OCTOBER 30, 2013: War veterans were left outraged after vandals destroyed a poignant memorial dedicated to Port Glasgow Blitz victims.

The plaque — mounted on a cairn in Woodhall Community Park in honour of 74 people who lost their lives during German bombing raids in 1941 — had been callously ripped off just a couple of weeks before a Remembrance Sunday service was due to be held in the park.

Local veterans dubbed the idiotic act as ‘mindless vandalism’ and believed those behind it should be ashamed of themselves.

Chris Folan, local secretary of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Association, told the Telegraph: “I’m totally appalled. I heard about it through meetings with veterans who come up to the memorial for respite and through people who are related to the people who died during the Blitz — they are all appalled by it.

(Image: Newsquest)

“We feel that if people knew exactly who the victims were and about what happened then hopefully it would stop them.”

Equally angry about the vandalism was local hero George Gray, who that year received a medal for his role in the dangerous wartime Arctic Convoy missions.

The destruction of the Blitz monument had left 87-year-old George particularly incensed – as he was lucky to survive the Blitz after his house was nearly wiped out by a landmine which exploded just 100 yards away.

George told the Tele: “The vandalism is a terrible thing. “The Blitz was a great tragedy, particularly in Woodhall.

“We were in our house in Thomas Muir Street in Greenock when they dropped a landmine.

“My stepfather didn’t have time to get us out the house so we hid under the bed and all the windows were blown in.

“This memorial is very important as it remembers those people who lost their lives during the horrors of war.”

The memorial had only been installed earlier that year in the new park, just off Parkhill Avenue.