Air-Raid Shelter

Now these are similar Air-Raid Shelters to the ones we had up the Gibby, we had 2 of these side by side a 20 Poplar Street, every one of our windows had thick tape criss crossed, to stop any blast from the bombs that were dropping, to prevent flying glass into our house, mainly our bed-rooms

" Come Billy get up " mother would shout, " Get to the shelter " we were well drilled, I knew what to do with-out any further instructions,

To this day there was one woman called Mrs. Hart, she was young, pretty, and I don't know why, but I always believed she was a nurse, nobody ever told me she was one, it was just in my mind, she always took the stance between the door of the shelter and the Baffle Wa ( Wall ), and shouted " Heads Down ", Heads Between your knee's " " Relax " everyone obeyed with-out question, her eyes never left the skies, she watched every plane, and knew the difference between ours and the Germans, how I don't know, all I do know, she was my hero.

Now we had lots of air-raids in Greenock, it seamed part of life, we went to town shopping, gas masks over our shoulder, I was grown up, I didn't have a Mickey Mouse Gas Mask, like some children had, yes I was a man.

This bit I will never understand, on the morning after each raid, me and my pals would meet at the corner of East Street & Poplar St. and set off looking for shrapnel, can you believe it, we would hunt all over the Gibby, and were proud to display pieces we found

! ALERT !!! a German Pilot parachuted behind Donnie's Farm, from his burning plane, all the boys & girls went hunting for this German, can you believe it, it's true, it was only a rumor, but what if it was true, we never thought what we would do if we had found a German, but rumors were rife, a spy was spotted looking from the hill at Donnie's looking down on Poplar St, " Lets go and get him " we were all mad I suppose, but our parents had other important things on their minds,