My mum's street in lockdown

[Diane CBPFC]

My dad was in the army and I lived an army brat life for nearly 20 years never being exposed to the Protestant/Catholic hatred in football apart from two horrific years when my dad was posted to Glasgow as a recruiting sergeant - without doubt the most unhappy and traumatic years of my young life. I could not believe the levels of violence generally in Glasgow at that time (the last years of the serious gang wars), it was a savage and ignorant and stupid society, and I hated every minute of living in Maryhill. Our next posting was back to Germany, to a boarding school and five years of living away from my family, and despite the homesickness, I would have rather lived in those cold lodgings on a North Sea dyke, a cross between Colditz and Hogwarts, than go back to Glasgow.
My brother Dave (the one with mental issues) lived in Pollockshields, and didn't help himself on one occasion when he emerged from a couple of hours in the pub to see an Orange Walk passing by. After observing the proceedings for a mere couple of minutes, he yelled "Yez ur a f*cking DISGRACE!!" earning himself a visit to the local casualty ward.

Malc - it sounds as if you had a pretty tough upbringing. Glad you turned out okay.

[Malc]

Here's my school during the war. It was a German U Boat base. The buildings behind this U Boat all became accommodation blocks at the girls school.


And here is where I lived as a teenager for four years, the trees now stand where the football field was (red shale - many a horrific scrape was obtained there). Those trees have all grown since my time, there was nothing there in 1974. On the right is the North Sea, looking benign in summer, but in winter it came up to the top of the path and sometimes lapped over. We were never evacuated.

[Malc]

I ended up removing the post I wrote before the U Boat one. On re-reading, it was so "sad" I p*ssed myself laughing - like the Four Yorkshiremen sketch.

[The Peepmaster]

I like the U-boat. We only had a Ford Cortina.

[Diane CBPFC]

Where you in Germany during the war? If so did they put the British kids to school on the U-boats hoping they would be bomed?

[Roger Kettle]

I rather wish the U-Boat had still been around when the school came into being. I reckon the swim team would have been unbeatable, having trained with torpedoes being fired up their a*ses.

[Mince]

Where you in Germany during the war? If so did they put the British kids to school on the U-boats hoping they would be bomed?

Why do I feel I'm watching Allo Allo?

[Malc]

Well, where do you think the Germans put their U Boats after the war? They were still there in my time (only 25 years after the hostilities).
They were scuttled, and it was a thrice-yearly occurrence, it seemed, to see huge marine cranes in the bay dragging them up, presumably to be refurbished for some museum or old for scrap.
You can't see any in those photographs, but there were a number of huge two-storey bunkers with concrete walls about ten feet thick on the school property. They were cold, creepy places and had large enough interiors to be used as shooting ranges for the cadets.

They also had underground passageways that led to secret docking points for mini subs, something the Germans were developing before the end of the war.

[Diane CBPFC]

Malc said: "Here's my school during the war. It was a German U Boat base."

Which is why I thought you may have been there during the war.

Silly me.

[The Peepmaster]

He was there in the 2nd World War, not the 1st, Diane! 

How old do you think Malc is?

[Bilthehut]

 

[Malc]

Just to clarify, I didn't fight in WWII, nor was I a schoolboy then (though my father was). My school was once a German U Boat base and after the war it became a school for the children of British servicemen and women (and some Americans).
It was founded in 1947, just a couple of years after the war ended and the kids who occupied the school then must have been a tough breed, they would have been living on rations and surrounded by a lot of very resentful Germans.
If you want clarification of my age here is a photo taken just yesterday. I'm on the right.

[Malc]

My son Ciaran is in the back row two along from me.

[Bog]

Nice picture Malc,

Why are you the only one with a coat on and wearing winklepickers?

Your son is a strapping lad you must be so proud.

Difficult to tell from here, there are 14 of them, it is footy isnt it? 

[Diane CBPFC]

Malc, not meaning to get too personal here - but in the photo are you farting?