Greenock family find photos of relative killed in the Blitz

Campaigner John Davidson has laid wreaths at the cemetery in memory of Euphemia McVey, his great aunt.

She lost her life while visiting her mother-in-law on the other side of Belville Street, when the bomb shelter she ran to took a direct hit.

Talking about the night she was killed, John, of Finnart Street, said: "While she was there the sirens went off, and everything went black. Everyone flooded down the close, there was panic, with people everywhere. 

"She got turned away from one shelter and went to another. It was hit and everyone in there died.

"In the aftermath all the bodies went to the Wellpark Mid Kirk or the Town Hall. They were then buried in the cemetery, where a stone used to be with all their names.

"We used to visit it all the time as children, to keep her memory alive."

Euphemia was just 26 when she was killed on May 7 in 1941. She was married to Michael Cairns and worked in the Ropeworks. Her husband moved in with Euphemia's mum after her death and never remarried.

Today John is looking for the stone that was once in the cemetery with all the names of those men, women and children who were buried there following the Blitz.

John said: "I think the names of all those killed should be in the same place as where they are buried. That is not the case just now."

A professional photographer who has had his work displayed at exhibitions across the country, John was delighted when his relatives uncovered all the old photographs that included Euphemia.

He said: "Luckily our family has a tradition of studio photographers that will stand the test of time. 

"My aunt managed to find the photographs and it was lovely to see them.

"I think it is for the town to look after the legacy of those who were killed in the Blitz. It is part of our history."