Mr and Mrs Henderson discuss life during the war, including air raids and bombings

You said there was another bomb went off in this area?
Kingseat.
Up in Kingseat.
And 2 or 3 bombs dropped near the Forth, - 2 or 3 bombs dropped near the Forth Bridge, aimed for Forth Bridge and they landed at either side of them. Just missed.

Somebody said that a plane had gone sort of gone under the Forth Road Bridge?
That's true.

Do you know when that was?
Oh ah couldna remember the exact date - I'm bad at dates really.
You canny remember anything da you.
Cos I was going to look it up, but its - but looking through all the papers from 38 to 45 is a long time to try and sit though it and nobody seems to know a, kinda rough date even if it was 1940 or 42 type thing.
Well it wisna long after war started that they actually started coming over here the bombs.

Now when you started were in the mines, was your dad still in the mines as well, so he would be exempt as well, from anything to do with the army or was he too old?
Could you repeat that please?

When you started in the mines in the war, like that was like 19, was your Dad too old for the army?
My Dad had been in the first world war.
Right so he was too old for the second world war.
That's correct. That's correct. Yes that's right.
What about brothers or sisters, were they?
I had a brother called William he was in the navy, he was in the navy. After he retired in a home in Dunfermline - a Lorry driver and then he died at the age of 56.
And any sisters?
No Just the one brother.
Just the one brother.
How come he escaped the pits?
He was in the pits to begin with. But he volunteered for the navy. He left the pits to join the navy.
He left the pits so he could join the navy.
See it wasna compulsory fur ta keep you in the pits, wasna compulsory, you had your choice.
Right so when you went, and they said you could choose you, but they prefer you in the pits probably?
I choose to stay at home, I did.
Wise choice.
You know, did you have, like there was a womens land army and all those kind of things were any of your friends join that or did they all work in the same place as you?
Aye just naw we were aw just there the friends I had at the time. No the didna leave to go ta the land army. I know I wanted to be a WREN on the - a WREN, but I lodged with my grandmother an a I was exempt from that you know.
Because you had to look after your.
I do na know how I would have done on the water because I canna, I canna do on a boat.
But you wanted to do that anyway?
Aye
But the women as I say - worked down there during the war in the munitions you know aye. Doon there int. Quite a few of them - a lot of them gone now.

Were there anybody eh evacuated to this sort of area from the likes of Edinburgh or Glasgow or was this not considered a safe enough area?
I don't think there were very many evacuees here - around this area in Fife - mostly to - would say to London - from London to America, Canada and so forth. No so much about here I don't think. Not this area any way.
I sort of wondered if any of the people from around the Leith area and that or the Glasgow area.
That's right.
This being sort of more country, whether they would have been sent out here, but you don't know of any really.
Not of any of them here - no really no. Did you know of any one Jean?
No
No. Nope. No.

Just the eh there were quite a few of the Pole, Polish people in the, came to be in the mines, though eh.
That's right. Brought us all nationalities in the mines at that time. There were Czechs, the Swedish - mostly Polish.
Mostly Polish.

Did they mostly come after the war or . . .?
After the war.
After the war most of them came.
I think they lived here and married here and they worked in the mines. Most of the Poles I knew.