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Gaisgich Òga an Dàrna Cogaidh

Fifteen-year-old Calum doesn't care about the war. Together with his friend Paul he prefers to enjoy the freedom that the war also brings with it. His father is at the front, his mother is working, and his classes are frequently cancelled. The real war and its bombs seem to Calum to be a long way away from Clydebank. When his mother Fiona has to pick him up from the police station, they end up in a heated argument. Fiona wants to send Calum to his uncle in the country, so that he will finally learn that he can't go on the way he is going. Calum is furious and runs away. And then German bombers appear in the sky. Clydebank is attacked. Calum must get to his mother quickly... The absence of their fathers is the most formative thing that war children collectively remember from that time. Added to that was the latent fear of the bombers. The fourth episode is dedicated to these two topics. Emergency air raid drills were everyday events: heavy curtains were used to darken rooms at home; at school, the children practised using gas masks; families moved into cellars during air raids. On the night of March 13th, 1941, Clydebank was the target of a massive German bombardment. The entire city was destroyed, only seven houses were left standing. But the children and young people were not just victims. They actively helped, for example, as fire guard messengers and brought messages to and from the rescue workers or helped to dig out injured people from the rubble themselves.



Festival
Celtic Media Festival 2020
Title
Gaisgich Òga an Dàrna Cogaidh
Title in English
Kids of Courage
Entry Category
History
Produced By
LOOKSfilm
Producer
Gunnar Deido, Jim Webster
Directed By
Matthias Zirzow
Production Partners
MG ALBA, SWR, Toto Studio, Solus Productions Ltd
Writer
Matthias Zirzow, Ramona Bergmann, Mòrag Stiùbhart
Broadcaster
BBC ALBA