During the World War 2 Tillicoultry
was used as an evacuation centre although the first evacuees, 135 children
and 20 adults arrived on 1st September 1939 before the outbreak of
war. At first most of the evacuees came from Edinburgh but as time
went on and the bombing grew worse in the west of Scotland many came
from Clydebank and Greenock. In 1944 children arrived from London.
From September 1939 communal
meals were served at lunch time in the West Church Hall (now turned
into sheltered housing) for the princely sum of 2/6 (12.5p) per person
for 7 meals.
Air raid shelters were built
throughout the town and first aid posts were equipped. The soldiers
arrived and Tillicoultry became something of a garrison town between
1939 and 1945. A detachment of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
arrived in 1939 and a Polish regiment was stationed in Middleton and
Oak Mills for much of the war. The Polish soldiers adaptd well to life
in Scotland and even organised concerts to entertain the towns people
in their spare time. The Polish Choir was well known for concerts in
Devonvale Hall from 1941 onwards.
Coal rationing began in October
1939 and food rationing in February 1940. People had to carry identification
cards and in 1941 there was clothes rationing .The local paper, the
Devon Valley Tribune began to print adverts places by the Ministry
of Food giving advice on how to make the best possible use of available
food.
Platoons 2 and 3 of "C"
Company Clackmannanshire Battalion Home Guard were formed in the summer
of 1940 by men from Tillicoultry and Coalsnaughton.
At the end of the war a "Welcome
Home Fund" was set up and celebratory functions were held in Devonvale
Hall in April and May 1946 at which over 500 men and women who had
returned from active service were presented with a wallet containing
a £5 note. Inscribed in the wallet was a verse by local Tillicoultry
poet, The Wanderer.
Hame again! We're gled tae see ye,
This last bit gift we proodly gie ye,
In future days whaurever ye be
'Twill aye be said
That Tilly's heart an' thanks went wi' ye,
Each lad or maid.
The next of kin of the 27
Tillicoultry men who did not return from the war also received a special
award.
Tillicoultry
War Memorial which is within Tillicoultry Cemetery, with individual
headstones surrounding it.
