The Clyde at War

The river Clyde and its estuary played a central part in both World War I and World War II. The major air base at Prestwick, the centre for commando training at Inveraray, the terminal point for Atlantic convoys at the Tail of the Bank and the Gare Loch, the major British military port of World War II, were all of vital significance to the Allied cause. On both banks of the river the ships that fed and protected Britain were launched – from the mighty warship Hood to the escort and convoy vessels which ferried supplies and men back and forth across the Atlantic. It was also the scene of human tragedy in the form of the Clydebank and Greenock blitzes. Told primarily through period photographs – including those taken by Luftwaffe reconnaissance missions – and with reference to a wide range of written sources, this book pictures a nation at war and the river which was its lifeline.