What was it like during the black out?

The black out was horrendous for the people outside. The best thing to do was take a torch with you.

What was it like during the Blitz?

Kilmarnock wasn’t really affected during the Blitz but Clydebank was. A stick of bombs were dropped in the Dean Park and in Culzean Crescent, only 4 people were killed.

Was any of the houses in your street or in Kilmarnock bombed?

A bomb was dropped in the Dean Castle and in Culzean Crescent but no houses in my street.

Did you know anyone who died in the war?

Some people from my class died and my brother Daniel did too. He was a flight engineer and unfortunately his plane dropped. He was buried in Holland at the age of 22.

What was it like having food rationed in the war?

It didn’t really effect my family cause my father was a butcher. We put all our rationing tokens together so it wasn’t that bad. We also grew vegetables in the garden. Even sweets were rationed and if you got some they were not big portions.

What food did you eat during the war?

We ate soup and vegetables that we grew in Nursery Avenue. We grew more vegetables than fruit. Also as my father was a butcher we weren’t short of meat.