Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

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canfactory
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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by canfactory »

>I have a vivid recollection of seeing the two window cleaners who operated in my street abandoning their ladders and running for their bicycles when it sounded one afternoon<

So do I Penny Tray and I think their names were Wullie McCourt and John (?) McFarlane. I'm sure they both lived in the St Andrews Road area.

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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Meg »

canfactory wrote:>I have a vivid recollection of seeing the two window cleaners who operated in my street abandoning their ladders and running for their bicycles when it sounded one afternoon<

So do I Penny Tray and I think their names were Wullie McCourt and John (?) McFarlane. I'm sure they both lived in the St Andrews Road area.

C.
You posted the same thing at the same time as me PT - but Canfactory - I remember the two window cleaners - and Mr McCourt lived at the bottom of St Andrew's Road - Dont know where Mr McFarlane lived. You're memory is really great C - obviously lived a much better life :lol:

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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Penny Tray »

Canfactory/Meg,

The window cleaners were indeed Mr. McCourt and Mr. McFarlane, and Mr. McCourt did live in St. Andrew's Road. I'm struggling to think where Mr. McFarlane lived. It was possibly St. Andrew's Road but I'm reluctant to confirm it.
Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.
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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Hughie »

Yes, it was Willie McCourt and Alex McFarlane. I was in the same retained firemen's' group - think there were eight of us in each of the two retained groups at Ardrossan Fire Station. We all had bells in our houses for call out to fires through the night, and listened for the siren throughout the day while at work. I left for Australia just as I was contemplating making a career in the fire service.
canfactory
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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by canfactory »

Thanks Hughie. It was Alex rather than John.

I think I'm getting mixed up with the names. I am sure he had three or four sons, the names John, Alex and David ring a bell. John was a painter & decorator, went on to work off-shore and then manage a pub in Saltcoats.

The McFarlane's lived almost at the top of St Andrew's Road, next door to the Coopers and a door or two down from Campbell and Martha Brown.

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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Meg »

Hughie wrote:listened for the siren throughout the day while at work.
Was that the air raid siren then Hughie - or was it the "all clear" siren?

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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Hughie »

No, Sorry, Meg. It was the siren at the Fire Station in Barr Street.
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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Hughie »

Hughie wrote: Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:31 pm Yes, it was Willie McCourt and Alex McFarlane. I was in the same retained firemen's' group - think there were eight of us in each of the two retained groups at Ardrossan Fire Station. We all had bells in our houses for call out to fires through the night, and listened for the siren throughout the day while at work. I left for Australia just as I was contemplating making a career in the fire service.
Just came across an image showing Willie on the left and Alex on the right it what would have been a monthly pump output test at the harbour. Wasn't an easy job holding those hoses when the pump was at full throttle.
http://www.workinglives.org.uk/show_ite ... tem_id=224
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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Bruce »

In Dalry, the siren was in the tower above the town hall in Aitken St. It was controlled from the fire station in James St, and was used to summon the volunteer/retained fire brigade. This was of course in the 70s, maybe into the 80s, and was before mobile phones and pagers - in fact before many people had phones in their houses.

Outside the fire station was a big “break glass” button to summon the fire brigade, which set off the siren. It was tested every Monday evening about 7, when the retained firefighters did their drill/training. We used to play nearby, and the firemaster (who I think had a house as part of the fire station) would sometimes let us press the button to test the siren.
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Re: Air raid siren testing in Ardrossan in the 1970's

Post by Jordanh1250 »

It’s still common practice in the ICI which I was reminded of today as it is tested the first Wednesday of each month, although it was accompanied by some strange banging sounds this time unless the banging came from another source.
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