On the morning of July 22nd, I received
a call from Scotland to tell me that my aunt had sadly died.
Over the past few years as her health declined, it
was a call I had learned to prepare for, but not enough to temper the dread and
fear I had about it. As her named next of kin, it was my task and obligation to
go back to Scotland and deal with some requirements, which included completely
clearing out her house to prepare it for selling.
The house in Cardonald, Glasgow was originally the
home of my grand-parents (my mother’s parents), who as a direct result of WWII
moved there with their young family on 26th December 1940, from
Grangemouth on Scotland’s east coast.
Prior to this my grandfather was a lorry driver
with The London Midland and Scottish Railway ~ known as the LMS. But with the
exceptional war time demands driving the movement of resources and manpower, it
was during 1940 that he left the LMS and took a job with Rolls-Royce in
Hillington near Glasgow. It was during this period of the war, that Rolls-Royce
was working 24/7 supplying Merlin aircraft engines and parts to the Royal Air
Force in direct contribution to the country’s survival during the Battle of
Britain.
At the time in 1940, the house in Lanton Drive was
brand new, having been built like so many others, for the large number of new Rolls
Royce employees moving into the area.
Over the last couple of weeks, it was with much sadness my task to clear the house of 79 years of family history and 58 years of my own memories. With generous help, the enormous undertaking was completed within the two weeks I had in Scotland.
The following are street photos of Lanton Drive and of No.26 ~
Finally, on Thursday 8th August, I closed
the door and for the last time turned the key, departing with
only my memories of great visits to Gran and Papa, delightful Christmas dinners
and many long gone family gatherings.
It was 11.30am when I left the house, the sun was
shining, the air was warm and I thought, let’s go to Largs for Fish &
Chips and Ice Cream ….
Like Lanton Drive, Largs too has great
memories for me. As a young lad, it was from there on many Sunday mornings with
my dad and others that we would go out in a beautiful old wooden hulled fishing boat called “Bluebell”. We would typically spend 8 /9 hours in all
seasons fishing for cod, haddock, mackerel and plaice. While aboard Bluebell we would sail all around the Firth of Clyde, passing by the islands of Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae
and Bute.
Upon our return to shore, it was customary to then
go to “Nardini’s” for an Ice Cream, such joy …!!!
Below are photos of Largs and the islands from
atop the Haylie Brae. The brae is a very steep hill which winds its way
down to the town. During the descent, you cannot avoid noticing the bold warning
signs about the tight bends, the danger of on coming vehicles and the need to “Select
A Low Gear Now”.
