Appeal to ease plight of Belgian refugee children

An appeal was made on behalf of Belgian refugees living in Stirling.

There were 33 people who had fled the ravages of the war in the Low Countries and were staying in a house known as Ochilview.

They comprised one man, 14 women and 18 children.

Margaret Murray, of The Shieling, Stirling, said some of the children were very young and there was a need for cribs, blankets, mattresses and high chairs.

Tools that could be used by the refugees to keep the Ochilview garden in good order were also required.

A depot where donations of clothing for the refugees could be left had been established at 25 Port Street, Stirling.

Mrs Murray said “kind friends” had donated 3000 garments but most had arrived in the days before the refugees arrived in Stirling.

They were therefore sent to Glasgow for distribution but any garments donated from then on would be for the use of the refugees in Stirling, she added.

There was an urgent need for children’s boots, shoes and stockings. As a result of the last appeal two sewing machines, two mowers and many parcels of boy’s clothing were handed over.

The Observer said there were 10,000 Belgian refugees in Scotland. They were mainly women and children and “all of them had suffered terrible hardship because of the war”.

Stirling Burgh School Board chairman William Brown said they had agreed that children would make a collection with money raised going to the Stirling refugees.

A similar exercise had been carried out in Glasgow, Greenock and Perth and £2000 had been raised.

Children aged over nine would be given a collection card which they could use to accept donations. The collection was to take place over a weekend.