News

Another great IoM wartime story

…We left next morning also for Liverpool but our ship was a much smaller one. It was the ferry to the Isle of Man. Very few of us even knew that there was an island in the Irish Sea and all sorts of rumours arose about our destination before we actually docked at Douglas on the Isle of Man. Armed guards escorted us with fixed bayonets to a square in the centre of Douglas. A double row of barbed wire had been erected around three streets. There were twelve houses each facing the lawned green square and the third row of houses backed on to one of the rows facing the square. All the houses were identical and were typical Edwardian houses built as boarding houses for the summer visitors. All rooms had double beds and with very little other furniture. The kitchens were basically equipped and there was a through downstairs drawing / dining room. There were no black out curtains provided but all the glass in the windows had been painted dark blue and the electric light bulbs were bare but painted a shade of orange. This was so no bright light could be seen from the air. …From the Daily Telegraph. Click for the whole story.