Kilbowie St Andrew’s Open Day
by Patricia Laws
It was my great privilege to visit Kilbowie St Andrewʼs Church at the “tap oʼ the hill” during the Heritage Festival.
I had passed the church zillions of times but never visited.
It miraculously survived the 1941 Blitz, despite being in the epicentre of the bombing.
The congregation made it their “collective duty to remember their communityʼs loss” and in 1997 set up a Blitz Memorial Chapel so “the memory of those who perished should never be erased.”
Church volunteers welcomed me warmly and suggested I peruse the Blitz dedications on my own: stark white posters with quotes in black from Blitz survivors are hung on the left, together with poignant photos of devastating destruction.
Moving further down the aisle, the Blitz Chapel is off to the left.
A memorial stained-glass window and tapestry by artist Eilidh Keith are central to this chapel of remembrance and reflection, as is a triptych ʻMapʼ by local artist, Tom McKendrick: a moving series pinpointing the vast scale of the bombardment of Clydebank.
Tom has dedicated much of his artistic life to the Clydebank Blitz paying tribute to lost lives, the indomitable spirit of the Bankies and ensuring they are never forgotten.
His work also features prominently in Clydebank Museum as a testament to their horrific plight and their endurance.
Also, in the Blitz Chapel are photos and memorabilia: including newspaper articles and a beautiful calligraphy album detailing street names and names of those who perished in the town.
Finally, I spoke with former Dalmuir teacher, Mrs Margaret Mc Dougall, née Muirhead, who lived not far from the Church during WW2.
Her tenement flats were bombed and she was buried with her family, who remained trapped under the floor.
Margaret paid tribute to her Mum for keeping her and her baby sister safe in such turmoil, with war literally raging round them.
Margaret left Clydebank and spent about a year near Strathaven…although she shrugs off both the ordeal of being buried under rubble and leaving their home: “We just did it….”
I could have talked to Margaret all day…
The volunteers urged me to try the delicious home baking prepared by their members and of course I took one for the team!
I feel I need to return…