One woman fainted on the doorstep when I gave her the telegram
Harry recalls his time as WWII delivery boy
NIKI TENNANT
A 90-year-old Rutherglen man and former World War II telegram boy has recalled memories of life in wartime Glasgow to mark Friday’s 75th anniversary of VE Day.
Maryhill-born Harry Burns, who lives in the Royal Burgh, returned to his home city from the safety of evacuee life in Aberdeenshire in 1944, aged 14.
Within days he started work, delivering telegrams to families in Glasgow’s West End.
Assigned to the main post office in Glasgow, he had to quickly master navigating the big city with the heavy responsibility of delivering such lifechanging personal messages.
“I knew two or three streets – a couple where I lived and Sauchiehall Street, that was it,” said Harry.
“I started delivering around Byres Road and moved into Maryhill. There was a man at the post office who gave you the runs. He was great fun. He used to direct us to each address by telling us which pubs to look out for. When the war was winding up we were getting a lot of Ministry of Defence telegrams.
“A normal telegram envelope was about three inches by two inches, but the MOD ones were a fair bit bigger with a blue band and ‘priority’ written on them. Some messages were good news, some were bad.
“I remember delivering to a mother in a tenement. I knocked, she came to the door and when she opened the telegram she fainted.
“I ran round the doors to get people to help. After that I developed a system where instead of knocking the right door first, I’d knock on doors nearby to tell them there was a telegram and they may be needed.”
Harry’s experiences as an evacuee in the earlier war years were a stark contrast to life in Glasgow.
In 1939, he and one of his brothers and sister were sent live on a farm in to Strathdon, Aberdeenshire.
Shielded from the dangers of war, life under German attack was brought into jarring reality for Harry and his siblings when they briefly returned to Maryhill in 1941, just days before the Clydebank blitz. Aged 16 as the war drew to an end, the father-of-three fondly recalls the joyous atmosphere on VE Day in Glasgow, May 8 1945.
He said: “George Square was just a mass of people. There was dancing everywhere.”
Harry moved into an electrician apprenticeship before he was called up for national service with the RAF.
A National Service veteran supported by Scottish War Blinded, Harry is determined to keep his independence despite his sight loss.
The charity’s staff are supporting members via telephone and email during the coronavirus pandemic, ensuring all have help in place and keeping spirits high with phone calls.
Scottish War Blinded gives free support to former servicemen and women of all ages, no matter if they lost their sight during or after service, including National Service.
For more information call 0800 035 6409 or go to www. scottishwarblinded.org.