Bombs over Glasgow in WW2

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Postby crannog » Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:45 am

Plenty of bomb craters in the Kilpatrick hills. The RCAHMS has some great pictures of the area just after the war, with many craters still visible.
The Control Bunker (NS 4204 7753) is actually down the hill a bit between two areas of woodland (west side of the stream). The starfish site (NS 421 781) is just to the east and south east of the water filled craters, north of the bunker, by a fence line and the trackway that leads up from the bunker. If you look closely you may be able to see some of the foundations where the oil was burnt.

The buildings to the north which were annotated on the image on the earlier post as the location of the bunker were in fact a farmstead, but and this is a guess, abandoned as a farmstead when the starfish site was constructed.
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Postby Pgcc93 » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:49 am

Thanks for the updated info crannog 8)
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Postby Toby Dammit » Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:41 pm

I'd somehow missed this before, but I just spent about 2 hours reading through the posts. Must be the best thread on the board, I reckon. Fascinating stuff. This sort of grass-roots history is one of the things the internet is so brilliant at.

Most of my family of a certain age are Clydebank Blitz survivors. I'll have to get some of their recollections again when I'm up next, and post 'em here. My dad plain refuses to talk about it though.
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Postby HollowHorn » Sun Jul 09, 2006 2:34 pm

From the Crematorium up at the Western Necropolis.

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Postby Socceroo » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:47 pm

Interesting find Hollowhorn, i find it quite sad, i recall reading that the family were killed in Scotstoun at home on Queen Victoria Drive.

I think one of the photographs earlier in this thread has a photograph of their street decimated following the air raid.

As i have said quite often on this thread, it is difficult to imagine nowadays in our relatively peaceful Glasgow what the sheer terror of being bombed from the air during the night must have been like.
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Postby My Kitten » Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:30 pm

Socceroo wrote:Here is one of Glasgow's war time precautions which i came across but was not previously aware of. The picture below shows the Bomb damage precautions which were put in place of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Photograph's below were taken at the Firhill Basin.

To the left is essentially a sheet pile Dam to narrow the width of the Canal to be closed in an emergency. Between the Concrete blocks an emergency Lock gate could be placed to dam the Canal if it was bombed where it sits higher than areas of the city and could cause substantial flooding if bombed.

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These Emergency Lock gate positions / Canal narrowings were, as you can see from the picture below (circa late 1960's), in place for some time after the war.

I do not know if there is remnants of these fixtures still in place at Firhill Basin and at Speirs Wharf which were two of the locations, or if they were removed during the Canal refurbishment around the millenium.


Seen today at the Hidden Glasgow walk

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Stockingfield Junction, running over Lochburn Road.
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Postby The Voyageur » Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:44 pm

Socceroo wrote:GLASGOW PREPARES FOR WAR
Here is one of Glasgow's war time precautions which i came across but was not previously aware of. The picture below shows the Bomb damage precautions which were put in place of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Photograph's below were taken at the Firhill Basin.

To the left is essentially a sheet pile Dam to narrow the width of the Canal to be closed in an emergency. Between the Concrete blocks an emergency Lock gate could be placed to dam the Canal if it was bombed where it sits higher than areas of the city and could cause substantial flooding if bombed.

Image

These Emergency Lock gate positions / Canal narrowings were, as you can see from the picture below (circa late 1960's), in place for some time after the war.

I do not know if there is remnants of these fixtures still in place at Firhill Basin and at Speirs Wharf which were two of the locations, or if they were removed during the Canal refurbishment around the millenium.

Image


They were known as 'Stop Locks'. Some were also built near the Maryhill Locks.

Sorry to digress and go off topic a wee bit, but seeing as the thread is about Bombs and Glasgow. Just down the canal from where the photo above was taken, an Irish Republican Society known as the Ribbon Society (a forerunner to the IRA) were foiled in 1883, when they attempted to bomb the Possil Aquaduct.

The plan was to bomb the aqueduct, thereby releasing millions of gallons of water into the city centre and cause as much mayhem as possible. Nine conspirators were arrested and jailed.
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Postby Socceroo » Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:43 pm

Glasgow Herald – Tuesday 14th January 1941

GLASGOW CATHEDRAL

Provision of Fire Watchers

PLEA BY SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

The provision of fire – watchers for Glasgow Cathedral to deal with the menace of incendiary bombs was urged at the annual meeting yesterday of the Society of Friends of Glasgow Cathedral. The question was raised by the Rev. W. Napier Bell, who asked what steps were being taken with regard to fire – watchers. It has been indicated, he said, that in the raids on London some of the famous wren churches might have been saved if the precaution of having fire – watchers had been taken.

So far, he added, Glasgow had been fortunate in that respect, but it might well be that incendiary bombs might be dropped on the city. If they fell on that ancient building they knew what would happen. There ought to be some arrangement to put a watcher, say on the tower, at nights. The building was under the care of the Office of Works, and anything which was done would require to be in co-operation with them, but he thought the secretary might be instructed to communicate with them in order to ascertain if such arrangements could be made.

Colonel Norman MacLeod, who presided, said it was reasonable that they should take steps to prevent fire by incendiary bombs. It was however, a matter that lay between the kirk – session and the Government, but he agreed that they should instruct the secretary to make sure that something was done.
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Postby Pgcc93 » Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:15 pm

I've been continuing to use Google Earth & Local Live to unearth some of the remnants leftover from WW2 in and around Glasgow.

Here's the remains of some of the Anti-Aircraft Battery's on the Southside of the Clyde stretching from Greenock to Blantyre.

Me, Crusty & Fossil visited some of these sites a while back to see what remained on the ground.

Starting with Drumcross Heavy AA site near Erskine marked in Green, this shows the scale of the site.
This is a quite large layout in comparisson to other AA sites going by the number of buildings within the enclosre which is probably a millitary camp and billet due to it's proximity to the Clyde.


Old Kilpatrick Oil Tanks is the purple area in the top left corner. Dalnottar Tank farm sat on the hillside above it. These were both extensivley damaged during bombing raids.

Note the bomb crater in the foreground!

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How it looks today from a similar angle. The gun emplacements and a couple of buildings still exist today but there is no trace of the camp.

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One of the 3.7inch AA guns in it's enclosure. The square compartments are the magazines that housed the ready to use shell's. There were central magazines that stored the amunition nearby.

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Schematic of Vickers 3.7 inch AA Gun
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3.7" Shells

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Last edited by Pgcc93 on Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Pgcc93 » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:25 pm

Next up is Carnbooth Heavy AA site near Carmunock.

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Sign for noting ammunition stores in one of the magazines.

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Generator Block House

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Field Marshall Fossil looking out for German Helmets in the bushes
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Command Post. see diagram below for layout.

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Typical layout of CP

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Schematic of Predictor

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Postby ramor69 » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:31 pm

Field Marshall Fossil looking out for German Helmets in the bushes



Aye an' no fur the furst time. :mrgreen:
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Postby Toby Dammit » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:24 pm

This thread is Image
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Postby Pgcc93 » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:48 am

Transit Sheds on Kings Inch Road at Braehead still with camoflaged roofs in the mid 1960's

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The sheds were demolished earlier this year to make way for housing.

The cleared site in April 2006

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Postby Pgcc93 » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:43 pm

This is the Larkfield Anti Aircraft Battery in Greenock.

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Postby Pgcc93 » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:07 pm

Flatterton near Inverkip.
The gun enclosures were mostly obscured by earthworks near the farm buldings but the remains of the camp were visible.

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Ammo locker

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Underground Entrance at Gun Emplacement

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Camp Buildings

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