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On the 30th of April 1940, the Maillé Brézé, a French Navy destroyer, was struck by accident by one of its own torpedo while anchored at the Tail of the Bank off Greenock. The unfortunate accident costed the lives of 37 French sailors, the majority trapped in the mess hall. In Greenock, the explosion set the population into panic and the blast even shattered windows as far as St Columba's school, at that time on Peat Road. Children were evacuated to the hills while many gathered at the docks to tend to the wounded.Requiem Mass for the French victims was celebrated in St Mary's, Greenock. A French naval escort attended and accompanied the cortege to the cemetery in Greenock where the soldiers were temporarily buried, before being returned to France after the war.
Frances M. Dunlop, St Mary's Greenock - The Story of a Community (St Mary's Publishing, 2001), p. 119.
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In the summer 1940, when the German troops invaded France and took over the country in a matter of weeks, Fr Stephen McGill was still in Aix-en-Provence. As a citizen of the United Kingdom, he was in a dangerous position. He once recalled his story:Having decided to return if possible to Scotland, I sought the Superior - he had gone to see the Bishop. I changed into clerical suit, grabbed my breviary and a pair of socks (!) and dashed down to the bus station - the Superior caught up with me there and gave permission and a blessing. I then got the bus to Marseille and headed to the British Consulate.The Consulate was packed with worried Brits all anxious to get home. An official appeared behind a counter "Any chance of getting home?" I enquired. He didn't seem to like the looks of me - the Germans, it was rumoured, had been dropping paratroopers behind French lines disguised as clergymen (me a paratrooper!). "No chance at all" he replied and disappeared behind a door. I hung around while talking to people then decided I had better head back to Aix and the seminary.Going downstairs I met a woman struggling up to the Consulate with three young red-headed children and their baggage. Naturally, being the perfect gentleman (!) I helped the good mother and got her and children up to the Consulate and settled them in. Shortly after, another official appeared behind the counter - I thought to have another go. "Any chance to get home?" I asked. "Where's home? Have you a British passport?" "Glasgow" I replied and produced my passport. He looked at it, looked around to make sure there was nobody within earshot then sotto voce said: "Go down to quay 10 there's a boat leaving shortly, they may let you aboard."I thanked him, got a taxi down to Quay 10 and there was a freighter already overcrowded but with the gangway still in position. I produced my passport and was allowed aboard. Soon afterwards the boat sailed out of Marseille on the dangerous journey to Gibraltar. We hugged the coasts of France and Spain and eventually did arrive.A well famous authoress was on board the freighter and published an account of the trip. 'The Hell Ship' was the title of the book, but not in my book! For me the fact that I had been able to make the trip was yet another splendid proof that "For those who love God all things turn to their good".
Source: Bishop Stephen McGill - The Happy Bishop
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With the invasion of France by German troops and their rapid advance, many British soldiers got captured. It is estimated than nearly 200,000 of them were sent to Prisoners of War camps (Stalag were for enlisted troops while Oflag were for officers) throughout the war, located as far as Poland or Italy.Despite the harsh camps conditions and the work many had to endure (those below the rank of Sergeant were required to work), the Geneva Convention, which had been signed by the UK and Germany, granted each POW with the right to send correspondence and receive letters and parcels from relatives or the British Red Cross.Baptised in 1918 in St Mary's (Greenock), James O'Donnell, who served in the Seaforth Highlanders, was captured at Dunkirk. He spent the rest of the war in the Stalag XX-A, located in Torun, occupied Poland.
Courtesy of Monica Holmes. James (left)
James also received pictures from his family. The back of the picture below shows a purple stamp testifying that the German authorities had inspected and approved his picture.
Courtesy of Monica Holmes. Her grandmother on the left. On the right the German approval stamp.
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The Army, lacking space for their soldiers and HQs, requisitioned over 2,000 schools buildings in the UK.In Paisley, in the summer 1940, St Mirin's Academy (Renfrew Road) was requisitioned, dispersing the pupils and staff with the majority sent to St James's school. It was not until September 1944 that pupils and staff could return to their building! In Greenock, St Lawrence's school was taken over for the war effort by the Admiralty.Unfortunately, one in five schools was damaged by bombing during the war.
Picture in: History of St Mirin's Schools in Paisley (1865-2001) - Working Together (Glasgow: John McCormick & CO. LTD, 2001), p. 5.
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The width of The Catholic Directory is visibly reduced from 1939 to 1945. Shortages forced many to use cheaper, poor-quality paper.Introduced in January 1940, ration books provided every man, woman and child with coupons to purchase food items (sugar, meats, cheese, tinned goods, butter, tea...), but also clothing, petrol, soap, shoes, cars. Many would queue for hours only to find that the item they were looking for was out.Paper rationing forced thousands of newspapers to reduce their printings. Similarly, the Scottish Catholic Directory had to cut some of its own features. In December 1942, the Editor noted that "owing to the Paper Restriction Order [...] the Holiday Resorts, Postal Regulations and the Panegyrics of the Deceased Clergy"* had to be omitted. As a result, the 1943 edition contained 359 pages, compared to 408 before the war.*The Catholic Directory for the Clergy and Laity in Scotland 1943, ed. by John Breen (Glasgow: John S. Burns & Sons, 1942), p. xxxiii.Mgr Thomas Monaghan recalls: " Into that world of war, my twin and I were born in late February of 1944—war babies. [...] In those early years, I recall toddling over to the sideboard where the butter and sugar were kept—both rationed since the eighth of January, 1940. I'd dip a knob of butter into the sugar and eat it with delighted solemnity. My mother never stopped me. “It’ll help him grow,” she’d say, watching with a weary affection. In the face of wartime shortages and blackouts, there was still sweetness to be found, if only in small, glimmering acts of kindness." The end of the war did not stop the rationing. It ended completely in 1954.
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