What's For Ye, Won't Go By Ye

The story follows the life of two generations of the MacGregor family through the eyes of Linda, Douglas MacGregor’s daughter.

Beginning in the Possilpark area of Glasgow in 1950 when Linda is two years old, the novel traces the familys struggles though the first part of 20th Century. From the hardships of the 1930s and love story between her parents, Douglas and Margie, throughthe terrifying war years of the 1940's.

World War II seriously affected many soldiers and their families.

Men sometimes sacrificed up to 6 years of their lives defending the UK from Nazi oppression.
Some were killed in action, others spent the rest of their lives hospitalised, and the "lucky ones" were left with their nightmare memories.

Douglas Macgregor was one of the "lucky ones," He never spoke about his horrific war experiences. Instead he turned to drinking to erase the pain then took his torment out on the ones he loved most—his family."

What's For Ye, Won't Go By Ye tells how families at home survived in spite of the constant fear of German air bombing raids. It covers the peaceful post-war 1950's. It reflects on the on-going Glasgow conflicts concerning Protestant/Catholic and Rangers/Celtic. It ventures into the magical 1960's: The Glasgow sense of humour shines through in this story, along with the emotion of the times.

What's For Ye, Won't Go By Ye is not just a novel, but a trip into the hearts and minds of our parents and grandparents into their personal demons, courage, and triumphs. It also takes into account Douglas MacGregor's experiences when he was based in army barracks in Surrey, operating anti-aircraft guns on the White Cliffs of Dover and abroad during the Second World War.

Sample pages from 'What's for Ye Won't Go By Ye'. First in the series of my three fiction novels about Linda MacGregor.....


The year is 1950. The place is a council house in a tenement in the Possilpark area of Glasgow. Like so many families during and after the War, they are all living in cramped conditions. Due to the men all being away from home fighting in World War II, the wives have been left to bring up the ‘we’ans’ and fend for themselves. Some young married women carried on living in either single-ends (one room in a tenement),one room and kitchen, or, if they were really lucky, two rooms and a kitchen. Most had an outside toilet on the staircase that had to be shared with at least three other families. Other young married women opted to move back with their mothers, meaning that, when the men finally came home, you could find two or three daughters, plus husbands and kids, all squashed into a three bedroom council flat. At least they had the luxury of a large bathroom with a big cast iron bath and hot and cold running water. The men had been away in far away places such as Egypt, Germany, France, Palestine, Iraq and Japan, fighting for world peace for at least six years. Therefore, these young married couples never had the chance to start building their nests together. This was the case for the parents of two-year-old Linda MacGregor.

Douglas and Margie met in 1939 when she was 18 and he was 19. Unbeknownst to her, he had spotted her with her friends many times over a few months, but she didn’t seem to notice him. When he was on late shift, he would deliberately walk the long way round to his home in Ruchill from his job in the flourmill, in the hope of seeing her again. He felt his heart fluttering every time he caught sight of this young, beautiful Judy Garland look-a-like.

Three months previously, he had had a nasty accident at the mill where he worked, his hand being drawn into the cutting machine. The noise of the machinery drowned out his screams for help. Just in time, one of his colleagues came to the rescue and quickly switched the machine off, though it was too late to save Douglas’ right index finger.

Douglas looked upon that as a lucky escape. Had it not been for the quick thinking of his workmate, his whole arm could have been torn off or, worse still, he could have been killed. He was 5ft 8ins tall, dark and very handsome. Margie was blonde, fair skinned, very pretty, bubbly and petite, insisting that she was 5ft and a half inches tall, but others would have argued that she was more like 4ft 11ins. One evening, they practically bumped into each other. She was blethering away and giggling with three other girlfriends as they excitedly exchanged stories about the latest heartthrob in the cinema.

‘S-S-S-Sorry’, she mumbled bashfully, as she noticed this good-looking young man for the first time. She felt her heart thumping as he smiled at her. She carried on walking but, as she glanced back, he was still standing there, smiling shyly at her. She didn’t know why or where she got the courage from, but she turned and went back, asking him why his hand was bandaged.

‘Oh! It’s only a wee cut’, said Douglas, scared that the thought of his wounds might put her off him. He was delighted, he finally got to talk to this girl that he had been admiring from afar for at least three months.

This was the start of a wonderful, happy romance......

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