In December 1992, I began work as an Insurance Agent for Liverpool Victoria Insurance, based in Greenock. Most of my Customers were pensioners who had survived the Greenock Blitz of May 1941. Their accounts of the two nights of air raids were fascinating to me. So much so, I felt compelled to write them down in a notebook and develop them further each time I visited my customers, which was once a month. Looking back, my visits were quite comical. I would sit myself down and speedily take their premiums and mark-up my client Insurance book. Next, and with little regard for the client's mindset, I'd recap what they'd mentioned to me the month before and invite – no, implore them to elaborate further. Sometimes, they would virtually have to throw me out. Over time, I amassed quite a catalogue of personal accounts, so much so, I felt inspired to research this period of our history at the James Watt library, on Union Street. A few years later, I had my best friend Davie, use his position at a paper mill to print off 500 copies of an A4 paperback that I had written called, Greenock Revisited, (which became The Greenock Blitz, Then and Now). I also held an exhibition at Greenock's Central library. This edition of the book sold out quickly and an account of the exhibition made it into the Greenock Telegraph. It was inevitable then, that I went on to publish a more comprehensive version of the book which is now available on Amazon. Ironically, it outsells my novels and does particularly well with expats living in Australia, the US, and Canada, especially at Christmas time. Over the years, I have added in other fascinating facts about Scotland's involvement in the Second World War and just with many of the accounts I was able to document from survivors of the Greenock Blitz, I have included many Before and After photographs of the bomb sites. It was such a privilege to have been introduced to these Greenockians and I hope I did them proud, commemorating their testimonies in this fascinating historical book.