Press Release
14th March 2001
Scottish Parliament Remembers Greenock's Blitz
The Scottish Parliament tonight paid tribute to the Clydeside communities who endured the terror of the Blitz.
Clydebank and Milngavie MSP, Des McNulty, tabled a private member's debate to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Clydebank Blitz. And MSP for Greenock & Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, took the opportunity to remember the two terrible nights in May 1941 when German bombs fell on Greenock.
Speaking in the debate, he said:
"The story of the Second World War is the story of a million individuals - a million ordinary men and women who were called upon to show courage and resolution in the face of adversity.
"What better time, on the 60th anniversary of the Clydebank Blitz, to pause and reflect on the horror endured by these communities - and on how much we owe them?"
Mr McNeil continued, saying that the Greenock of today should not only acknowledge the debt it owes to the wartime generation, but use their resilience as an inspiration to tackle the challenges which face the town now.
"Of course Greenock has changed in the past 6 decades.
"Our heavy industry has gone - replaced with high-tech manufacturing and the service sector. The shipbuilders are now chip-builders. Dockers now Data managers. We have gone from working on the Banks of the Clyde to banks on-line.
"Today's threat comes not from Hitler, but from heroin. Not from Global war, but Global competition.
"If we are to meet these challenges, rather than fall victim to them, we would do well to follow the example of those ordinary men and women of 60 years ago.
"The fact that they could hold their community together through the horror of the Blitz should be an inspiration - a testament to what the human spirit can achieve."
ENDS
Notes
Greenock's blitz began just after midnight on 6th May 1941, when 50 German planes scattered bombs indiscriminately over the town. Asides from a number of tenements being destroyed, damage and casualties were relatively light.
Bombing was more sever the following night.
Air Raid sirens sounded at 12:15am on 7th May, heralding the arrival of the first wave of bombers, which dropped incendiary bombs outside the perimeter of the town - creating a ring of fire around the target area.
The second wave concentrated on the East End and Centre of the town. One of the first buildings to take a hit was the Ingleston Street distillery - which then became a huge flaming beacon for the rest of the bombers.
A third wave of bombers flew in at around 2am. This time dropping parachute land-mines and heavy high explosives, causing widespread damage.
In total, between 250 and 300 German planes took part in the attack and by the time the "all clear" sounded at 3:30 am, most of the town was ablaze.
Locals emerged to see that both sugar refineries had been hit by land mines; Rankin and Blackmore's foundry was badly damaged; and several churches were left as shells. Out of 18,000 houses, 10,000 were damaged. Of these, 1000 were totally destroyed.
Surprisingly, however, the assumed main target - the shipyards - escaped relatively lightly. Only Lamont's dry dock and Scotts head office were hit.
Thankfully, the previous night's more sporadic attack had caused much of the population to move to outlying, rural areas. Nevertheless, those 2 nights still left 280 people dead and 1,200 injured.
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