows at the dam near the duck pond - my pal fell into the sluice gate once - I pulled him out by the hair, he could have drowned. We were more scared of what we would get, going home soaked to the skin - I got heck for wrecking the backside of my underwear. We would pull railings off the Radnor Church fence and turn the front up like a ski to slide down the hill when we had snow, with a slate to sit on. Playing in the burned out buildings on Granville Street, not concerned that the standing walls could come down on us at any time. At the bottom of Kilbowie Hill there was an air raid warden's tank, we sat on the corner, feet in the water sailing bits of wood for boats, got caught and got heck; my mother had eyes everywhere. Then rollerskating on one borrowed skate, my pal wouldn't lend me both at once. The pub at the corner of Radnor, the Cleddans? had just had a new coat of paint, so, as I was headed over to the play park, I had a piece of chalk and made my "mark "from one end to the other, got across the Kilbowie road and the bobbie came out of his box, and said now just go back and clean all that off. I said with what? and he said spit, on your finger, and he stood and watched till I got it all cleaned off. Where the Lascala is, before the high rises were built, there was a crater always full of water, great for sliding on in winter or boats again in summer. Heard later, when preparing to build, they found an unexploded bomb. I have a map of all the drops during the blitz and after marking them all on the map I am amazed we did not have a lot more deaths, bad and all as it was. Our parents sure had a hard time of it, but us kids hardly knew, we made our fun as it came. Thanks for the chance to reminsce.
Amy worrick




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