DOES anyone remember a whale beaching at Cardross around the time of the Clydebank Blitz?
I was reading the archive section of a national newspaper where it was reported that 100 years ago a small whale had beached at Dunoon.
This reminded me of a wartime experience. I was aged six at the time of the blitz on Clydebank and our family was evacuated to relatives in Alexandria.
I was an asthmatic child and the dampness around the River Leven and our accommodation seemed to trigger the onset. Because of this I was sent to the children's convalescent home in Cardross.
As a wee boy I found the blitz all rather exciting, then one night in the early hours the matron and nurses ushered us all downstairs. This time it was different because it was the sound of steady gunfire.
On the shore at Cardross there was an army post, maybe a searchlight unit or boom defence.
The story was that a young whale had got through the Clyde submarine boom defence and beached itself. It was probably the easiest target the squaddies ever dealt with.
I wonder if this event is recorded or tweaks the memories of anyone?
Edward McLaughlin
59 Kelvin Street
Largs
