91Èȱ¬

These stories were told to East Ayrshire staff at their tea party on the 11th June 2004 by residents of Springhill Nursing 91Èȱ¬.

Mary Reid lived in Kilmaurs and her dad was in the Army. Mary was a flat machinist in Stewarton making clothes for every day life

Kathy Armour’s brother was in the 51st Armoured Division. He sent letters home when he could – she remembers her father being very worried about his son. She remembered and recited the poem her father was sent. He was with Montgomery at the end of the war. Kathy looked after her parents during the war.

Mrs Gibson’s husband – Kenneth Donald Gibson – was in the RAF. Her husband signed up in 1940 and went overseas in 1942 until the end of the war. He was sent to Germany and once he went overseas he didn’t come back on leave. Her brother worked in the munitions factory at Bowhouse as he failed the test to join the forces. Bowhouse is now the site of Kilmarnock Prison.

Some girls walked to Bowhouse at 6 o’clock in the morning and they didn’t think this was anything difficult. The girls made black powder. If you were going a long way, you started home early so you were back before the black out.

The newspapers didn’t record much about the war in Japan but Mrs Gibson remembers that one boy had written home to tell people about getting his leg amputated.

People helped out each other during the war to make sure that people didn’t starve. Mrs Gibson had a very good butcher. There was lots of home baking! Kathy didn’t like knitting – but she did enjoy needlework and rug making.

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