Strugglepedia - User contributions [en]

Ian Heavens

2022-09-08T17:38:41Z

Annarky:

'''Ian Heavens, 1957-2000, Spunk Co-founder'''

'''Ian Heavens: Revolutionary'''

Many remember how sincere, genuine and giving Ian was. As well as bringing joy to those around him Ian had a vision of a fairer world. He believed the anarchist movement could bring about a better world. In 1993, with his skills and access to the internet, he found his opportunity to give anarchism a boost in cyber space. Spunk was born. Along with others from around the world, that he knew from an email list, he devoted much time and energy to building the Spunk internet archive. He also gave workshops about the then new internet to other activists.

Many wanted to stifle the internet as a vibrant exchange of ideas. Ian was a casualty of the attack on the new-found freedoms to promote revolution electronically. After being smeared by the Sunday Times Ian decided to keep a "low profile" as far as openly revolutionary activity was concerned. Ian played a central role in the Mutiny Collective, which puts on fundraising gigs for the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh. He enthusiastically did the one hundred and one things needed to ensure a successful gig. Not to mention often playing with Bloco Vomit at an ACE gig!

Not only were the Mutiny gigs crucial for raising money, they were vital and exciting events in their own right. Always concerned to break down musical and cultural barriers, Ian helped organise gigs which brought together punks and poets, music from the eclectically experimental to traditional folk, information stalls and wild pogoing..... at ACE and Spunk we will always remember him.

Text produced by: [http://http://www.autonomous.org.uk/ ACE]

Posted by John Couzin

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website.]

[https://spiritofrvolt.info Spirit of Revolt website.]

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T16:29:38Z

Annarky:

''' Thomas Muir, 1765–1799'''

== Early Life ==

Thomas Muir was born on his grand-father's farm, Hastie's farm in Milton of Campsie, later his family moved to a large house in Huntershill, near Bishopbriggs, a district just to the north of Glasgow. The house still stands surrounded by its gardens and trees. Thomas was born into a wealthy home. He studied law at Glasgow University but left on a point of honour in 1780 and completed his studies at Edinburgh University eventually having a law practice in Glasgow. He was however drawn to the reform movements that had developed all over Scotland. The reform movements had gathered momentum as the French revolution in 1789 inspired support for parliamentary reform all over Britain. Thomas Muir had connections with numerous reform societies throughout Scotland; in 1792 with William Skirving he helped to set up Scottish Reform Clubs, the membership open to every class. He wrote many pamphlets and spoke at a considerable number of meetings. He was an open and ardent supporter of radical political reform at a time when the authorities were becoming ever more nervous due to the events in France.

== Arrest and Banishment ==

One year later, after presenting a nationalistic address to the Scottish Reform Movement General Convention, on behalf of United Irishmen. Thomas Muir was arrested and charged with sedition. His trial date, which took place in Edinburgh, was brought forward by several months while he was visiting France. Unable to get travelling arrangements in time, his non attendance made him an outlaw. He was found guilty of, '...having created disaffection by means of seditious speeches'. He returned to Scotland in August 1793 and was sentenced to be banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. However, George Washington heard of his sentence and sent the USS Otter to rescue him and take him to the new Republic of America. His escape was made good in 1796, however the USS Otter, on its way home was wrecked off Panama. Thomas Muir was then arrested by the Spanish and taken to Havana where he was deemed to be a spy and shipped back to Spain. On the way back to Spain they encountered three British ships and a battle ensued in which Thomas Muir lost an eye. The Spanish released him in 1797 whereupon he made his way to France. He was made a French citizen and died at Chantilly in 1799.

== The French Connection ==

Here is the account from the primary newspaper of the French Revolution the Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797 of his escape and his arrival in France in 1797.

The celebrated Scot Thomas Muir, escaped from a thousand dangers is on the point of arriving in Paris. His transportation belongs to the history of revolutions; his courage in the face of adversity must serve as an example to the converts of philosophy and the happy issue of all his misfortunes must encourage all the martyrs of liberty. The Scots have never forgotten their ancient independence, the massacre of their ancestors, the tragic death of their last Queen, the expulsion of the Stuarts from the throne of Great Britain: these memories, the consciousness of their want, the shocking contrast of English luxury, perhaps finally the example of our revolution, were the causes of the revolutionary movements which appeared in Scotland in 1792, in which Thomas Muir played one of the premier roles. The secret committees which had been formed throughout the whole of Scotland unmasked themselves all at once. They sent delegates to Edinburgh who met together in a national convention with the avowed goal of obtaining parliamentary reform. Thomas Muir, enlightened thinker and impassioned orator was a member of this convention and left his mark on it. The British government deeply alarmed by the sudden meeting of this assembly, at once dispersed it. Many members were arrested and brought to trial in 1794, some of them, amongst others one named Jackson, were condemned to death; Thomas Muir and three others were deported to Botany Bay.

The uprising in Scotland gave great hopes to our revolutionary government; the hopes evaporated; but the republicans of France, who saw in the Edinburgh convention only the friends of liberty, interested themselves deeply in their fate. When the old committee of public safety learnt of the deportation of Muir and many of his companions, it sent out several frigates to rescue them, but they did not succeed and these unfortunates were left on the desolate shore of New Holland [Australia] Botany Bay: the vast tomb where the British government indiscriminately heaps together the most vile scoundrels and brave thinkers against whom it has taken umbrage. It was there that Thomas Muir, treated as a criminal for having wanted the liberty of his native land, was to end hisdays, but one often says and I repeat with a sort of devout credulity: a benevolent spirit watches over the friends of man and the destiny of free peoples. Such a guardian angel took an interest in our unfortunate philanthropist, an American boat landed in this place of despair. Thomas Muir was received on board and conducted to the North West coast of America, but there he met new dangers, an English warship left Botany Bay several days before the American, and anchored in the same waters. Muir was in danger of being discovered and recaptured. To escape his persecutors once more, he resolved to traverse the continent of America: a terrifying enterprise, for which he needed the courage of a hero and the resignation of a sage. Happily the Captain of a Spanish schooner which he found in the harbour of Nootka gave him passage to Saint Blas, at the mouth of the gulf of California. As soon as he arrived Muir wrote to the viceroy of Mexico asking for hospitality in the name of the Republic of France, friends of the King of Spain. His request was favourably accepted and he was permitted to cross Mexican territory. He arrived next at Havana. The governor of this colony, without giving reasons, treated the stranger as a prisoner of war. Captive for four months, Muir suffered the most horrible treatment. Such are the most part of the petty despots who govern the colonies of great powers, they demonstrate their authority on defenceless individuals and think that the arbitrary power they exercise makes them equal to their masters. Finally, Thomas Muir was put on board a frigate to be taken to Spain, but this wasn't the end of his misfortunes. When the frigate was about to enter Cadiz it was attacked by part of Jervis's squadron who were blockading the port. The English had been informed that Thomas Muir was on board this ship and they wanted to put an end to the escape of this famous republican. This made them very eager for combat. The Spaniards defended themselves bravely. Muir saw the captivity awaiting him and preferred death. He armed himself, he fought, he hurled himself into the midst of danger. He had the courage of despair. He was wounded in the face and fell bathed in his own blood. The frigate was forced to surrender to the English. Muir became the principal object of their search. The English were told that he had been killed in combat and thrown in the sea. He lay for six days in their custody without being recognised - due to the disfigurement of his wound. Finally persuaded that he was no more, the English returned him to shore with the other prisoners. Transported to the hospital at Cadiz, Muir was recognised by a Frenchman. The consul of the republic hurried at once to see him and to offer him his condolences, help and testimony of his high regard. Muir addressed to the Directory the tale of his adventures and solemnly declared that he adopted the Republic of France as his native land. He received a very favourable response from the government, which was all that he could desire. Since then he has considered himself our fellow-citizen, free in the universe. He waits only for his recovery to come to France. Translated by L. Yeoman from Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797

== Orator: The Trial Speech ==

The three hour speech that Thomas Muir made at his trial in Edinburgh was considered such a wonderful piece of English that it was published as an English text to be used in English exams in schools of some States in America until 1860. The following is a short extract from that speech.

"This is now perhaps the last time that I shall address my country. I have explored the tenor of my past life. Nothing shall tear me from the record of my departed days. The enemies of reform have scrutinised, in a manner hitherto unexampled in Scotland, every action I may have performed, every word I may have uttered. Of crimes, most foul and horrible, have I been accused: of attempting to rear the standards of civil war; to plunge this land in blood, and to cover it with desolation. At every step, as the evidence of the crown advanced, my innocence has brightened. So far from inflaming the minds of men to sedition and outrage, all the witnesses have concurred, that my only anxiety was, to impress upon them the necessity of peace, of good order, and of good morals. What then has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy of Mr. Paine´s works; not the giving away to another a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be, according to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the house of the people; for having dared to attempt to accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to the effusion of their blood. From my infancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the cause of the people. It is a good cause. It will ultimately prevail. It will finally triumph. Say then openly, in your verdict, if you do condemn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for my attachment to this cause alone, and not for those vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment, intended only to colour and disguise the real motives of my accusation. The time will come, when men must stand or fall by their actions; when all human pageantry shall cease; when the hearts of all shall be laid open to view. If you regard your most important interests; if you wish that your consciences should whisper to you words of consolation, rather than speak to you in the terrible language of remorse, weigh well the verdict you are about to pronounce. As for me, I am careless and indifferent to my fate. I can look danger, and I can look death in the face; for I am shielded by the consciousness of my own rectitude. I may be condemned to languish in the recesses of a dungeon. I may be doomed to ascend the scaffold. Nothing can deprive me of the recollection of the past; nothing can destroy my inward peace of mind, arising from the remembrance of having discharged my duty."

In 1844 a monument was erected to him in Edinburgh.

== The Burns Connection ==

It is generally believed that it was the 1792 trails of the "Scottish Martyrs" Muir, Skirving, Palmer, Margarot, Gerrald that influenced Burns to pen "Scots Wha Hae" in 1793.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgowblog.blogspot.com Radical Glasgow Blog]

[https://spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt Archive.]

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T16:21:50Z

Annarky:

''' Thomas Muir, 1765–1799'''

== Early Life ==

Thomas Muir was born on his grand-father's farm, Hastie's farm in Milton of Campsie, later his family moved to a large house in Huntershill, near Bishopbriggs, a district just to the north of Glasgow. The house still stands surrounded by its gardens and trees. Thomas was born into a wealthy home. He studied law at Glasgow University but left on a point of honour in 1780 and completed his studies at Edinburgh University eventually having a law practice in Glasgow. He was however drawn to the reform movements that had developed all over Scotland. The reform movements had gathered momentum as the French revolution in 1789 inspired support for parliamentary reform all over Britain. Thomas Muir had connections with numerous reform societies throughout Scotland; in 1792 with William Skirving he helped to set up Scottish Reform Clubs, the membership open to every class. He wrote many pamphlets and spoke at a considerable number of meetings. He was an open and ardent supporter of radical political reform at a time when the authorities were becoming ever more nervous due to the events in France.

== Arrest and Banishment ==

One year later, after presenting a nationalistic address to the Scottish Reform Movement General Convention, on behalf of United Irishmen. Thomas Muir was arrested and charged with sedition. His trial date, which took place in Edinburgh, was brought forward by several months while he was visiting France. Unable to get travelling arrangements in time, his non attendance made him an outlaw. He was found guilty of, '...having created disaffection by means of seditious speeches'. He returned to Scotland in August 1793 and was sentenced to be banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. However, George Washington heard of his sentence and sent the USS Otter to rescue him and take him to the new Republic of America. His escape was made good in 1796, however the USS Otter, on its way home was wrecked off Panama. Thomas Muir was then arrested by the Spanish and taken to Havana where he was deemed to be a spy and shipped back to Spain. On the way back to Spain they encountered three British ships and a battle ensued in which Thomas Muir lost an eye. The Spanish released him in 1797 whereupon he made his way to France. He was made a French citizen and died at Chantilly in 1799.

== The French Connection ==

Here is the account from the primary newspaper of the French Revolution the Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797 of his escape and his arrival in France in 1797.

The celebrated Scot Thomas Muir, escaped from a thousand dangers is on the point of arriving in Paris. His transportation belongs to the history of revolutions; his courage in the face of adversity must serve as an example to the converts of philosophy and the happy issue of all his misfortunes must encourage all the martyrs of liberty. The Scots have never forgotten their ancient independence, the massacre of their ancestors, the tragic death of their last Queen, the expulsion of the Stuarts from the throne of Great Britain: these memories, the consciousness of their want, the shocking contrast of English luxury, perhaps finally the example of our revolution, were the causes of the revolutionary movements which appeared in Scotland in 1792, in which Thomas Muir played one of the premier roles. The secret committees which had been formed throughout the whole of Scotland unmasked themselves all at once. They sent delegates to Edinburgh who met together in a national convention with the avowed goal of obtaining parliamentary reform. Thomas Muir, enlightened thinker and impassioned orator was a member of this convention and left his mark on it. The British government deeply alarmed by the sudden meeting of this assembly, at once dispersed it. Many members were arrested and brought to trial in 1794, some of them, amongst others one named Jackson, were condemned to death; Thomas Muir and three others were deported to Botany Bay.

The uprising in Scotland gave great hopes to our revolutionary government; the hopes evaporated; but the republicans of France, who saw in the Edinburgh convention only the friends of liberty, interested themselves deeply in their fate. When the old committee of public safety learnt of the deportation of Muir and many of his companions, it sent out several frigates to rescue them, but they did not succeed and these unfortunates were left on the desolate shore of New Holland [Australia] Botany Bay: the vast tomb where the British government indiscriminately heaps together the most vile scoundrels and brave thinkers against whom it has taken umbrage. It was there that Thomas Muir, treated as a criminal for having wanted the liberty of his native land, was to end hisdays, but one often says and I repeat with a sort of devout credulity: a benevolent spirit watches over the friends of man and the destiny of free peoples. Such a guardian angel took an interest in our unfortunate philanthropist, an American boat landed in this place of despair. Thomas Muir was received on board and conducted to the North West coast of America, but there he met new dangers, an English warship left Botany Bay several days before the American, and anchored in the same waters. Muir was in danger of being discovered and recaptured. To escape his persecutors once more, he resolved to traverse the continent of America: a terrifying enterprise, for which he needed the courage of a hero and the resignation of a sage. Happily the Captain of a Spanish schooner which he found in the harbour of Nootka gave him passage to Saint Blas, at the mouth of the gulf of California. As soon as he arrived Muir wrote to the viceroy of Mexico asking for hospitality in the name of the Republic of France, friends of the King of Spain. His request was favourably accepted and he was permitted to cross Mexican territory. He arrived next at Havana. The governor of this colony, without giving reasons, treated the stranger as a prisoner of war. Captive for four months, Muir suffered the most horrible treatment. Such are the most part of the petty despots who govern the colonies of great powers, they demonstrate their authority on defenceless individuals and think that the arbitrary power they exercise makes them equal to their masters. Finally, Thomas Muir was put on board a frigate to be taken to Spain, but this wasn't the end of his misfortunes. When the frigate was about to enter Cadiz it was attacked by part of Jervis's squadron who were blockading the port. The English had been informed that Thomas Muir was on board this ship and they wanted to put an end to the escape of this famous republican. This made them very eager for combat. The Spaniards defended themselves bravely. Muir saw the captivity awaiting him and preferred death. He armed himself, he fought, he hurled himself into the midst of danger. He had the courage of despair. He was wounded in the face and fell bathed in his own blood. The frigate was forced to surrender to the English. Muir became the principal object of their search. The English were told that he had been killed in combat and thrown in the sea. He lay for six days in their custody without being recognised - due to the disfigurement of his wound. Finally persuaded that he was no more, the English returned him to shore with the other prisoners. Transported to the hospital at Cadiz, Muir was recognised by a Frenchman. The consul of the republic hurried at once to see him and to offer him his condolences, help and testimony of his high regard. Muir addressed to the Directory the tale of his adventures and solemnly declared that he adopted the Republic of France as his native land. He received a very favourable response from the government, which was all that he could desire. Since then he has considered himself our fellow-citizen, free in the universe. He waits only for his recovery to come to France. Translated by L. Yeoman from Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797

== Orator: The Trial Speech ==

The three hour speech that Thomas Muir made at his trial in Edinburgh was considered such a wonderful piece of English that it was published as an English text to be used in English exams in schools of some States in America until 1860. The following is a short extract from that speech.

"This is now perhaps the last time that I shall address my country. I have explored the tenor of my past life. Nothing shall tear me from the record of my departed days. The enemies of reform have scrutinised, in a manner hitherto unexampled in Scotland, every action I may have performed, every word I may have uttered. Of crimes, most foul and horrible, have I been accused: of attempting to rear the standards of civil war; to plunge this land in blood, and to cover it with desolation. At every step, as the evidence of the crown advanced, my innocence has brightened. So far from inflaming the minds of men to sedition and outrage, all the witnesses have concurred, that my only anxiety was, to impress upon them the necessity of peace, of good order, and of good morals. What then has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy of Mr. Paine´s works; not the giving away to another a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be, according to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the house of the people; for having dared to attempt to accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to the effusion of their blood. From my infancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the cause of the people. It is a good cause. It will ultimately prevail. It will finally triumph. Say then openly, in your verdict, if you do condemn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for my attachment to this cause alone, and not for those vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment, intended only to colour and disguise the real motives of my accusation. The time will come, when men must stand or fall by their actions; when all human pageantry shall cease; when the hearts of all shall be laid open to view. If you regard your most important interests; if you wish that your consciences should whisper to you words of consolation, rather than speak to you in the terrible language of remorse, weigh well the verdict you are about to pronounce. As for me, I am careless and indifferent to my fate. I can look danger, and I can look death in the face; for I am shielded by the consciousness of my own rectitude. I may be condemned to languish in the recesses of a dungeon. I may be doomed to ascend the scaffold. Nothing can deprive me of the recollection of the past; nothing can destroy my inward peace of mind, arising from the remembrance of having discharged my duty."

In 1844 a monument was erected to him in Edinburgh.

== The Burns Connection ==

It is generally believed that it was the 1792 trails of the "Scottish Martyrs" Muir, Skirving, Palmer, Margarot, Gerrald that influenced Burns to pen "Scots Wha Hae" in 1793.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]
[
[Radicalglasgowblog.] https://radicalglasgowblg.blogspot.com

[Spirit of Revolt Archive.]https://spiritofrevolt.info

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T16:18:16Z

Annarky:

''' Thomas Muir, 1765–1799'''

== Early Life ==

Thomas Muir was born on his grand-father's farm, Hastie's farm in Milton of Campsie, later his family moved to a large house in Huntershill, near Bishopbriggs, a district just to the north of Glasgow. The house still stands surrounded by its gardens and trees. Thomas was born into a wealthy home. He studied law at Glasgow University but left on a point of honour in 1780 and completed his studies at Edinburgh University eventually having a law practice in Glasgow. He was however drawn to the reform movements that had developed all over Scotland. The reform movements had gathered momentum as the French revolution in 1789 inspired support for parliamentary reform all over Britain. Thomas Muir had connections with numerous reform societies throughout Scotland; in 1792 with William Skirving he helped to set up Scottish Reform Clubs, the membership open to every class. He wrote many pamphlets and spoke at a considerable number of meetings. He was an open and ardent supporter of radical political reform at a time when the authorities were becoming ever more nervous due to the events in France.

== Arrest and Banishment ==

One year later, after presenting a nationalistic address to the Scottish Reform Movement General Convention, on behalf of United Irishmen. Thomas Muir was arrested and charged with sedition. His trial date, which took place in Edinburgh, was brought forward by several months while he was visiting France. Unable to get travelling arrangements in time, his non attendance made him an outlaw. He was found guilty of, '...having created disaffection by means of seditious speeches'. He returned to Scotland in August 1793 and was sentenced to be banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. However, George Washington heard of his sentence and sent the USS Otter to rescue him and take him to the new Republic of America. His escape was made good in 1796, however the USS Otter, on its way home was wrecked off Panama. Thomas Muir was then arrested by the Spanish and taken to Havana where he was deemed to be a spy and shipped back to Spain. On the way back to Spain they encountered three British ships and a battle ensued in which Thomas Muir lost an eye. The Spanish released him in 1797 whereupon he made his way to France. He was made a French citizen and died at Chantilly in 1799.

== The French Connection ==

Here is the account from the primary newspaper of the French Revolution the Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797 of his escape and his arrival in France in 1797.

The celebrated Scot Thomas Muir, escaped from a thousand dangers is on the point of arriving in Paris. His transportation belongs to the history of revolutions; his courage in the face of adversity must serve as an example to the converts of philosophy and the happy issue of all his misfortunes must encourage all the martyrs of liberty. The Scots have never forgotten their ancient independence, the massacre of their ancestors, the tragic death of their last Queen, the expulsion of the Stuarts from the throne of Great Britain: these memories, the consciousness of their want, the shocking contrast of English luxury, perhaps finally the example of our revolution, were the causes of the revolutionary movements which appeared in Scotland in 1792, in which Thomas Muir played one of the premier roles. The secret committees which had been formed throughout the whole of Scotland unmasked themselves all at once. They sent delegates to Edinburgh who met together in a national convention with the avowed goal of obtaining parliamentary reform. Thomas Muir, enlightened thinker and impassioned orator was a member of this convention and left his mark on it. The British government deeply alarmed by the sudden meeting of this assembly, at once dispersed it. Many members were arrested and brought to trial in 1794, some of them, amongst others one named Jackson, were condemned to death; Thomas Muir and three others were deported to Botany Bay.

The uprising in Scotland gave great hopes to our revolutionary government; the hopes evaporated; but the republicans of France, who saw in the Edinburgh convention only the friends of liberty, interested themselves deeply in their fate. When the old committee of public safety learnt of the deportation of Muir and many of his companions, it sent out several frigates to rescue them, but they did not succeed and these unfortunates were left on the desolate shore of New Holland [Australia] Botany Bay: the vast tomb where the British government indiscriminately heaps together the most vile scoundrels and brave thinkers against whom it has taken umbrage. It was there that Thomas Muir, treated as a criminal for having wanted the liberty of his native land, was to end hisdays, but one often says and I repeat with a sort of devout credulity: a benevolent spirit watches over the friends of man and the destiny of free peoples. Such a guardian angel took an interest in our unfortunate philanthropist, an American boat landed in this place of despair. Thomas Muir was received on board and conducted to the North West coast of America, but there he met new dangers, an English warship left Botany Bay several days before the American, and anchored in the same waters. Muir was in danger of being discovered and recaptured. To escape his persecutors once more, he resolved to traverse the continent of America: a terrifying enterprise, for which he needed the courage of a hero and the resignation of a sage. Happily the Captain of a Spanish schooner which he found in the harbour of Nootka gave him passage to Saint Blas, at the mouth of the gulf of California. As soon as he arrived Muir wrote to the viceroy of Mexico asking for hospitality in the name of the Republic of France, friends of the King of Spain. His request was favourably accepted and he was permitted to cross Mexican territory. He arrived next at Havana. The governor of this colony, without giving reasons, treated the stranger as a prisoner of war. Captive for four months, Muir suffered the most horrible treatment. Such are the most part of the petty despots who govern the colonies of great powers, they demonstrate their authority on defenceless individuals and think that the arbitrary power they exercise makes them equal to their masters. Finally, Thomas Muir was put on board a frigate to be taken to Spain, but this wasn't the end of his misfortunes. When the frigate was about to enter Cadiz it was attacked by part of Jervis's squadron who were blockading the port. The English had been informed that Thomas Muir was on board this ship and they wanted to put an end to the escape of this famous republican. This made them very eager for combat. The Spaniards defended themselves bravely. Muir saw the captivity awaiting him and preferred death. He armed himself, he fought, he hurled himself into the midst of danger. He had the courage of despair. He was wounded in the face and fell bathed in his own blood. The frigate was forced to surrender to the English. Muir became the principal object of their search. The English were told that he had been killed in combat and thrown in the sea. He lay for six days in their custody without being recognised - due to the disfigurement of his wound. Finally persuaded that he was no more, the English returned him to shore with the other prisoners. Transported to the hospital at Cadiz, Muir was recognised by a Frenchman. The consul of the republic hurried at once to see him and to offer him his condolences, help and testimony of his high regard. Muir addressed to the Directory the tale of his adventures and solemnly declared that he adopted the Republic of France as his native land. He received a very favourable response from the government, which was all that he could desire. Since then he has considered himself our fellow-citizen, free in the universe. He waits only for his recovery to come to France. Translated by L. Yeoman from Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797

== Orator: The Trial Speech ==

The three hour speech that Thomas Muir made at his trial in Edinburgh was considered such a wonderful piece of English that it was published as an English text to be used in English exams in schools of some States in America until 1860. The following is a short extract from that speech.

"This is now perhaps the last time that I shall address my country. I have explored the tenor of my past life. Nothing shall tear me from the record of my departed days. The enemies of reform have scrutinised, in a manner hitherto unexampled in Scotland, every action I may have performed, every word I may have uttered. Of crimes, most foul and horrible, have I been accused: of attempting to rear the standards of civil war; to plunge this land in blood, and to cover it with desolation. At every step, as the evidence of the crown advanced, my innocence has brightened. So far from inflaming the minds of men to sedition and outrage, all the witnesses have concurred, that my only anxiety was, to impress upon them the necessity of peace, of good order, and of good morals. What then has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy of Mr. Paine´s works; not the giving away to another a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be, according to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the house of the people; for having dared to attempt to accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to the effusion of their blood. From my infancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the cause of the people. It is a good cause. It will ultimately prevail. It will finally triumph. Say then openly, in your verdict, if you do condemn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for my attachment to this cause alone, and not for those vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment, intended only to colour and disguise the real motives of my accusation. The time will come, when men must stand or fall by their actions; when all human pageantry shall cease; when the hearts of all shall be laid open to view. If you regard your most important interests; if you wish that your consciences should whisper to you words of consolation, rather than speak to you in the terrible language of remorse, weigh well the verdict you are about to pronounce. As for me, I am careless and indifferent to my fate. I can look danger, and I can look death in the face; for I am shielded by the consciousness of my own rectitude. I may be condemned to languish in the recesses of a dungeon. I may be doomed to ascend the scaffold. Nothing can deprive me of the recollection of the past; nothing can destroy my inward peace of mind, arising from the remembrance of having discharged my duty."

In 1844 a monument was erected to him in Edinburgh.

== The Burns Connection ==

It is generally believed that it was the 1792 trails of the "Scottish Martyrs" Muir, Skirving, Palmer, Margarot, Gerrald that influenced Burns to pen "Scots Wha Hae" in 1793.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]
[
https://radicalglasgowblog.blogspot.com Radicalglasgowblog.]

https://spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt Archive.

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T16:15:52Z

Annarky:

''' Thomas Muir, 1765–1799'''

== Early Life ==

Thomas Muir was born on his grand-father's farm, Hastie's farm in Milton of Campsie, later his family moved to a large house in Huntershill, near Bishopbriggs, a district just to the north of Glasgow. The house still stands surrounded by its gardens and trees. Thomas was born into a wealthy home. He studied law at Glasgow University but left on a point of honour in 1780 and completed his studies at Edinburgh University eventually having a law practice in Glasgow. He was however drawn to the reform movements that had developed all over Scotland. The reform movements had gathered momentum as the French revolution in 1789 inspired support for parliamentary reform all over Britain. Thomas Muir had connections with numerous reform societies throughout Scotland; in 1792 with William Skirving he helped to set up Scottish Reform Clubs, the membership open to every class. He wrote many pamphlets and spoke at a considerable number of meetings. He was an open and ardent supporter of radical political reform at a time when the authorities were becoming ever more nervous due to the events in France.

== Arrest and Banishment ==

One year later, after presenting a nationalistic address to the Scottish Reform Movement General Convention, on behalf of United Irishmen. Thomas Muir was arrested and charged with sedition. His trial date, which took place in Edinburgh, was brought forward by several months while he was visiting France. Unable to get travelling arrangements in time, his non attendance made him an outlaw. He was found guilty of, '...having created disaffection by means of seditious speeches'. He returned to Scotland in August 1793 and was sentenced to be banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. However, George Washington heard of his sentence and sent the USS Otter to rescue him and take him to the new Republic of America. His escape was made good in 1796, however the USS Otter, on its way home was wrecked off Panama. Thomas Muir was then arrested by the Spanish and taken to Havana where he was deemed to be a spy and shipped back to Spain. On the way back to Spain they encountered three British ships and a battle ensued in which Thomas Muir lost an eye. The Spanish released him in 1797 whereupon he made his way to France. He was made a French citizen and died at Chantilly in 1799.

== The French Connection ==

Here is the account from the primary newspaper of the French Revolution the Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797 of his escape and his arrival in France in 1797.

The celebrated Scot Thomas Muir, escaped from a thousand dangers is on the point of arriving in Paris. His transportation belongs to the history of revolutions; his courage in the face of adversity must serve as an example to the converts of philosophy and the happy issue of all his misfortunes must encourage all the martyrs of liberty. The Scots have never forgotten their ancient independence, the massacre of their ancestors, the tragic death of their last Queen, the expulsion of the Stuarts from the throne of Great Britain: these memories, the consciousness of their want, the shocking contrast of English luxury, perhaps finally the example of our revolution, were the causes of the revolutionary movements which appeared in Scotland in 1792, in which Thomas Muir played one of the premier roles. The secret committees which had been formed throughout the whole of Scotland unmasked themselves all at once. They sent delegates to Edinburgh who met together in a national convention with the avowed goal of obtaining parliamentary reform. Thomas Muir, enlightened thinker and impassioned orator was a member of this convention and left his mark on it. The British government deeply alarmed by the sudden meeting of this assembly, at once dispersed it. Many members were arrested and brought to trial in 1794, some of them, amongst others one named Jackson, were condemned to death; Thomas Muir and three others were deported to Botany Bay.

The uprising in Scotland gave great hopes to our revolutionary government; the hopes evaporated; but the republicans of France, who saw in the Edinburgh convention only the friends of liberty, interested themselves deeply in their fate. When the old committee of public safety learnt of the deportation of Muir and many of his companions, it sent out several frigates to rescue them, but they did not succeed and these unfortunates were left on the desolate shore of New Holland [Australia] Botany Bay: the vast tomb where the British government indiscriminately heaps together the most vile scoundrels and brave thinkers against whom it has taken umbrage. It was there that Thomas Muir, treated as a criminal for having wanted the liberty of his native land, was to end hisdays, but one often says and I repeat with a sort of devout credulity: a benevolent spirit watches over the friends of man and the destiny of free peoples. Such a guardian angel took an interest in our unfortunate philanthropist, an American boat landed in this place of despair. Thomas Muir was received on board and conducted to the North West coast of America, but there he met new dangers, an English warship left Botany Bay several days before the American, and anchored in the same waters. Muir was in danger of being discovered and recaptured. To escape his persecutors once more, he resolved to traverse the continent of America: a terrifying enterprise, for which he needed the courage of a hero and the resignation of a sage. Happily the Captain of a Spanish schooner which he found in the harbour of Nootka gave him passage to Saint Blas, at the mouth of the gulf of California. As soon as he arrived Muir wrote to the viceroy of Mexico asking for hospitality in the name of the Republic of France, friends of the King of Spain. His request was favourably accepted and he was permitted to cross Mexican territory. He arrived next at Havana. The governor of this colony, without giving reasons, treated the stranger as a prisoner of war. Captive for four months, Muir suffered the most horrible treatment. Such are the most part of the petty despots who govern the colonies of great powers, they demonstrate their authority on defenceless individuals and think that the arbitrary power they exercise makes them equal to their masters. Finally, Thomas Muir was put on board a frigate to be taken to Spain, but this wasn't the end of his misfortunes. When the frigate was about to enter Cadiz it was attacked by part of Jervis's squadron who were blockading the port. The English had been informed that Thomas Muir was on board this ship and they wanted to put an end to the escape of this famous republican. This made them very eager for combat. The Spaniards defended themselves bravely. Muir saw the captivity awaiting him and preferred death. He armed himself, he fought, he hurled himself into the midst of danger. He had the courage of despair. He was wounded in the face and fell bathed in his own blood. The frigate was forced to surrender to the English. Muir became the principal object of their search. The English were told that he had been killed in combat and thrown in the sea. He lay for six days in their custody without being recognised - due to the disfigurement of his wound. Finally persuaded that he was no more, the English returned him to shore with the other prisoners. Transported to the hospital at Cadiz, Muir was recognised by a Frenchman. The consul of the republic hurried at once to see him and to offer him his condolences, help and testimony of his high regard. Muir addressed to the Directory the tale of his adventures and solemnly declared that he adopted the Republic of France as his native land. He received a very favourable response from the government, which was all that he could desire. Since then he has considered himself our fellow-citizen, free in the universe. He waits only for his recovery to come to France. Translated by L. Yeoman from Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797

== Orator: The Trial Speech ==

The three hour speech that Thomas Muir made at his trial in Edinburgh was considered such a wonderful piece of English that it was published as an English text to be used in English exams in schools of some States in America until 1860. The following is a short extract from that speech.

"This is now perhaps the last time that I shall address my country. I have explored the tenor of my past life. Nothing shall tear me from the record of my departed days. The enemies of reform have scrutinised, in a manner hitherto unexampled in Scotland, every action I may have performed, every word I may have uttered. Of crimes, most foul and horrible, have I been accused: of attempting to rear the standards of civil war; to plunge this land in blood, and to cover it with desolation. At every step, as the evidence of the crown advanced, my innocence has brightened. So far from inflaming the minds of men to sedition and outrage, all the witnesses have concurred, that my only anxiety was, to impress upon them the necessity of peace, of good order, and of good morals. What then has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy of Mr. Paine´s works; not the giving away to another a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be, according to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the house of the people; for having dared to attempt to accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to the effusion of their blood. From my infancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the cause of the people. It is a good cause. It will ultimately prevail. It will finally triumph. Say then openly, in your verdict, if you do condemn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for my attachment to this cause alone, and not for those vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment, intended only to colour and disguise the real motives of my accusation. The time will come, when men must stand or fall by their actions; when all human pageantry shall cease; when the hearts of all shall be laid open to view. If you regard your most important interests; if you wish that your consciences should whisper to you words of consolation, rather than speak to you in the terrible language of remorse, weigh well the verdict you are about to pronounce. As for me, I am careless and indifferent to my fate. I can look danger, and I can look death in the face; for I am shielded by the consciousness of my own rectitude. I may be condemned to languish in the recesses of a dungeon. I may be doomed to ascend the scaffold. Nothing can deprive me of the recollection of the past; nothing can destroy my inward peace of mind, arising from the remembrance of having discharged my duty."

In 1844 a monument was erected to him in Edinburgh.

== The Burns Connection ==

It is generally believed that it was the 1792 trails of the "Scottish Martyrs" Muir, Skirving, Palmer, Margarot, Gerrald that influenced Burns to pen "Scots Wha Hae" in 1793.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]
[
https://radicalglasgowblog.blogspot.com Radicalglasgowblog.]

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T16:11:28Z

Annarky:

''' Thomas Muir, 1765–1799'''

== Early Life ==

Thomas Muir was born on his grand-father's farm, Hastie's farm in Milton of Campsie, later his family moved to a large house in Huntershill, near Bishopbriggs, a district just to the north of Glasgow. The house still stands surrounded by its gardens and trees. Thomas was born into a wealthy home. He studied law at Glasgow University but left on a point of honour in 1780 and completed his studies at Edinburgh University eventually having a law practice in Glasgow. He was however drawn to the reform movements that had developed all over Scotland. The reform movements had gathered momentum as the French revolution in 1789 inspired support for parliamentary reform all over Britain. Thomas Muir had connections with numerous reform societies throughout Scotland; in 1792 with William Skirving he helped to set up Scottish Reform Clubs, the membership open to every class. He wrote many pamphlets and spoke at a considerable number of meetings. He was an open and ardent supporter of radical political reform at a time when the authorities were becoming ever more nervous due to the events in France.

== Arrest and Banishment ==

One year later, after presenting a nationalistic address to the Scottish Reform Movement General Convention, on behalf of United Irishmen. Thomas Muir was arrested and charged with sedition. His trial date, which took place in Edinburgh, was brought forward by several months while he was visiting France. Unable to get travelling arrangements in time, his non attendance made him an outlaw. He was found guilty of, '...having created disaffection by means of seditious speeches'. He returned to Scotland in August 1793 and was sentenced to be banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. However, George Washington heard of his sentence and sent the USS Otter to rescue him and take him to the new Republic of America. His escape was made good in 1796, however the USS Otter, on its way home was wrecked off Panama. Thomas Muir was then arrested by the Spanish and taken to Havana where he was deemed to be a spy and shipped back to Spain. On the way back to Spain they encountered three British ships and a battle ensued in which Thomas Muir lost an eye. The Spanish released him in 1797 whereupon he made his way to France. He was made a French citizen and died at Chantilly in 1799.

== The French Connection ==

Here is the account from the primary newspaper of the French Revolution the Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797 of his escape and his arrival in France in 1797.

The celebrated Scot Thomas Muir, escaped from a thousand dangers is on the point of arriving in Paris. His transportation belongs to the history of revolutions; his courage in the face of adversity must serve as an example to the converts of philosophy and the happy issue of all his misfortunes must encourage all the martyrs of liberty. The Scots have never forgotten their ancient independence, the massacre of their ancestors, the tragic death of their last Queen, the expulsion of the Stuarts from the throne of Great Britain: these memories, the consciousness of their want, the shocking contrast of English luxury, perhaps finally the example of our revolution, were the causes of the revolutionary movements which appeared in Scotland in 1792, in which Thomas Muir played one of the premier roles. The secret committees which had been formed throughout the whole of Scotland unmasked themselves all at once. They sent delegates to Edinburgh who met together in a national convention with the avowed goal of obtaining parliamentary reform. Thomas Muir, enlightened thinker and impassioned orator was a member of this convention and left his mark on it. The British government deeply alarmed by the sudden meeting of this assembly, at once dispersed it. Many members were arrested and brought to trial in 1794, some of them, amongst others one named Jackson, were condemned to death; Thomas Muir and three others were deported to Botany Bay.

The uprising in Scotland gave great hopes to our revolutionary government; the hopes evaporated; but the republicans of France, who saw in the Edinburgh convention only the friends of liberty, interested themselves deeply in their fate. When the old committee of public safety learnt of the deportation of Muir and many of his companions, it sent out several frigates to rescue them, but they did not succeed and these unfortunates were left on the desolate shore of New Holland [Australia] Botany Bay: the vast tomb where the British government indiscriminately heaps together the most vile scoundrels and brave thinkers against whom it has taken umbrage. It was there that Thomas Muir, treated as a criminal for having wanted the liberty of his native land, was to end hisdays, but one often says and I repeat with a sort of devout credulity: a benevolent spirit watches over the friends of man and the destiny of free peoples. Such a guardian angel took an interest in our unfortunate philanthropist, an American boat landed in this place of despair. Thomas Muir was received on board and conducted to the North West coast of America, but there he met new dangers, an English warship left Botany Bay several days before the American, and anchored in the same waters. Muir was in danger of being discovered and recaptured. To escape his persecutors once more, he resolved to traverse the continent of America: a terrifying enterprise, for which he needed the courage of a hero and the resignation of a sage. Happily the Captain of a Spanish schooner which he found in the harbour of Nootka gave him passage to Saint Blas, at the mouth of the gulf of California. As soon as he arrived Muir wrote to the viceroy of Mexico asking for hospitality in the name of the Republic of France, friends of the King of Spain. His request was favourably accepted and he was permitted to cross Mexican territory. He arrived next at Havana. The governor of this colony, without giving reasons, treated the stranger as a prisoner of war. Captive for four months, Muir suffered the most horrible treatment. Such are the most part of the petty despots who govern the colonies of great powers, they demonstrate their authority on defenceless individuals and think that the arbitrary power they exercise makes them equal to their masters. Finally, Thomas Muir was put on board a frigate to be taken to Spain, but this wasn't the end of his misfortunes. When the frigate was about to enter Cadiz it was attacked by part of Jervis's squadron who were blockading the port. The English had been informed that Thomas Muir was on board this ship and they wanted to put an end to the escape of this famous republican. This made them very eager for combat. The Spaniards defended themselves bravely. Muir saw the captivity awaiting him and preferred death. He armed himself, he fought, he hurled himself into the midst of danger. He had the courage of despair. He was wounded in the face and fell bathed in his own blood. The frigate was forced to surrender to the English. Muir became the principal object of their search. The English were told that he had been killed in combat and thrown in the sea. He lay for six days in their custody without being recognised - due to the disfigurement of his wound. Finally persuaded that he was no more, the English returned him to shore with the other prisoners. Transported to the hospital at Cadiz, Muir was recognised by a Frenchman. The consul of the republic hurried at once to see him and to offer him his condolences, help and testimony of his high regard. Muir addressed to the Directory the tale of his adventures and solemnly declared that he adopted the Republic of France as his native land. He received a very favourable response from the government, which was all that he could desire. Since then he has considered himself our fellow-citizen, free in the universe. He waits only for his recovery to come to France. Translated by L. Yeoman from Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797

== Orator: The Trial Speech ==

The three hour speech that Thomas Muir made at his trial in Edinburgh was considered such a wonderful piece of English that it was published as an English text to be used in English exams in schools of some States in America until 1860. The following is a short extract from that speech.

"This is now perhaps the last time that I shall address my country. I have explored the tenor of my past life. Nothing shall tear me from the record of my departed days. The enemies of reform have scrutinised, in a manner hitherto unexampled in Scotland, every action I may have performed, every word I may have uttered. Of crimes, most foul and horrible, have I been accused: of attempting to rear the standards of civil war; to plunge this land in blood, and to cover it with desolation. At every step, as the evidence of the crown advanced, my innocence has brightened. So far from inflaming the minds of men to sedition and outrage, all the witnesses have concurred, that my only anxiety was, to impress upon them the necessity of peace, of good order, and of good morals. What then has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy of Mr. Paine´s works; not the giving away to another a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be, according to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the house of the people; for having dared to attempt to accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to the effusion of their blood. From my infancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the cause of the people. It is a good cause. It will ultimately prevail. It will finally triumph. Say then openly, in your verdict, if you do condemn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for my attachment to this cause alone, and not for those vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment, intended only to colour and disguise the real motives of my accusation. The time will come, when men must stand or fall by their actions; when all human pageantry shall cease; when the hearts of all shall be laid open to view. If you regard your most important interests; if you wish that your consciences should whisper to you words of consolation, rather than speak to you in the terrible language of remorse, weigh well the verdict you are about to pronounce. As for me, I am careless and indifferent to my fate. I can look danger, and I can look death in the face; for I am shielded by the consciousness of my own rectitude. I may be condemned to languish in the recesses of a dungeon. I may be doomed to ascend the scaffold. Nothing can deprive me of the recollection of the past; nothing can destroy my inward peace of mind, arising from the remembrance of having discharged my duty."

In 1844 a monument was erected to him in Edinburgh.

== The Burns Connection ==

It is generally believed that it was the 1792 trails of the "Scottish Martyrs" Muir, Skirving, Palmer, Margarot, Gerrald that influenced Burns to pen "Scots Wha Hae" in 1793.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]
[
https://radicalglasgowblog.blogsopt.com Radicalglasgowblog.]

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T16:05:02Z

Annarky: /* Early Life */

Thomas Muir

2022-07-21T08:36:33Z

Annarky:

''' Thomas Muir, 1765–1799'''

== Early Life ==

Thomas Muir was born on his grand-fathers farm, Hastie's farm in Milton of Campsie, later his family moved to a large house in Huntershill, near Bishopbriggs, a district just to the north of Glasgow. The house still stands surrounded by its gardens and trees. Thomas was born into a wealthy home. He studied law at Glasgow University but left on a point of honour in 1780 and completed his studies at Edinburgh University eventually having a law practice in Glasgow. He was however drawn to the reform movements that had developed all over Scotland. The reform movements had gathered momentum as the French revolution in 1789 inspired support for parliamentary reform all over Britain. Thomas Muir had connections with numerous reform societies throughout Scotland; in 1792 with William Skirving he helped to set up Scottish Reform Clubs, the membership open to every class. He wrote many pamphlets and spoke at a considerable number of meetings. He was an open and ardent supporter of radical political reform at a time when the authorities were becoming ever more nervous due to the events in France.

== Arrest and Banishment ==

One year later, after presenting a nationalistic address to the Scottish Reform Movement General Convention, on behalf of United Irishmen. Thomas Muir was arrested and charged with sedition. His trial date, which took place in Edinburgh, was brought forward by several months while he was visiting France. Unable to get travelling arrangements in time, his non attendance made him an outlaw. He was found guilty of, '...having created disaffection by means of seditious speeches'. He returned to Scotland in August 1793 and was sentenced to be banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. However, George Washington heard of his sentence and sent the USS Otter to rescue him and take him to the new Republic of America. His escape was made good in 1796, however the USS Otter, on its way home was wrecked off Panama. Thomas Muir was then arrested by the Spanish and taken to Havana where he was deemed to be a spy and shipped back to Spain. On the way back to Spain they encountered three British ships and a battle ensued in which Thomas Muir lost an eye. The Spanish released him in 1797 whereupon he made his way to France. He was made a French citizen and died at Chantilly in 1799.

== The French Connection ==

Here is the account from the primary newspaper of the French Revolution the Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797 of his escape and his arrival in France in 1797.

The celebrated Scot Thomas Muir, escaped from a thousand dangers is on the point of arriving in Paris. His transportation belongs to the history of revolutions; his courage in the face of adversity must serve as an example to the converts of philosophy and the happy issue of all his misfortunes must encourage all the martyrs of liberty. The Scots have never forgotten their ancient independence, the massacre of their ancestors, the tragic death of their last Queen, the expulsion of the Stuarts from the throne of Great Britain: these memories, the consciousness of their want, the shocking contrast of English luxury, perhaps finally the example of our revolution, were the causes of the revolutionary movements which appeared in Scotland in 1792, in which Thomas Muir played one of the premier roles. The secret committees which had been formed throughout the whole of Scotland unmasked themselves all at once. They sent delegates to Edinburgh who met together in a national convention with the avowed goal of obtaining parliamentary reform. Thomas Muir, enlightened thinker and impassioned orator was a member of this convention and left his mark on it. The British government deeply alarmed by the sudden meeting of this assembly, at once dispersed it. Many members were arrested and brought to trial in 1794, some of them, amongst others one named Jackson, were condemned to death; Thomas Muir and three others were deported to Botany Bay.

The uprising in Scotland gave great hopes to our revolutionary government; the hopes evaporated; but the republicans of France, who saw in the Edinburgh convention only the friends of liberty, interested themselves deeply in their fate. When the old committee of public safety learnt of the deportation of Muir and many of his companions, it sent out several frigates to rescue them, but they did not succeed and these unfortunates were left on the desolate shore of New Holland [Australia] Botany Bay: the vast tomb where the British government indiscriminately heaps together the most vile scoundrels and brave thinkers against whom it has taken umbrage. It was there that Thomas Muir, treated as a criminal for having wanted the liberty of his native land, was to end hisdays, but one often says and I repeat with a sort of devout credulity: a benevolent spirit watches over the friends of man and the destiny of free peoples. Such a guardian angel took an interest in our unfortunate philanthropist, an American boat landed in this place of despair. Thomas Muir was received on board and conducted to the North West coast of America, but there he met new dangers, an English warship left Botany Bay several days before the American, and anchored in the same waters. Muir was in danger of being discovered and recaptured. To escape his persecutors once more, he resolved to traverse the continent of America: a terrifying enterprise, for which he needed the courage of a hero and the resignation of a sage. Happily the Captain of a Spanish schooner which he found in the harbour of Nootka gave him passage to Saint Blas, at the mouth of the gulf of California. As soon as he arrived Muir wrote to the viceroy of Mexico asking for hospitality in the name of the Republic of France, friends of the King of Spain. His request was favourably accepted and he was permitted to cross Mexican territory. He arrived next at Havana. The governor of this colony, without giving reasons, treated the stranger as a prisoner of war. Captive for four months, Muir suffered the most horrible treatment. Such are the most part of the petty despots who govern the colonies of great powers, they demonstrate their authority on defenceless individuals and think that the arbitrary power they exercise makes them equal to their masters. Finally, Thomas Muir was put on board a frigate to be taken to Spain, but this wasn't the end of his misfortunes. When the frigate was about to enter Cadiz it was attacked by part of Jervis's squadron who were blockading the port. The English had been informed that Thomas Muir was on board this ship and they wanted to put an end to the escape of this famous republican. This made them very eager for combat. The Spaniards defended themselves bravely. Muir saw the captivity awaiting him and preferred death. He armed himself, he fought, he hurled himself into the midst of danger. He had the courage of despair. He was wounded in the face and fell bathed in his own blood. The frigate was forced to surrender to the English. Muir became the principal object of their search. The English were told that he had been killed in combat and thrown in the sea. He lay for six days in their custody without being recognised - due to the disfigurement of his wound. Finally persuaded that he was no more, the English returned him to shore with the other prisoners. Transported to the hospital at Cadiz, Muir was recognised by a Frenchman. The consul of the republic hurried at once to see him and to offer him his condolences, help and testimony of his high regard. Muir addressed to the Directory the tale of his adventures and solemnly declared that he adopted the Republic of France as his native land. He received a very favourable response from the government, which was all that he could desire. Since then he has considered himself our fellow-citizen, free in the universe. He waits only for his recovery to come to France. Translated by L. Yeoman from Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, No 72, 2 December 1797

== Orator: The Trial Speech ==

The three hour speech that Thomas Muir made at his trial in Edinburgh was considered such a wonderful piece of English that it was published as an English text to be used in English exams in schools of some States in America until 1860. The following is a short extract from that speech.

"This is now perhaps the last time that I shall address my country. I have explored the tenor of my past life. Nothing shall tear me from the record of my departed days. The enemies of reform have scrutinised, in a manner hitherto unexampled in Scotland, every action I may have performed, every word I may have uttered. Of crimes, most foul and horrible, have I been accused: of attempting to rear the standards of civil war; to plunge this land in blood, and to cover it with desolation. At every step, as the evidence of the crown advanced, my innocence has brightened. So far from inflaming the minds of men to sedition and outrage, all the witnesses have concurred, that my only anxiety was, to impress upon them the necessity of peace, of good order, and of good morals. What then has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy of Mr. Paine´s works; not the giving away to another a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be, according to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the house of the people; for having dared to attempt to accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to the effusion of their blood. From my infancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the cause of the people. It is a good cause. It will ultimately prevail. It will finally triumph. Say then openly, in your verdict, if you do condemn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for my attachment to this cause alone, and not for those vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment, intended only to colour and disguise the real motives of my accusation. The time will come, when men must stand or fall by their actions; when all human pageantry shall cease; when the hearts of all shall be laid open to view. If you regard your most important interests; if you wish that your consciences should whisper to you words of consolation, rather than speak to you in the terrible language of remorse, weigh well the verdict you are about to pronounce. As for me, I am careless and indifferent to my fate. I can look danger, and I can look death in the face; for I am shielded by the consciousness of my own rectitude. I may be condemned to languish in the recesses of a dungeon. I may be doomed to ascend the scaffold. Nothing can deprive me of the recollection of the past; nothing can destroy my inward peace of mind, arising from the remembrance of having discharged my duty."

In 1844 a monument was erected to him in Edinburgh.

== The Burns Connection ==

It is generally believed that it was the 1792 trails of the "Scottish Martyrs" Muir, Skirving, Palmer, Margarot, Gerrald that influenced Burns to pen "Scots Wha Hae" in 1793.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Angus MacKay

2019-03-24T10:31:51Z

Annarky: Created page with "ANGUS MACKAY. Angus Mackay was a committed activist in Glasgow over the turn of the 1900’s. He was Secretary of Glasgow Anarchist group over that period. He helped organise..."

ANGUS MACKAY.

Angus Mackay was a committed activist in Glasgow over the turn of the 1900’s. He was Secretary of Glasgow Anarchist group over that period. He helped organise the Glasgow news for FREEDOM as well as the dates for travelling speakers such as George Barrett. He addressed large crowds including weekly meetings around Glasgow at Buchanan Street building momentum for May Day and selling papers or in Govan Meetings. He spoke on themes like ‘the Progress of Anarchism’ as part of weekly programmed educationals. On Labour Day 1913, despite thunder and lightning, 135 Labour and Socialist organisations were represented at the rally of 10,000 people. Angus shared the Anarchist platform with Leckie, Porter and Howie speaking to around 1000 people. He helped organise the branch at 7 Holland Street, the Clarion Scouts base. Angus Mackay junior, was also an activist.
His obituary in Jan-Feb, 2014? FREEDOM: “Our friend and comrade Angus Mackay died on November28th, of angina pectoris. It has been a blow to those who knew him in Glasgow. For 20 years he advocated the principles of Anarchism. He was one of those who make possible the attainment of our ideal. On the platform in the workshop, whenever opportunity offered, he endeavoured to spread the truth. Those ideas of which he was the embodiment still live and kindle the lives of men because of such as he. Indeed he fought the good fight. We tender our sympathy to his wife and children in their loss.
Our comrade has left a large family. Comrades in Glasgow invite financial help for them, which should be sent to me at 74 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, W Ponder”

Main Page

2019-03-24T10:29:18Z

Annarky: /* (Mal)Contents */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[John McAra]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Angus MacKay]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Ian Heavens]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]

[[The Free Hetherington]]
</div>

John McAra

2019-03-10T16:32:45Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''JOHN McARA 1857?- 11th Dec,1915''' '''Propagandist.''' Known as ‘The Guthrie Street Anarchist’ or ‘wee McAra’, John McAra was a propagandist, a persistent, e..."

'''JOHN McARA 1857?- 11th Dec,1915'''

'''Propagandist.'''

Known as ‘The Guthrie Street Anarchist’ or ‘wee McAra’, John McAra was a propagandist, a persistent, engaging, sarcastic orator and ‘flying stumper’ in Glasgow, Dundee and in the Meadows and The Mound, Edinburgh at the turn of the 1900’s. His pitch was for Anarchism and especially Kropotkin’s ideas. Quoting Kropotkin he believed that ‘Anarchy in its elucidation must have clear cut speech, no guesswork as regards its meaning.’ He drew very large crowds. An article about him and his ideas in the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch, described him as short and squat with a square jaw and a constant flow of ideas. He won his case at appeal for defying the council by ‘speaking without a licence on the Mound’ amidst such licence-conformers as ILP, SLP, RPA, Secularist Salvationists, Sheepfold Missionaries, Undenominational Evangelists, Mormons and Co-operators all of whom it is said, he considered frauds – “not getting to the heart of the trouble”. From FREEDOM correspondence page he suggests, “if there were 50 flying stumpers willing to take the tub and to rough it if need be, their purpose to promote Anarchy, the people with their voluntary offerings would give as much as we could to keep them, not like lords, but considering the time they would have at their own disposal for self-improvement they would be much better off than workshop drugged. …if fifty flying orators were to take the position and sell on average four quires of FREEDOM and a corresponding amount of pamphlets don’t you think it would make things hum?”

'''Crowd Puller.'''

John drew big crowds and his skill was to bring the content of his pitch such as the South African War or the Russo-Japanese war around to the sale of his publication whether it was a copy of Freedom or other penny pamphlet such as ‘War’ by Kropotkin. A ‘slum man and an Anarchist’ he could speak for hours holding the crowd’s attention on current local and international issues including anti-religion, anti-war and against other devices of the system. John was clear when it came to selling weekly papers or monthly journals , ‘my notion is, pamphlets numerous, but papers few. One journal is enough to work with, any more [papers] handicaps the stumper… on wet Sundays three quires of a weekly paper, sodden, get dried in a corner and then given away for nothing knocking the bottom out of a propagandist already on the rocks….[about the idea of a new paper to be launched in May 1912] I am not ardent or warm.’ While he lived in Glasgow he spoke every Sunday at Glasgow Green or at Gaol Square at 3pm during which the FREEDOM was sold. He made propaganda tours around the country eventually moving to Edinburgh.

'''Persistent Orator.'''

His daughter described him in FREEDOM; “John McAra was the most persistent outdoor speaker in the Anarchist movement in Scotland, and as a literature seller had no equal. When living in Glasgow he was to be found on the Green on Sundays surrounded by a large crowd. Of recent years however he had lived in Edinburgh, where his favourite pitch was The Mound. A few years back the local magistrates passed a by-law against speaking on that spot, but McAra defied them. For this he was prosecuted, a nominal sentence being inflicted. On appeal he gained the day and has since stuck to his post there in spite of all threats. He was very well known and respected and his quiet humour and twinkling eye will be greatly missed one man saying that an Edinburgh landmark had been removed. He seldom allowed the weather to interfere with his propaganda, and although his physical constitution was strong, his death at the comparatively early age of fifty eight was undoubtedly due to his exposure to the cold winds and rain. We hope other comrades will fill the vacancy left by our dear old friend”.

'''Early Death.'''

He died in Edinburgh after two operations in one week, with his children and a few comrades by his side, buried in Newington cemetery -without clergy. The above details taken from his obituary by his Daughter and other FREEDOM entries 1900-1916.

'''By Stasia Rice'''

Main Page

2019-03-10T16:27:59Z

Annarky: /* People */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[John McAra]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Ian Heavens]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]

[[The Free Hetherington]]
</div>

The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday

2019-01-19T10:45:36Z

Annarky:

'''Glasgow's Bloody Friday 1919'''

Like all the events in political struggle it is difficult to trace the thread back to what brought it to this stage, Bloody Friday 1919 is no different. This was not just an attack on a large demonstration in Glasgow, it was the culmination of a series of radical events in Glasgow and the Clydeside area where the state showed its brutality. Perhaps we could even take it back to the 18th century and the radicals like Thomas Muir and others. However we can certainly take it back to the rent strikes of the first world war, the forming of the Labour Withholding Committee, (LWC) The Clyde Workers Committee (CWC) and the political climate of that period.

== The Rent Strike ==

In pre First World War Glasgow there were a large number of empty houses, by the year 1915 all were occupied by incoming workers to the munitions and allied war industry trades. A shortage of workers and materials saw a lack of maintenance and the housing stock deteriorate rapidly. At the beginning of the war the landlords tried to implement large rent increases, at the receiving end of this were 7,000 pensioners and families whose men were fighting in France. This brought about the formation of the "Glasgow Women's Housing Association" and many other local "Women's Housing Associations" to resist the increases. A variety of peaceful activities were used to prevent evictions and drive out the Sheriff's officers. There were constant meetings in an attempt to be one step ahead of the Sheriff's officers. All manner of communication was used to summon help, everything from drums, bells, trumpets and anything that could be used to create a warning sound to rally supporters, who were mainly women as the men were at work in the yards and factories at these times. They would then indulge in cramming into closes and stairs to prevent the entry of the Sheriff's officers and so prevent them from carrying out their evictions. They also used little paper bags of flour, peasmeal and whiting as missiles directed at the bowler hatted officers. These activities culminated on the 17th of November 1915 with the massive demonstration and march of thousands through the city streets and on to the Glasgow Sheriff's Court. The size of the demonstration caused the Sheriff at the court to phone the Prime Minister of the day, this resulted in the immediate implementation of the "1915 Rent Restriction Act" which benefited tenants across the country.

== The Labour Withholding Committee ==

This happened in a time of war, so it was obvious that by 1915 Glasgow and Clydeside had a very large class oriented militant grassroots movement and had forced the Government on this occasion to act in their favour. The rent strike was mainly a women’s organisation but the men were proving to be just as militant in the workplaces. Around the same time in 1915 during a prolonged period of considerable economic hardship for most industrial workers, Clydeside engineering employers refused workers demands for a wage increase. The insatiable demand for war munitions had lead to a rapid rise in inflation and a savage attack on the living standards of the working class. Workers were demanding wage increases to offset these repressive conditions. At this time Weir’s of Cathcart was paying workers brought over from their American plant, 6/- shillings a week more than workers in their Glasgow plant.

The dispute between workers and management at Weir’s rapidly escalated into strike action. The strike was organised by a strike committee named the Labour Withholding Committee (LWC). This committee comprised of rank and file trade union members and shop stewards. It was they who remained in control of the strike rather than the officials from the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE).

The strike started in February 1915 and lasted almost 3 weeks. At its peak 10,000 members of the ASE from 8 separate engineering works were on strike throughout Clydeside. The officials from the ASE denounced the strike and backed the government’s demands to resume work. It was this double pressure from the government and their own trade union that drove the workers from the various engineering works in Glasgow to form the LWC to give the workers a voice and to organise the strike to their wishes.

Although the strikers demands were not met, its importance is in the fact of it forming the LWC. A committee formed from rank and file union members that determined policy in the work place and refused to follow the directives from union officials when those directives conflicted with the demands of that rank and file.

== The Munitions Act ==

The government alarmed by the February 1915 strike, summoned trade union leaders to a special conference. The result of this conference being the now notorious Treasury Agreement. The outcome of which was that all independent union rights and conditions including the right to strike, were abandoned for the duration of the war. It also allowed the employers to “dilute” labour. Meaning they could employ unskilled labour in skilled jobs to compensate for the growing labour shortage, due to the every increasing demand for munitions and the endless slaughter of young men at the front. The Munitions Act also made strikes illegal and restrictions of output a criminal offence. The Munitions Act also allowed for the setting up of Munitions Tribunals to deal with any transgressions of the act.

October 1915 saw one such tribunal, the outcome of which was that 3 shipwrights from Fairfield Shipyard on the Clyde were sentenced to one months imprisonment for their refusal to pay a fine imposed because of their strike action in support of two sacked workers. The imprisonment of the 3 shipwrights prompted the official union representatives to call for a public enquiry. However, the LWC, which had reformed after the February 1915 strike, were seeking immediate strike action. A rather shaky and uneasy peace remained while official union leaders and the rank and file LWC waited for the government’s response. With the lack of any response from the government, the LWC decided, with the full backing of the workers, to act on their own by issuing an ultimatum to the government; If the shipwrights were not released within 3 days there would be widespread industrial action throughout Clydeside until their release.

Three days after the LWC ultimatum the shipwrights were released. It was later discovered the imprisoned men’s fines had been paid. The general feeling among the LWC and others was that the fines had been paid by ASE officials in an attempt to prevent widespread industrial action on Clydeside over which they could exercise little or no control.

== The Clyde Workers Committee ==

This victory lead to the LWC deciding to form a permanent committee to resist the Munitions Act. It was to be called the Clyde Workers Committee, (CWC) and organised on the same democratic principles as the LWC. It would have 250-300 delegates elected directly from the work place, it would meet weekly. This was a seismic sift in the employee/management working relationship on Clydeside. Up until then shop stewards in the industry merely existed as card inspectors and implementers of national and district committees policies. However, after the forming of the CWC in 1915, increasingly it was the workers through the CWC that controlled the policy on the shop floor and in negotiations, much to the consternation of the official trade unions. The CWC in 1915 stated; “We will support the officials just as long as they represent the workers, but we will act independently immediately they misrepresent them.” Simple, the CWC had no faith in the official trade union to protect the workers interests.

== Arrest and Deportation ==

Between January and March 1916 the Dilution Commission met little or no opposition from workers and trade unions elsewhere on Clydeside. During this period however, little or no progress was made in the Clydeside engineering industry. A situation that the government felt that it could not tolerate much longer.

A management decision at Beardmore’s engineering works Parkhead Glasgow, to refuse shop stewards access to new “dilutees” brought about strike action in March 1916. In the following four days workers at three other munitions factories came out in sympathy with the Beardmore strikers. These events on Clydeside were creating a degree of nervousness in the government and the Dilution committee who were afraid that the actions of the syndicalist inspired CWC would impede munitions production and possibly spread to other areas.

On order of the government on March 24 1916, the military authorities arrested and deported Kirkwood, Haggerty, Shields, Wainright and Faulds, the Beardmore shop stewards. On the same day they arrested and deported McManus and Messer two shop stewards from Weir’s of Cathcart, one of the factories that came out on strike in Sympathy with the Beardmore strikers. On March 29 the military authorities again swooped and arrested and deported Glass, Bridges and Kennedy, 3 more shop stewards from Weir’s. The shop stewards were sent to Edinburgh where they had to report to the police three times daily. These restrictions were kept in place until 14 June 1917. These deportations broke the resistance to the implementation of “dilution” in the Clydeside engineering industry, it also realised the government’s aim in bring about the demise of the CWC for the duration of the war.

== The Forty-Hour Week ==

Following the end of the war there was a fear of mass unemployment due to the demobilisation of the troops and the demise of the munitions factories. The common view held by the majority of workers in shipbuilding, engineering and mining was that a drastic cut in the number of hours in the working week, with the same war time pay levels was the only solution. On January 1919 the CWC held a meeting of its shop stewards from shipbuilding and engineering, from this meeting the “Forty Hour” movement was born, and the decision was taken to go with the miners in their demand for a reduction to the weekly hours to help absorb the increase to the workforce and the reducing number of jobs. In terms of both its tactics and its demands the January 1919, 40 Hours Strike led by the CWC was the most radical strike seen to that date on Clydeside The objectives of the strike were to secure a reduction of weekly working hours to 40 in order that discharged soldiers could be found employment, and to stop the re-emergence of a pool of unemployment, thereby maintaining the strength of the workers against capital. The leaders of the CWC had dismissed a nationally negotiated 47-hour week agreement that had been agreed between employers and the official trade unions. The CWC had widespread support amongst workers and other important trade union bodies within the Clydeside area for their demands for a 40-hour working week.

At the start of the strike Clydeside employers were unconcerned, the feeling being that the strike was the result of a dispute between official and unofficial trade union leaders and would have little impact on them. Both the government and trade union officials were also initially unconcerned, feeling that without official support the strike would quickly fade. These views changed drastically just four days into the strike. By 30 January 1919 40,000 workers in the engineering and shipbuilding industries in Clydeside were out on strike. Electricity supply workers in Glasgow had come out in sympathy, plus the strike was joined by 36,000 miners in the Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire coalfields. It was stated that during the first week of the strike not a single trade in the Clydeside area was left unaffected by strike action. The rapid spread of the strike was attributed to the large-scale deployment of flying pickets by the CWC, largely made up of discharged servicemen.

== The Demonstration, Bloody Friday ==

On Friday 31 January 1919 upwards of 60,000 demonstrators gathered in George Square Glasgow in support of the 40-hours strike and to hear the Lord Provost's reply to the workers' request for a 40-hour week. Whilst the deputation was in the building the police mounted a vicious and unprovoked attack on the demonstrators, felling unarmed men and women with their batons. The demonstrators, including large numbers of ex-servicemen, retaliated with whatever was available, fists, iron railings and broken bottles, and forced the police to retreat. On hearing the noise from the square the strike leaders, who were meeting with the Lord Provost, rushed outside in an attempt to restore order. One of the leaders, David Kirkwood, was felled to the ground by a police baton, and along with William Gallacher was arrested.

== Riots and Arrests ==

After the initial confrontation between the demonstrators and the police in George Square, further fighting continued in and around the city centre streets for many hours afterwards. The Townhead area of the city and Glasgow Green, where many of the demonstrators had regrouped after the initial police charge, were the scenes of running battles between police and demonstrators. In the immediate aftermath of 'Bloody Friday', as it became known, other leaders of the Clyde Workers' Committee were arrested, including Emanuel Shinwell, Harry Hopkins and George Edbury.

== Troops ==

The strike and the events of January 31 1919 “Bloody Friday” raised the Government’s concerns about industrial militancy and revolutionary political activity in Glasgow. Considerable fears within government of a workers' revolution in Glasgow led to the deployment of troops and tanks in the city. A full battalion of Scottish soldiers stationed at Maryhill barracks in Glasgow at the time were locked down and confined to barracks and an estimated 10,000 English troops and tanks were sent to Glasgow in the immediate aftermath of Bloody Friday. Soldiers with fixed bayonets marched with tanks through the streets of the City. There were soldiers patrolling the streets and machine guns on the roofs in George Square. No Scottish troops were deployed, with the government fearing fellow Scots, soldiers or otherwise, would go over to the workers if a revolutionary situation developed in the area. It was the British state’s largest military mobilisation against its own people and showed they were quite prepared to shed workers’ blood in protecting the establishment.

== Partial Victory ==

On 10 February 1919 the 40-hours strike was called off by the Joint Strike Committee. Whilst not achieving their stated aim of a 40-hour working week, the striking workers from the engineering and shipbuilding industries did return to work having at least negotiated an agreement that guaranteed them a 47-hour working week; 10 hours less than prior to the strike.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

The Free Hetherington

2018-06-23T08:54:12Z

Annarky:

The Free Hetherington was created on the 1st of February 2011 when, 13 University Gardens, University of Glasgow, previously the Hetherington Research Club, was occupied by students. The occupation quickly established itself as a hub for the university’s anti-cuts movement. It was widely used by a range of political groups and campaigns for meetings and social and educational events. Prior to its occupation, 13 University Gardens had been lying vacant since February 2010 when the research club had been forced to close through financial difficulties and the withdrawal of support from the university. On the 22nd of March 2011 the occupiers were asked to leave by the University. They refused and when a large crowd of supporters gathered outside the building Strathclyde Police forcibly evicted the protesters. The protesters and their supporters then moved directly to the university’s senate offices. In return for vacating the senate offices the students were allowed to return to the Hetherington and continue their occupation. Over the course of the occupation the Free Hetherington played host to many notable figures including Billy Bragg, Ken Loach, Liz Lochead, Tom Leonard, Mark Steel and David Rovics. After negotiations with university management the occupiers agreed to leave the Hetherington on the condition of the following commitments: 1. No more course cuts; 2. No compulsory redundancies; 3. A new postgraduate club, to be opened in the next year; 4. No cuts for student services, a guarantee of transparency with the SRC (Student Representative Council); 5. A public meeting with the principal Anton Muscatelli, where students and staff may address their worries; 6. No repercussions from the University for staff or students involved in the occupation; 7. An assurance that no information will be volunteered to the police about people involved. The occupation ended on the 31st of August 2011 and is believed to have been the longest running UK university occupation in history.

The Free Hetherington Collection is now part of the [http://spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt Archive] and contains a wide range of materials including: limited accounts and evidence of correspondence with the university; an array of campaign literature and posters; postcards and letters from around the world expressing solidarity with the occupation; a small collection of photographs from the occupation and related events; news cuttings relating to the Free Hetherington and the student protest movement; leaflets and posters advertising events in the Free Hetherington; and a collection of items created by those involved in the occupation including signs indicating occupation rules, wall charts with ideas for actions, rotas and information about the occupation and other ephemeral products of the occupation collected before the occupiers left the Free Hetherington.

Information taken from [http://spiritofrevolt.info/free-hetherington-collection/ Spirit of Revolt Archive]

Posted by John Couzin.

The Free Hetherington

2018-06-23T08:53:06Z

Annarky:

The Free Hetherington began on the 1st of February 2011 when 13 University Gardens, University of Glasgow, previously the Hetherington Research Club, was occupied by students. The occupation quickly established itself as a hub for the university’s anti-cuts movement. It was widely used by a range of political groups and campaigns for meetings and social and educational events. Prior to its occupation, 13 University Gardens had been lying vacant since February 2010 when the research club had been forced to close through financial difficulties and the withdrawal of support from the university. On the 22nd of March 2011 the occupiers were asked to leave by the University. They refused and when a large crowd of supporters gathered outside the building Strathclyde Police forcibly evicted the protesters. The protesters and their supporters then moved directly to the university’s senate offices. In return for vacating the senate offices the students were allowed to return to the Hetherington and continue their occupation. Over the course of the occupation the Free Hetherington played host to many notable figures including Billy Bragg, Ken Loach, Liz Lochead, Tom Leonard, Mark Steel and David Rovics. After negotiations with university management the occupiers agreed to leave the Hetherington on the condition of the following commitments: 1. No more course cuts; 2. No compulsory redundancies; 3. A new postgraduate club, to be opened in the next year; 4. No cuts for student services, a guarantee of transparency with the SRC (Student Representative Council); 5. A public meeting with the principal Anton Muscatelli, where students and staff may address their worries; 6. No repercussions from the University for staff or students involved in the occupation; 7. An assurance that no information will be volunteered to the police about people involved. The occupation ended on the 31st of August 2011 and is believed to have been the longest running UK university occupation in history.

The Free Hetherington Collection is now part of the [http://spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt Archive] and contains a wide range of materials including: limited accounts and evidence of correspondence with the university; an array of campaign literature and posters; postcards and letters from around the world expressing solidarity with the occupation; a small collection of photographs from the occupation and related events; news cuttings relating to the Free Hetherington and the student protest movement; leaflets and posters advertising events in the Free Hetherington; and a collection of items created by those involved in the occupation including signs indicating occupation rules, wall charts with ideas for actions, rotas and information about the occupation and other ephemeral products of the occupation collected before the occupiers left the Free Hetherington.

Information taken from [http://spiritofrevolt.info/free-hetherington-collection/ Spirit of Revolt Archive]

Posted by John Couzin.

The Free Hetherington

2018-06-23T08:51:23Z

Annarky:

The Free Hetherington

2018-06-23T08:49:01Z

Annarky: Created page with "The Free Hetherington began on the 1st of February 2011 when 13 University Gardens, University of Glasgow, previously the Hetherington Research Club, was occupied by students...."

The Free Hetherington began on the 1st of February 2011 when 13 University Gardens, University of Glasgow, previously the Hetherington Research Club, was occupied by students. The occupation quickly established itself as a hub for the university’s anti-cuts movement. It was widely used by a range of political groups and campaigns for meetings and social and educational events. Prior to its occupation, 13 University Gardens had been lying vacant since February 2010 when the research club had been forced to close through financial difficulties and the withdrawal of support from the university. On the 22nd of March 2011 the occupiers were asked to leave by the University. They refused and when a large crowd of supporters gathered outside the building Strathclyde Police forcibly evicted the protesters. The protesters and their supporters then moved directly to the university’s senate offices. In return for vacating the senate offices the students were allowed to return to the Hetherington and continue their occupation. Over the course of the occupation the Free Hetherington played host to many notable figures including Billy Bragg, Ken Loach, Liz Lochead, Tom Leonard, Mark Steel and David Rovics. After negotiations with university management the occupiers agreed to leave the Hetherington on the condition of the following commitments: 1. No more course cuts; 2. No compulsory redundancies; 3. A new postgraduate club, to be opened in the next year; 4. No cuts for student services, a guarantee of transparency with the SRC (Student Representative Council); 5. A public meeting with the principal Anton Muscatelli, where students and staff may address their worries; 6. No repercussions from the University for staff or students involved in the occupation; 7. An assurance that no information will be volunteered to the police about people involved. The occupation ended on the 31st of August 2011 and is believed to have been the longest running UK university occupation in history.

The Free Hetherington Collection is now part of the [http://spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt Archive] and contains a wide range of materials including: limited accounts and evidence of correspondence with the university; an array of campaign literature and posters; postcards and letters from around the world expressing solidarity with the occupation; a small collection of photographs from the occupation and related events; news cuttings relating to the Free Hetherington and the student protest movement; leaflets and posters advertising events in the Free Hetherington; and a collection of items created by those involved in the occupation including signs indicating occupation rules, wall charts with ideas for actions, rotas and information about the occupation and other ephemeral products of the occupation collected before the occupiers left the Free Hetherington.

Information taken from [http://http://spiritofrevolt.info/free-hetherington-collection/ Spirit of Revolt Archive]

Main Page

2018-06-23T08:38:30Z

Annarky: /* Events */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Ian Heavens]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]

[[The Free Hetherington]]
</div>

Main Page

2018-06-05T08:52:52Z

Annarky: /* (Mal)Contents */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Ian Heavens]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]
</div>

Main Page

2018-03-03T23:21:20Z

Annarky:

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Ian Heavens]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]
</div>

Ian Heavens

2018-03-03T15:14:28Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Ian Heavens, 1957-2000, Spunk Co-founder''' '''Ian Heavens: Revolutionary''' Many remember how sincere, genuine and giving Ian was. As well as bringing joy to those arou..."

Main Page

2018-03-03T15:06:52Z

Annarky: /* (Mal)Contents */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Ian Heavens]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]
</div>

----

<strong>MediaWiki has been successfully installed.</strong>

Consult the [//meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Localisation#Translation_resources Localise MediaWiki for your language]

The Glasgow Summer School 1993

2018-03-03T14:58:04Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Anarchist Summer School, Glasgow, Scotland.''' '''Review of Anarchist Summer School, May 1993, Glasgow, Scotland''' '''by Ian Heavens and Jack Campin''' The Glasgow anar..."

'''Anarchist Summer School, Glasgow, Scotland.'''

'''Review of Anarchist Summer School, May 1993, Glasgow, Scotland'''

'''by Ian Heavens and Jack Campin'''

The Glasgow anarchist summer school was held on May 29th to May 31st, in the Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre, Daisy St., Govanhill, Glasgow. It was organized by Glasgow Class War, Counter Information (an Edinburgh group who produce a freesheet), the Free University Network, Libertarian Social Committee and individual anarchists and libertarian socialists.
There was a turnout of two hundred to two hundred and fifty anarchists from all over Britain and elsewhere, including an Italian autonomist. Bookstalls from A K Press (Edinburgh), Northern Herald Books (Bradford) and various local groups were on display.

'''Some of the workshops are reviewed here. Others included:'''

Popular Culture (including Mass Media),

Philosophy of the Individual

John Perroti and Prisoners' Support

Women, Feminism and Revolution

Workers, Class Struggle and the Unions

Anarchist/Anti-Parliamentary History

Scotland and National Liberation

Sex and the Working Class

Ireland and State Preparation

Crime and Working Class Community

Public Sector Pay Disputes, Community Resistance (including Water Privatisation/Poll Tax)

Workplace organization

Fighting the Law (including Asbestos)

Successful Grafitti/Posters/Propaganda

Italy: State, Corruption, new radical forces.

'''Anarchist films and videos were shown throughout the weekend:'''

- Despite TV, The Battle of Trafalgar; what really happened during the Trafalgar Square Poll Tax riot.

- The Jewish Anarchists; documents the Jewish immigrant anarchist movement in the U.S.A. and the 87 year history of the anarchist newspaper "Die Frei Arbeiter Stimmer".

- Survival Research Laboratories - Maimed Artist; S.R.L. are San Francisco based performance artists who build machines that fight with each other.

- The Wobblies; documentary charting the history of the Industrial Workers Of The World, including interviews with many I.W.W. activists.

- Behold The Pale Horse; Gregory Peck as a character very closely based on Sabate, the Spanish anarchist guerilla.

'''Impressions from Jack:'''

I was at the summer school on Saturday and Sunday, and went to four workshops: fascism, anarchism & marxism, the New World Order, and computer networking. Fascism:

about 20 people. It hit me straight off that was a rather male gathering (so was the whole weekend). No very strong disagreements: the points people made included these:

- organized fascism is not a big deal in the UK and not going anywhere fast.

- one particular example of this is in Scotland where Protestant Loyalism resists incorporation into British fascism despite having substantial common aims (the British fascist parties being happy to work with Catholic fascists from Europe who are poison to the Loyalists). In practice this doesn't make a great deal of difference to us: the ruling class uses both in the same way.

- this is not like the situation in Germany where the state has chosen to use the fascists as a disavowable force.

- anti-fascism in the UK, as practiced by the front organizations of Marxist parties, is mainly about recruiting members and disregards the real needs of the black working class. They make a huge fuss when one of their paper-sellers gets attacked but ignore the problem of racist violence that isn't fascist-organized - either from the police or from clueless elements of the white working class.

what it takes to respond to this is real community organization, an unattractive option for a vanguardist as it means staying put in a local community at the cost of upward mobility in some national power structure.

'''some specific problems with vanguard anti-fascist groups:'''

Anti-Fascist Action in Glasgow has now split into two factions, an anarchist one and one controlled by Red Action (a small Trotskyist party who are trying to use AFA across Britain as a power base). Searchlight (a well-established magazine now associated with AFA) has long been used by MI5 and the police as a two-way channel of information, thanks to its opportunistic anything-goes-in-fighting- fascism stance, and (this emerged at the plenary on Sunday) seems lately to have been used in attempt to smear Class War (see their April 93 issue; there's a pamphlet about this that I haven't read yet). Searchlight also has a very limited concept of what fascism is; you won't find them pointing to fascism in the Israeli state. Basically their line is that the destruction of fascism should be the concern of the repressive apparatus of the state and the working class should have nothing to with it but look on.

Black bourgeois nationalist groups take the same line, e.g. the Black Lawyers group in London that organized a disastrous march through a heavily fascist-infiltrated area and got their supporters hammered. Again this seems to have been a recruiting measure; to persuade the black working class that the only protection they can expect is from the black nationalists. White Trotskyist anti- fascists are doing their level best to prove them right by doing no organization whatever among the white working class.

'''Marxism & anarchism:'''

I went to this one by mistake because I couldn't find the room for the one about John Perotti and prisoner support. Wish I'd looked harder. It started with a long and self-indulgent talk by Albert Meltzer and continued with a mindless slugfest between a Trot who fancied himself as sympathetic to anarchism (but...), a guy from Class War who mistakenly tried to say something constructive and intelligent, and Robert Lynn (the elderly Glasgow anarchist whose idea this summer school was) in full tub-thumping sermon mode. Do we really need any more meetings about Kronstadt or whether Bakunin predicted the Soviet system?

'''The New World Order:'''

I found this rather insubstantial. The facilitator tried something that might have potential for other meetings - collectively constructing one of the conceptual network diagrams as described in Tony Buzan's "Use Your Head" - but I don't think it worked here as the ideas didn't emerge fast enough. This does raise an interesting point: if he didn't get that idea from Buzan (where I read it) he probably got it from some management book. Maybe there are other useful ideas there we could pick up on? After all, the ruling elite is quite capable of exploiting non-authoritarian organizational techniques *among themselves* if they further the control they exert *as a class*. Maybe some of us ought to take a stiff dose of anti-emetic and try reading some management literature...

The social on Saturday night: OK but not exactly orgiastic. I spent the evening talking to someone I hadn't met for years, and quiet socializing was what most people were doing. This isn't what Glasgow is supposed to be like!!!
General organization: bloody good. I wasn't involved in setting this up and the people who were must have worked their arses off. Absolutely *nothing* went wrong that I noticed. The venue (a community centre) made for some difficulties; we had to be out of the building in the early evening, which disrupted the flow.

'''Ian's impressions:'''

Completely agreed with Jack on the excellent organization, a credit to the Glasgow comrades. The main hall was hung with a large GLASGOW ANARCHIST SUMMER SCHOOL logo in red and black, and the names of well known anarchists were plastered over the walls. It was stimulating to see so many anarchists together, and the continuity of the anarchist tradition: Robert Lynn, a prime mover in the summer school was 69, and Charlie Baird is the son of the Charlie Baird who was a secretary of the Glasgow Anarchist group after the Second World War. I also met an anarcho syndicalist from Hull and an Oxford anarchist, both of whom were there with their parents; really encouraging, I hope we all go out and breed lots of tiny anarchists...the youngest attendee was my son Daniel, aged 13 months.

I attended the workshops on Latin American Anarchism and the Basque Struggle. Both were run by anarchists who had spent some time in the respective countries; Jake Lagnado, who spent last year in Peru and Argentina, and a guy called Buzz from Glasgow, who had spent time in the Basque country and Catalonia. Their experiences and insights were very interesting, though I felt the discussions did not get as far as they could have done.
Jake had some anarchist publications in Spanish and talked about the movements emerging in Argentina and Uruguay after the collapse of military government. Buzz described the relationship of the CNT and CGT to the Basque struggle; interestingly, the CNT's failure to take a positive attitude to Basque independence has lost them influence. He found some elements of the Basque independent movement to be quite positive from an anarchist point of view. I have an article from Jake on Peruvian anarchism which should be available through Spunk Press.

'''Spunk Press'''

The summer school was good for Spunk Press. A hundred leaflets asking for material were given out, and both publishers present agreed to make their catalogues available to us; A K Press have a really impressive catalogue, over 100 pages, and it will be excellent to get this online. Material is also being received from 'Here and Now', a Glasgow/Leeds based alternative magazine, and Working Press, a London radical publishing outfit. Individual articles from the Glasgow group (including its 'History of Scottish Anarchism') and others should follow. Those using PCs to write articles and catalogues are often a bit diffident about the fact, possibly as a result of the antitechnology bias among anarchists, and did not see the point of and electronic archive until explained to them; A K Press got enthusiastic when I told them that up to ten million people could access their catalogue if it was online - though how many would order their books is another question.

'''Computer Networking Workshop'''

The Computer Networking Workshop was organized by Jack, Ian and Chris Hutchinson from the Anarchist Communist Federation. There was nowhere near enough time to explain and demonstrate the potential of networking, so that the aims of the workshops should probably have been more limited. Also, setting up and tearing down the computer and modem in an unfamiliar situation, with a strict time constraint on telephone access - combined with the fact that none of us are hardware buffs - made the online demonstration an energy and time consuming operation. We are just overawed by the fact that we managed to get it working at all! There are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the way we ran the workshop; by demonstrating the sophistication of the technology, it is possible to alienate people rather than persuade them of its usefulness. However, there was a lot of interest and useful contacts made.

This article was taken from [http://http://www.spunk.org/texts/events/sp000054.html Spunk Press]

Posted by John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Main Page

2018-03-03T14:39:09Z

Annarky: /* Events */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[The Glasgow Summer School 1993]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]
</div>

----

<strong>MediaWiki has been successfully installed.</strong>

Consult the [//meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Localisation#Translation_resources Localise MediaWiki for your language]

Les Foster

2018-03-03T13:28:36Z

Annarky:

'''Les Foster, 1919-2016'''

'''Roots and early years.'''

Leslie was born in Maryhill 1919. His father and grandfather came from Leith, had a blacksmith’s shop at the corner of Bilsland Drive. They held the contract for shoeing soldiers’ horses at Maryhill Barracks, circus horses at the Kelvin Hall Zoo. His grandpa was over 6 feet tall, “a believer in physical force.” He once caught a burglar in his house and dropped him out the window.
Leslie’s mother’s people were Munros from Brora. This coastal region in Sutherland is where thousands ended up waiting to be shipped to Canada, cleared off the land by the worst of landowner aristocracy. Some stayed and tried scratching a living off the shore and the sea. Grandpa Munro was a stonemason; he moved to Glasgow and found work at Maryhill Barracks.
Les and brother Archie attended Garrioch Primary then Allan Glen’s. “We saw the light of day inside a two-storey tenement house at 970 Maryhill Road... The Kitchen window looked down on the blacksmith’s shop ...” Archie was seven years older and a bit of hero to the young Leslie. Not only did he go to Glasgow University he was a hustler at snooker, learned at Johnnie May’s billiard saloon which was just along the road, in that one-storey building next to the garage. Les didnt have much time for school, nor its “history books...‘Gung Ho’ propaganda tracts” he called them, “heavily laced with Rule Britannia. Our tiny feet marching to the strains of Onward Christian Soldiers.”

'''The dignity of labour.'''

He went his own way; left school early. “Sometimes I feel like throwing up when I hear pundits talking about the Dignity of Labour. One Monday morning I sold my dignity to a company called the Saracen Foundry, by the time Friday came round I asked for it back...I began to study the moulders’ physique...a complexion of ashen grey, sunken cheeks, backs permanently bent, old before their time...sparks flying all over the place, odd bits of burning ingot dropped onto the floor. I asked the Gaffer for my cards - and got them.” Later he entered the building trade as a plasterer’s labourer, reading voraciously, keeping his eyes and ears open”

'''His love of Maryhill.'''

His own family moved to Milngavie but his heart was in Maryhill. He was a fund of local knowledge, from cinemas and backstreet singers to the political agitations. George Millar stabbed to death by a blackleg during the 1833 printers’ strike at Dawsholm, buried at Duart Street. Keir Hardie’s remains? Right here in Maryhill. A Memorial stone to Donald Macrae, the Alness Martyr? Right here in Maryhill, where they buried him. What about the Chartist leader Arthur O’Neil leading off the Maryhill contingent from Gilshochill, led by an Orange flute band, probably from the same Lodge that stares back at ye to this day, when ye look up the hill at Sandbank Street.
Les laughed at that. At the same he could be touchy on certain subjects and in conversation ye had to tread cautiously. But he was always interested in people themselves. His first questions were on your family and his interest was absolutely genuine.

'''Football and a dark period.'''

He was a passionate man. Completely non-sectarian. In football his position was along the lines of: I’m not biased, I don’t care who beats Rangers and Celtic. What a memory! Rhyming off the great players of the past. Never mind Hibs’ Famous Five what about the 1950s Third Lanark team, or the Ansell Babes of Motherwell.
The professional game nowadays left him cold. But he still loved football. Nothing gave him more pleasure than watching Maryhill Juniors at Lochburn Park. It was getting out to watch the ‘Hill that helped him through the worst period of his life, the dark time following the death of his beloved Gracie, almost 20 years ago. Her family were the James’s and McLeans from Lambhill. Gracie made her home in Milngavie and was well-known there - far better known than Les, and he enjoyed that.

'''Politicised mother and the Communist Party.'''

He was 18 when his dad died. Him and his mother flitted to Garnethill. She was politicised, came to political meetings: a friend of Johnny Muir of the Clyde Workers’ Committee. When Les got involved she encouraged him. He became Secretary of the City Branch of the Communist Party in his early twenties, met with Jimmy Mclaren, then Hugh Savage. The three were close pals. Until tragically Jimmy McLaren died of TB at the age of 28.
Like many young Glasgow Communists Les and Hughie were taught to be wary of Harry McShane. He had a reputation for ‘awkward individualism’. He said what he thought, and acted accordingly, and it didnt go down too well with Party chiefs. But the ability to think for yourself went down well with Les and Hughie; avid readers, avid thinkers; activist to the core. They had the utmost respect for McShane and were close friends to the end.

'''Grand Hotel Occupation.'''

“The Grand Hotel at Charing Cross was used as a club by the American Army during the War. Later it stood empty - a must for potential squatters. So Harry McShane, Bill McCulloch, Bob Saunders and myself broke in through a side door taking in tow a fair number of families. Crowds gathered, the Police arrived, sirens blazing. Several Party Leaders stood there without lifting a hand to help. When the Assistant Chief Constable saw Harry McShane come out the front door he said, I might have known...”
Les was a Shop Steward; a leader of the Merrylee Housing struggle of 1951 along with his comrade Ned Donaldson. The Tory Council wanted to sell off 622 council houses at a time when 100,000 people were on the waiting list in Glasgow. “In those days workers did not get pestered by the absurd rigmarole of postal ballots. Decisions were made at the point of production. After discussion and debate a vote was taken. Those in favour one side...those against the other. The strike lasted ten days.” Guy Aldred’s Strickland Press printed 30,000 leaflets for the strike and when told the committee were skint Guy [said] forget it, it’s a worthwhile cause.” The Tories lost that one but in the aftermath Les was sacked; him and Ned, blacklisted. Les joined British Rail and stayed until retiral.

'''Lenin’s last will.'''

In 1953 he, Hugh Savage and Bill McCulloch resigned from the CP alongside Harry McShane and took to spreading the message; chalking pavements, publishing The New Commune, the Socialist Revolt. “Lenin’s Last Will and Testament had been suppressed by the Soviet Communist Party. The British Party made sure it never saw the time of day. In the Will, Lenin, after making a number of serious criticisms said that Stalin was dangerous and unfit to don the mantle of Leader. We procured the text and published.”
One night Les, Hughie, Harry and Matt McGinn were up in Bill McCulloch’s house planning stuff. A chap at the door. Gerry Healy of the WRP, the Workers Revolutionary Party, up from London on a recruiting mission. He was wasting his time. They had had enough of Vanguards. “Our aim was to go it alone, no pretensions or ambitions...we thought there was a great need for Socialist Propaganda, and nothing more than that.... We took to the Soap Box holding regular open air meetings at the corner of Drury Street. Controversy was encouraged, questions never fudged.” At one such meeting in bleak November two hundred people turned up on the anniversary of John Maclean’s death.
“Sometime after the Hungarian events the Socialist Workers Federation ran into hard times. We ran out of cash...our paper The Socialist Revolt was put to sleep. Alas only three of us soldiered on, Hugh Savage, Harry McShane and myself - we still remained Revolutionary Socialists.”

'''Research, writings and Workers’ City.'''

Meantime Les continued in British Rail, always working on his own research and writing projects, contributed to the Glasgow Labour History Project; wrote on the 1911 Clydebank Singer Strike and the crucial role of women there, the SLP and the Wobblies. He did a history of the NUR, did the Introduction for McShane’s 3 Days That Shook Edinburgh. He and Hughie published a life of the forgotten 19th Century Marxist, Willie Nairn who influenced a generation of working class activists, including John Maclean, Arthur McManus, Willie Paul, Neil Maclean and Tom Bell.
In the 1980s Les, Hughie and Ned came out of ‘political retirement’ and were in at the early stages of Workers City, with Janette McGinn, Freddie and Isobel Anderson, Farquhar McLay and other friends and comrades. Les wrote a couple of pieces for that scurrilous rag of fond memory, The Keelie! Les even found time to write his autobiography and left unpublished articles. At the very end he was talking football, politics, music, and memories. Plus he was reading Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread. At 96!

'''His passing left a mark.'''

He had been in hospital since August; in a Maryhill nursing home since early December, a stone's throw from the old Bilsland Drive smiddy. He was making the best of it. But a few days ago that was him transferred to the Royal, back with the breathing mask and still with the tubes. Purgatory. He was fed up with it all. Plus the knowledge once recovered it was back to the nursing home. No, it wasn’t for him.
His generation spoke about ‘contributions’. The big compliment to pay a comrade? What a contribution! To the Labour movement and to the Socialist movement, a lifetime’s commitment. Leslie Forster - what a contribution!

Written by [http://http://spiritofrevolt.info/james-kelman-collection/ James Kelman]

posted by John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website.]

Les Foster

2018-03-03T13:06:04Z

Annarky:

'''Les Foster, 1919-'''

'''Roots and early years.'''

Leslie was born in Maryhill 1919. His father and grandfather came from Leith, had a blacksmith’s shop at the corner of Bilsland Drive. They held the contract for shoeing soldiers’ horses at Maryhill Barracks, circus horses at the Kelvin Hall Zoo. His grandpa was over 6 feet tall, “a believer in physical force.” He once caught a burglar in his house and dropped him out the window.
Leslie’s mother’s people were Munros from Brora. This coastal region in Sutherland is where thousands ended up waiting to be shipped to Canada, cleared off the land by the worst of landowner aristocracy. Some stayed and tried scratching a living off the shore and the sea. Grandpa Munro was a stonemason; he moved to Glasgow and found work at Maryhill Barracks.
Les and brother Archie attended Garrioch Primary then Allan Glen’s. “We saw the light of day inside a two-storey tenement house at 970 Maryhill Road... The Kitchen window looked down on the blacksmith’s shop ...” Archie was seven years older and a bit of hero to the young Leslie. Not only did he go to Glasgow University he was a hustler at snooker, learned at Johnnie May’s billiard saloon which was just along the road, in that one-storey building next to the garage. Les didnt have much time for school, nor its “history books...‘Gung Ho’ propaganda tracts” he called them, “heavily laced with Rule Britannia. Our tiny feet marching to the strains of Onward Christian Soldiers.”

'''The dignity of labour.'''

He went his own way; left school early. “Sometimes I feel like throwing up when I hear pundits talking about the Dignity of Labour. One Monday morning I sold my dignity to a company called the Saracen Foundry, by the time Friday came round I asked for it back...I began to study the moulders’ physique...a complexion of ashen grey, sunken cheeks, backs permanently bent, old before their time...sparks flying all over the place, odd bits of burning ingot dropped onto the floor. I asked the Gaffer for my cards - and got them.” Later he entered the building trade as a plasterer’s labourer, reading voraciously, keeping his eyes and ears open”

'''His love of Maryhill.'''

His own family moved to Milngavie but his heart was in Maryhill. He was a fund of local knowledge, from cinemas and backstreet singers to the political agitations. George Millar stabbed to death by a blackleg during the 1833 printers’ strike at Dawsholm, buried at Duart Street. Keir Hardie’s remains? Right here in Maryhill. A Memorial stone to Donald Macrae, the Alness Martyr? Right here in Maryhill, where they buried him. What about the Chartist leader Arthur O’Neil leading off the Maryhill contingent from Gilshochill, led by an Orange flute band, probably from the same Lodge that stares back at ye to this day, when ye look up the hill at Sandbank Street.
Les laughed at that. At the same he could be touchy on certain subjects and in conversation ye had to tread cautiously. But he was always interested in people themselves. His first questions were on your family and his interest was absolutely genuine.

'''Football and a dark period.'''

He was a passionate man. Completely non-sectarian. In football his position was along the lines of: I’m not biased, I don’t care who beats Rangers and Celtic. What a memory! Rhyming off the great players of the past. Never mind Hibs’ Famous Five what about the 1950s Third Lanark team, or the Ansell Babes of Motherwell.
The professional game nowadays left him cold. But he still loved football. Nothing gave him more pleasure than watching Maryhill Juniors at Lochburn Park. It was getting out to watch the ‘Hill that helped him through the worst period of his life, the dark time following the death of his beloved Gracie, almost 20 years ago. Her family were the James’s and McLeans from Lambhill. Gracie made her home in Milngavie and was well-known there - far better known than Les, and he enjoyed that.

'''Politicised mother and the Communist Party.'''

He was 18 when his dad died. Him and his mother flitted to Garnethill. She was politicised, came to political meetings: a friend of Johnny Muir of the Clyde Workers’ Committee. When Les got involved she encouraged him. He became Secretary of the City Branch of the Communist Party in his early twenties, met with Jimmy Mclaren, then Hugh Savage. The three were close pals. Until tragically Jimmy McLaren died of TB at the age of 28.
Like many young Glasgow Communists Les and Hughie were taught to be wary of Harry McShane. He had a reputation for ‘awkward individualism’. He said what he thought, and acted accordingly, and it didnt go down too well with Party chiefs. But the ability to think for yourself went down well with Les and Hughie; avid readers, avid thinkers; activist to the core. They had the utmost respect for McShane and were close friends to the end.

'''Grand Hotel Occupation.'''

“The Grand Hotel at Charing Cross was used as a club by the American Army during the War. Later it stood empty - a must for potential squatters. So Harry McShane, Bill McCulloch, Bob Saunders and myself broke in through a side door taking in tow a fair number of families. Crowds gathered, the Police arrived, sirens blazing. Several Party Leaders stood there without lifting a hand to help. When the Assistant Chief Constable saw Harry McShane come out the front door he said, I might have known...”
Les was a Shop Steward; a leader of the Merrylee Housing struggle of 1951 along with his comrade Ned Donaldson. The Tory Council wanted to sell off 622 council houses at a time when 100,000 people were on the waiting list in Glasgow. “In those days workers did not get pestered by the absurd rigmarole of postal ballots. Decisions were made at the point of production. After discussion and debate a vote was taken. Those in favour one side...those against the other. The strike lasted ten days.” Guy Aldred’s Strickland Press printed 30,000 leaflets for the strike and when told the committee were skint Guy [said] forget it, it’s a worthwhile cause.” The Tories lost that one but in the aftermath Les was sacked; him and Ned, blacklisted. Les joined British Rail and stayed until retiral.

'''Lenin’s last will.'''

In 1953 he, Hugh Savage and Bill McCulloch resigned from the CP alongside Harry McShane and took to spreading the message; chalking pavements, publishing The New Commune, the Socialist Revolt. “Lenin’s Last Will and Testament had been suppressed by the Soviet Communist Party. The British Party made sure it never saw the time of day. In the Will, Lenin, after making a number of serious criticisms said that Stalin was dangerous and unfit to don the mantle of Leader. We procured the text and published.”
One night Les, Hughie, Harry and Matt McGinn were up in Bill McCulloch’s house planning stuff. A chap at the door. Gerry Healy of the WRP, the Workers Revolutionary Party, up from London on a recruiting mission. He was wasting his time. They had had enough of Vanguards. “Our aim was to go it alone, no pretensions or ambitions...we thought there was a great need for Socialist Propaganda, and nothing more than that.... We took to the Soap Box holding regular open air meetings at the corner of Drury Street. Controversy was encouraged, questions never fudged.” At one such meeting in bleak November two hundred people turned up on the anniversary of John Maclean’s death.
“Sometime after the Hungarian events the Socialist Workers Federation ran into hard times. We ran out of cash...our paper The Socialist Revolt was put to sleep. Alas only three of us soldiered on, Hugh Savage, Harry McShane and myself - we still remained Revolutionary Socialists.”

'''Research, writings and Workers’ City.'''

Meantime Les continued in British Rail, always working on his own research and writing projects, contributed to the Glasgow Labour History Project; wrote on the 1911 Clydebank Singer Strike and the crucial role of women there, the SLP and the Wobblies. He did a history of the NUR, did the Introduction for McShane’s 3 Days That Shook Edinburgh. He and Hughie published a life of the forgotten 19th Century Marxist, Willie Nairn who influenced a generation of working class activists, including John Maclean, Arthur McManus, Willie Paul, Neil Maclean and Tom Bell.
In the 1980s Les, Hughie and Ned came out of ‘political retirement’ and were in at the early stages of Workers City, with Janette McGinn, Freddie and Isobel Anderson, Farquhar McLay and other friends and comrades. Les wrote a couple of pieces for that scurrilous rag of fond memory, The Keelie! Les even found time to write his autobiography and left unpublished articles. At the very end he was talking football, politics, music, and memories. Plus he was reading Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread. At 96!

'''His passing left a mark.'''

He had been in hospital since August; in a Maryhill nursing home since early December, a stone's throw from the old Bilsland Drive smiddy. He was making the best of it. But a few days ago that was him transferred to the Royal, back with the breathing mask and still with the tubes. Purgatory. He was fed up with it all. Plus the knowledge once recovered it was back to the nursing home. No, it wasn’t for him.
His generation spoke about ‘contributions’. The big compliment to pay a comrade? What a contribution! To the Labour movement and to the Socialist movement, a lifetime’s commitment. Leslie Forster - what a contribution!

Written by [http://http://spiritofrevolt.info/james-kelman-collection/ James Kelman]

posted by John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website.]

Les Foster

2018-03-03T13:03:05Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Les Foster, 1919-''' '''Roots and early years.''' Leslie was born in Maryhill 1919. His father and grandfather came from Leith, had a blacksmith’s shop at the corner of..."

'''Les Foster, 1919-'''

'''Roots and early years.'''

Leslie was born in Maryhill 1919. His father and grandfather came from Leith, had a blacksmith’s shop at the corner of Bilsland Drive. They held the contract for shoeing soldiers’ horses at Maryhill Barracks, circus horses at the Kelvin Hall Zoo. His grandpa was over 6 feet tall, “a believer in physical force.” He once caught a burglar in his house and dropped him out the window.
Leslie’s mother’s people were Munros from Brora. This coastal region in Sutherland is where thousands ended up waiting to be shipped to Canada, cleared off the land by the worst of landowner aristocracy. Some stayed and tried scratching a living off the shore and the sea. Grandpa Munro was a stonemason; he moved to Glasgow and found work at Maryhill Barracks.
Les and brother Archie attended Garrioch Primary then Allan Glen’s. “We saw the light of day inside a two-storey tenement house at 970 Maryhill Road... The Kitchen window looked down on the blacksmith’s shop ...” Archie was seven years older and a bit of hero to the young Leslie. Not only did he go to Glasgow University he was a hustler at snooker, learned at Johnnie May’s billiard saloon which was just along the road, in that one-storey building next to the garage. Les didnt have much time for school, nor its “history books...‘Gung Ho’ propaganda tracts” he called them, “heavily laced with Rule Britannia. Our tiny feet marching to the strains of Onward Christian Soldiers.”

'''The dignity of labour.'''

He went his own way; left school early. “Sometimes I feel like throwing up when I hear pundits talking about the Dignity of Labour. One Monday morning I sold my dignity to a company called the Saracen Foundry, by the time Friday came round I asked for it back...I began to study the moulders’ physique...a complexion of ashen grey, sunken cheeks, backs permanently bent, old before their time...sparks flying all over the place, odd bits of burning ingot dropped onto the floor. I asked the Gaffer for my cards - and got them.” Later he entered the building trade as a plasterer’s labourer, reading voraciously, keeping his eyes and ears open”

'''His love of Maryhill.'''

His own family moved to Milngavie but his heart was in Maryhill. He was a fund of local knowledge, from cinemas and backstreet singers to the political agitations. George Millar stabbed to death by a blackleg during the 1833 printers’ strike at Dawsholm, buried at Duart Street. Keir Hardie’s remains? Right here in Maryhill. A Memorial stone to Donald Macrae, the Alness Martyr? Right here in Maryhill, where they buried him. What about the Chartist leader Arthur O’Neil leading off the Maryhill contingent from Gilshochill, led by an Orange flute band, probably from the same Lodge that stares back at ye to this day, when ye look up the hill at Sandbank Street.
Les laughed at that. At the same he could be touchy on certain subjects and in conversation ye had to tread cautiously. But he was always interested in people themselves. His first questions were on your family and his interest was absolutely genuine.

'''Football and a dark period.'''

He was a passionate man. Completely non-sectarian. In football his position was along the lines of: I’m not biased, I don’t care who beats Rangers and Celtic. What a memory! Rhyming off the great players of the past. Never mind Hibs’ Famous Five what about the 1950s Third Lanark team, or the Ansell Babes of Motherwell.
The professional game nowadays left him cold. But he still loved football. Nothing gave him more pleasure than watching Maryhill Juniors at Lochburn Park. It was getting out to watch the ‘Hill that helped him through the worst period of his life, the dark time following the death of his beloved Gracie, almost 20 years ago. Her family were the James’s and McLeans from Lambhill. Gracie made her home in Milngavie and was well-known there - far better known than Les, and he enjoyed that.

'''Politicised mother and the Communist Party.'''

He was 18 when his dad died. Him and his mother flitted to Garnethill. She was politicised, came to political meetings: a friend of Johnny Muir of the Clyde Workers’ Committee. When Les got involved she encouraged him. He became Secretary of the City Branch of the Communist Party in his early twenties, met with Jimmy Mclaren, then Hugh Savage. The three were close pals. Until tragically Jimmy McLaren died of TB at the age of 28.
Like many young Glasgow Communists Les and Hughie were taught to be wary of Harry McShane. He had a reputation for ‘awkward individualism’. He said what he thought, and acted accordingly, and it didnt go down too well with Party chiefs. But the ability to think for yourself went down well with Les and Hughie; avid readers, avid thinkers; activist to the core. They had the utmost respect for McShane and were close friends to the end.

'''Grand Hotel Occupation.'''

“The Grand Hotel at Charing Cross was used as a club by the American Army during the War. Later it stood empty - a must for potential squatters. So Harry McShane, Bill McCulloch, Bob Saunders and myself broke in through a side door taking in tow a fair number of families. Crowds gathered, the Police arrived, sirens blazing. Several Party Leaders stood there without lifting a hand to help. When the Assistant Chief Constable saw Harry McShane come out the front door he said, I might have known...”
Les was a Shop Steward; a leader of the Merrylee Housing struggle of 1951 along with his comrade Ned Donaldson. The Tory Council wanted to sell off 622 council houses at a time when 100,000 people were on the waiting list in Glasgow. “In those days workers did not get pestered by the absurd rigmarole of postal ballots. Decisions were made at the point of production. After discussion and debate a vote was taken. Those in favour one side...those against the other. The strike lasted ten days.” Guy Aldred’s Strickland Press printed 30,000 leaflets for the strike and when told the committee were skint Guy [said] forget it, it’s a worthwhile cause.” The Tories lost that one but in the aftermath Les was sacked; him and Ned, blacklisted. Les joined British Rail and stayed until retiral.

'''Lenin’s last will.'''

In 1953 he, Hugh Savage and Bill McCulloch resigned from the CP alongside Harry McShane and took to spreading the message; chalking pavements, publishing The New Commune, the Socialist Revolt. “Lenin’s Last Will and Testament had been suppressed by the Soviet Communist Party. The British Party made sure it never saw the time of day. In the Will, Lenin, after making a number of serious criticisms said that Stalin was dangerous and unfit to don the mantle of Leader. We procured the text and published.”
One night Les, Hughie, Harry and Matt McGinn were up in Bill McCulloch’s house planning stuff. A chap at the door. Gerry Healy of the WRP, the Workers Revolutionary Party, up from London on a recruiting mission. He was wasting his time. They had had enough of Vanguards. “Our aim was to go it alone, no pretensions or ambitions...we thought there was a great need for Socialist Propaganda, and nothing more than that.... We took to the Soap Box holding regular open air meetings at the corner of Drury Street. Controversy was encouraged, questions never fudged.” At one such meeting in bleak November two hundred people turned up on the anniversary of John Maclean’s death.
“Sometime after the Hungarian events the Socialist Workers Federation ran into hard times. We ran out of cash...our paper The Socialist Revolt was put to sleep. Alas only three of us soldiered on, Hugh Savage, Harry McShane and myself - we still remained Revolutionary Socialists.”

'''Research, writings and Workers’ City.'''

Meantime Les continued in British Rail, always working on his own research and writing projects, contributed to the Glasgow Labour History Project; wrote on the 1911 Clydebank Singer Strike and the crucial role of women there, the SLP and the Wobblies. He did a history of the NUR, did the Introduction for McShane’s 3 Days That Shook Edinburgh. He and Hughie published a life of the forgotten 19th Century Marxist, Willie Nairn who influenced a generation of working class activists, including John Maclean, Arthur McManus, Willie Paul, Neil Maclean and Tom Bell.
In the 1980s Les, Hughie and Ned came out of ‘political retirement’ and were in at the early stages of Workers City, with Janette McGinn, Freddie and Isobel Anderson, Farquhar McLay and other friends and comrades. Les wrote a couple of pieces for that scurrilous rag of fond memory, The Keelie! Les even found time to write his autobiography and left unpublished articles. At the very end he was talking football, politics, music, and memories. Plus he was reading Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread. At 96!

'''His passing left a mark.'''

He had been in hospital since August; in a Maryhill nursing home since early December, a stone's throw from the old Bilsland Drive smiddy. He was making the best of it. But a few days ago that was him transferred to the Royal, back with the breathing mask and still with the tubes. Purgatory. He was fed up with it all. Plus the knowledge once recovered it was back to the nursing home. No, it wasn’t for him.
His generation spoke about ‘contributions’. The big compliment to pay a comrade? What a contribution! To the Labour movement and to the Socialist movement, a lifetime’s commitment. Leslie Forster - what a contribution!

Written by James Kelman

posted by John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website.]

We Don't Need A Carpark

2018-03-01T22:10:49Z

Annarky: Created page with " '''We Don’t Need A Carpark.''' John Cooper, John Cooper - tapes and scribed by A Rice 17.7.12 Community Action – Housing ; regentrification, greens into car parks,..."

'''We Don’t Need A Carpark.'''

John Cooper, John Cooper - tapes and scribed by A Rice 17.7.12

Community Action – Housing ; regentrification, greens into car parks, loss of safe play spaces.
Injustice/ normal channels closed / bureaucracy /desperation /solidarity with experienced anarchist strategies/ planning direct actions/ increasing the agitation/ use the demolition workers in the struggle, to bring the bureaucrats to the site/ impact on people as activists

I tell it all as if it was a day but it was actually maybe 6 months or a year of struggle.

'''Failed approach to official channels.'''

Campaign in Castlemilk, A group of tenants had been told that the Council are going to build a car park in their back greens. The back greens being the area in which they hung out their washing and where the kids played in safety. The people in the area were all against it and they had actually got a petition together, taken it up to the Labour club, and handed it into the Labour Club and low and behold the Labour Club lost the petition they said later, or they claimed they lost it. And therefore the peoples’ thing could not be taken any further. So by luck one of the tenants bumped into one of us and he told us about the situation.

The work was about to begin in the back greens. They had knocked down a couple of the gable ends to allow bull dozers to get through into the backs. And they were going to start digging up the drying greens and the kids play areas to build this car park.
And basically the people says to us ‘do you think there’s anything we can do about this. Nobody in the area wants this. Everybody is absolutely against the idea. We have petitioned the Labour Party through the Labour Club – they lost the petition that we handed in – and can it be stopped? ’.

'''Tenants come together in solidarity.'''

I gave the answer that I always give people that ask me that question and I answered ‘How determined are you?’ And they said they were absolutely determined about it so I asked them to get a couple of the families together, we went up and saw them, and we talked to them. We being a group of local community activists in Castlemilk, myself and a couple of the others were anarchists, some of the others had no political affiliation, there might have been one or two people in the Labour party, or some kinda left wing groups or whatever but generally I would describe the whole feeling of the thing as kinda anarchistic.

We went up and seen the people. We suggested to them that they get another petition together – no because there any value in getting a petition - but jist to give us an opportunity to go back round everybody again , talk to them on their doorstep, and ask them if they were still prepared to do something about it. We did that the next day , it was only a quad , a really small area, everybody agreed that they were against it. So we went up to the Labour Club, we said that we had another petition, but we weren’t giving it them in or whatever, and we wanted something done about it. We asked to see somebody – they refused to let us see anybody, so we went back down the road and we made our plans for the next day.

'''From official channels to direct action.'''

The next day the bulldozers came and we decided just to block the whole entrance to the back greens, refused to allow the bulldozers through. And I went up and I spoke to the guy that was driving the bulldozer and explained the situation to him and as usual when you speak to other working class people they generally see the point, I will have to phone my gaffer, well that’s exactly what we want you to do, and he phoned his gaffer and he phoned his gaffer and he phoned his gaffer and before too long we had all the relevant people down at the site and that ultimately they sent for the council. When the councillors arrived ( I don’t know if it was that day) but some point in the thing, the councillors arrived in a limo, and so it went from a situation where the councillors refused to see the people but because of the direct action that we took they had to eventually come to us to see us in person. And within a very short space of time they saw that we weren’t going to allow them to build a car park in the back green and they had to cancel the whole thing.

'''Empowerment from success.'''

Initially the people went to the Labour Councillors which is the obvious way to deal with the situation. They went to them, handed in a petition to the Labour Club who basically ignored them and said they lost the petition so the Labour Councillors basically refused to take up their issue for them and they were quite happy to allow it to go ahead. And because they were able to come to us the people that lived there, we advised them on how to deal with the situation and we were there with them and we managed to stop it completely and the backs were all reinstated.

'''Impact.'''

Some of the people in the campaign for the most were delighted at the victory, it was something that they thought they could not achieve in view of the fact that they had already started the work so not only did they stop the thing but they actually retrieved the thing from the ashes so to speak. I think a lot of people felt a great sense of empowerment, and certainly some were involved in other campaigns after that.

So it was an outright victory for the people.

Stasia ; and these are publicity photos?

This is a wee exhibition that the tenants done at the time. After the victory we done these sheets and people put in their comments and pictures, newspaper cuttings, explaining how we halted the car park and we actually used these in other struggles by putting these up and we explained to people that this is how you can take things on and win the situation.

'''List of the material.'''

Sheets that you can put up on walls hand made posters (John Cooper Snr Handwriting)

A wee folder of all the newspaper coverage at the time

People writing poems about it

Pictures taken at the time by Charlie Fisher non resident photographer (who helped with the community newspaper Castlemilk Today)

Dept of housing official papers

Minutes of the council meetings

MP letters from Westminster Teddy Taylor

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Main Page

2018-03-01T10:10:47Z

Annarky: /* Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[http://info@spiritofrevolt.info Spirit of Revolt] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]
</div>

----

<strong>MediaWiki has been successfully installed.</strong>

Consult the [//meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Localisation#Translation_resources Localise MediaWiki for your language]

Charlie and Molly Baird

2018-02-28T17:58:43Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Charlie and Mollie Baird.''' '''BORN INTO POVERTY.''' Charlie Baird was born in the Rottenrow Maternity Hospital Glasgow on 29 November 1915 and was one of 10 children,..."

'''Charlie and Mollie Baird.'''

'''BORN INTO POVERTY.'''

Charlie Baird was born in the Rottenrow Maternity Hospital Glasgow on 29 November 1915 and was one of 10 children, the family lived in Monteith Row just off the Glasgow Green. From there the
family moved to a “room and kitchen” in Bonnar Street. To get a grasp of the living conditions there is the story that all the children slept in the one “recess” bed and were numbered and to save
any one from being pushed out the bed, all the even numbers should breathe in as the odd numbers breathe out.

'''FROM YCL TO GLASGOW ANARCHIST.'''

Charlie left school at 14 and though he had a talent for art, because of the family's financial circumstances, he was unable to pursue that particular road. Instead he was employed
in in The City Barbers at the bottom of Union Street. Charlie had a hatred of poverty and always questioned authority. It was this that probably lead him to join the Young Communist League.
He could never quite accept the rigid dogma of the Communist stance and it was during the war as a conscientious objector in prison, that he met up with some of Glasgow's anarchists.
He immediately felt that he had met his kindred spirits. Among the Glasgow anarchists he met in prison for the same reason as himself, were Jimmy Raeside and Eddie Shaw. Charlie spent about a
year in prison.

'''STREET MEETINGS.'''

It was at a meeting in Brunswick Street that Charlie met Mollie. She originally hailed from Greenock and was the daughter of a boiler maker who had moved to Mount Street Maryhill
in the north side of Glasgow. Charlie and Mollie remained together until their deaths in 1989.
During the war the Glasgow anarchists had a room in Brunswick street and both Charlie and Mollie were very active and frequented the anarchist street meetings held in Brunswick Street,
which could be rather rowdy affairs. As you can imagine there was a lot of patriotic support for the war and holding public meetings against it could lead to confrontation. There were occasions
as someone got on to a box to speak there would be attempts to kick the box from underneath. If the box was snatched, somebody would bring a chair from the Hangman's Rest, a nearby pub the
anarchists regularly frequented, and attempts made to defend the chair from being kicked away from under the speaker. For a period during this era Charlie as the secretary of the Glasgow Anarchist Group.

'''LOST ID CARDS.'''

During this period everybody was issued with an ID card which you were suppose to carry at all times. Charlie never card his and in most cases it was because he didn't have it, claiming it
had been lost. At that there was an under “ground railway” for deserters and those conscientious objectors who had no intention of going to prison and others of that ilk, and that is where Charlie
“lost” his ID cards, Mollie also “lost” hers on occasions. Charlie and Mollie also took part in the “mock tribunals”, where conscientious objectors could be briefed in what to expect and how best to
put their case.

'''BARBERSHOP TO SHEBEEN.'''

About 1961 Charlie rented a shop as a barbershop in Balgrayhill Springburn in the north side of Glasgow, and Mollie used the backshop as a ladies hairdressers. They eventually moved to a shop
in Garscube Road. By this time politics had changed in Glasgow and it was more community based. Also about that time there were considerable evictions around the area where Charlie done his business
and he was forever putting his hand in the till to help out somebody in trouble with their rent.
After the war large street meetings faded, however Bobby Lynn still held Sunday meetings at a house in Kent street in Bridgeton which doubled as a “shebeen”, it was one way of attracting people
to the meetings.

'''HOSPITAL AND DEATH.'''

Charlie and Mollie moved to 183 Allander Street Possilpark and it was here that Mollie, who was a diabetic at this time, developed an infected toe. She was admitted to Stobhill Hoslital October
1989 to have this removed, but the operation was not successful and she had to have her foot removed. This also failed to stop the infection and she had to have part of her leg removed. While Mollie
was I hospital Charlie was suffering from chest infection and Mollie was going to sign herself out unless her son, also Charlie, could persuaded his dad to get himself into the hospital. Young Charlie
junior, managed to get his dad to agree to go into Stobhill. However it was during an ambulance strike and it was a police Landrover that came to take him to hospital and as the police helped him into
the back of the Landrover, one of them said to Charlie, “This'll bring back a few memories”. Mollie took a stroke and went into a coma and died December 1989, Charlie came out of hospital for the funeral
and he died eleven days after Mollies death.
Both Charlie and Mollie lived their lives by their principles never relenting in their struggle to fight injustice and repression, never seeking anything for themselves except sincerity in their
lives. The were both part of an era in Glasgow's history that was exceptionally rich in anarchist activity.

Posted by John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

A Fight With The Housing Department

2018-02-28T15:32:51Z

Annarky: Created page with " '''Community Action – Housing ; Fire bombed close rehousing issue''' Injustice/ normal channels closed / bureaucracy /desperation /solidarity with experienced anarchist st..."

'''Community Action – Housing ; Fire bombed close rehousing issue'''

Injustice/ normal channels closed / bureaucracy /desperation /solidarity with experienced anarchist strategies/ planning direct actions/ increasing the agitation/ to bring the bureaucrats to the site/ impact on people as activists

'''John Cooper, John Cooper Taped and scribed by A Rice 17.7.12'''

May 1983 there was a group of tenants who had been burned out their tenement flats, about 4 or 5 families. There had been an empty flat on the bottom landing and someone had thrown a petrol bomb into it, - in Castlemilk – east end, and the tenants – it was lucky that no one was killed in it. The fire brigade had to be called and people had to be rescued, by the fire brigade, a lot of them suffered from smoke inhalation, there was nobody living in the bottom flat that was empty but it was petrol bombed and it nearly killed everyone else in the building. And they people were put in temporary accommodation only as long as it took the council to paint the close and fix up any of the burnt doors etc , and then they were told that was their houses ready and they would have to go back in. And even at that point you could still smell smoke in the whole building . But they were told that they would need to occupy the houses again because that was it and there wasn’t any other accommodation for them. And the people pointed out that not only was the place still smelled of burning but still smelling of smoke that they were terrified to return to that place again in case a similar incident happened. They pointed out that an awful lot of them had almost been killed in it.

But the Housing Dept. was completely unsympathetic about it. And they said that that would be the only housing that they would be offered and they could take it or leave it sort of thing. So again they had went to their local Tenants Association who went up to the Housing Department with them and basically had had the wool pulled over their eyes by the housing authorities who told them there was nothing that they could do about the whole thing. And as it so happened on their way out of the Housing Dept. one of them met me and another couple of the guys that were involved in the other activities in Castlemilk and they told us about their situation and we immediately said did you go to your tenants group and they said that’s him there that’s the guy there from the Tenants Group and we quizzed him and he told us Oh the housing Association have told us that there’s nothing we can do about it and we will just have to accept it. And the people said to us ‘ is that right do we just have to accept that and can they force us to go back in there? ‘ And again I asked the question again ‘ Well how determined are you?’ And they said ‘well we are very determined’. And I said well you can be very determined but you might end up threatened with jail or stuff like that and the people said well, we don’t care that’s how bad we feel about the whole thing.

So we had a wee meeting with them, a good discussion about the whole thing they were adamant that they weren’t going to return to that tenement building so we said lets try to work out a strategy of how to approach this, obviously the next stage was to go and lobby the housing dept. again and demand to see the housing manager etc. etc. but what other things can we come up with? Despite the fact that a lot of the people there were political activists we were honestly stumped about what to come up with – we came up with a few ideas like we will go to see the housing manager , push him etc. do this and do that, but here a wee woman one of the tenants that had been burned out her house who had never been involved in anything before stuck her hand up and timidly asked , ‘See how we are basically homeless it would be a good idea for us to get a tent and put it in the grounds of the housing department and we will just live there we will just live in the grounds of the Housing dept. right outside and we all looked at one another because it was basically one of the best ideas we had ever heard! And we thought Brilliant! Absolutely Brilliant! That’s exactly what we will do.

And we did that the next day – we went in to see the manager pointed out that the people were not going to be returning to their tenement flats, had he another offer for them and he said that he ‘was not going to use that as another excuse for queue jumping’ and for trying to get into a better part of Castlemilk or whatever, you know. And of course the people were really indignant about that, it had nothing to do with that they had nearly lost their lives. So after a lot of arguing with him and him just refusing to help in any way whatsoever, we went outside, we got the tent that we had brought, and we pitched the tent and a couple of these collapsible chairs people sat outside the tent on that and from then on we started making posters and notices. Fortunately the bit of ground I mention about is right outside the door of the housing on a big triangle of ground I think there was a small fence at that point that you could just step over so we had the tent pitched and we started to hand draw notices and put them up on trees explaining to people going by and everybody that was going by we were able to tell them what was going on we were able to speak to them.

So within a couple of days we had a couple of tents and tons of hand drawn notices up. People by this time that were going up and down to the shops because the housing office is right next to the main shopping area in Castlemilk so a lot of people had to pass it anyway and go up the lane that ran from the side of the housing dept down to the shopping centre . They had become used to what was happening and some people started giving us donations of money and then food and that was growing so we made a point of that we got big buckets and advertised what was going on and so on. And one day a guy passed and said ‘see how they poor people are staying in they tents would it not be better if they had a caravan and we said that would be brilliant. He said ‘I’ve got a caravan that I can give yous’.

Well that night when the housing department was closed they had all went to their beds we brought the caravan in and lifted it over the wee fence. So the next day when the housing department authorities came in there was a caravan in the grounds. And by this time we had started printing up posters with the housing managers face on them and other posters saying ‘ cmon gies a hoose’ which was a reference to the Boys from the Black Stuff (TV) by Yosser, his phrase was ‘Cmon gies a job’ so we changed that a wee bit and as I say we had pictures of the Housing Manager’s face his name was Mugnaioni, I think so we changed that to Buggsieoni and posing as a housing manager for Wanted Posters and we covered the area with the posters and the trees with the posters and shortly after we got the caravan we thought lets extend this lets go and get another caravan and we did that so there was basically a couple of fairly big caravans and tents and stuff like that in the housing department. And every day that that was going on we basically occupied the housing department about 30 to 40 people occupying the housing dept. petitioning to see the housing manager and ultimately they sent for the police and 3 days in a row all 30 people were arrested by the police. And the police said, ‘now you are all under arrest, now will you all walk from here to the police station which was 50 yards away or whatever and we all said no you will need to send cars and vans. So they got cars and vans from the surrounding areas to come and take us all to the police station to charge us and then let us go so we immediately went back to the housing department and occupied it again. We got great public support, we got tons and tons of money and food handed in by people. Some people that were passing ended up joining the campaign it was absolutely fantastic. We’ve got an article originally written by Jeanette McGinn for Workers City which covers the whole event. I think eventually I think it lasted six months or so. And to cut a very long story short the people that the housing manager had absolutely refused to rehouse would never rehouse they could only take that tenement block or not got rehoused in houses of their choice ultimately after 6 months of struggle and the housing manager explained to us that it could all have been resolved a lot quicker if we had not have interfered in the whole thing. Which by then we were used to hearing all that when we come into conflict with the authorities that the thing would have been dealt with quicker if we had not have been involved but in reality what that would have meant is that they would have had their way . So that was a very successful campaign

To escalate the whole thing we were going to take one of the caravans and take it down to George Square and ram it in the door down there.

Posted by John Couzin

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

The book Radical Glasgow.

George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene

2018-02-28T15:29:21Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''George Williamson on the 1960s scene''' Way back in '77, a young guy (AD) on the fringes of Solidarity for Social Revolution,interviewed George Williamson. George had move..."

'''George Williamson on the 1960s scene'''

Way back in '77, a young guy (AD) on the fringes of Solidarity for Social Revolution,interviewed George Williamson. George had moved to Leeds and was an Architect, who wrote the Solidarity pamphlet “Urban Devastation” under the pen-name John Finlayson. He died in 2010.

'''The Flux and Flow'''

In 1962-63, two large “traditional” left” groups existed in the city – their background working class to lower middle class in both cases. These were the Young Socialists (1) and the Young Communist League. Many were recruited from the apprentices strike, and active in the LP/CP and the CND (100 people). There was some overlap between these, and the “non-political” militants (50-60) active in the direct action wing of the ban the bomb movement – the Committee of 100. The “trad left” courted the “new left”, looking for members but most influence of a political nature came from the old anarchists in Glasgow, (see elsewhere in this book). One of the “new” intake, Stuart Christie introduced London Solidarity to both the YS and the Committee of 100. The CND kicked the Committee of 100 out of their offices and the ILP took them into Dundas St. Here “politicisation” took place. The ILP (not particularly in Glasgow but elsewhere in Britain) were pretty libertarian and influenced some of us in Glasgow. About 20 people (including several from the YS) joined the ILP. About 10 or so joined Glasgow Anarchists. Syndicalist Workers Federation and everyone operated from the cover of the ILP address. Solidarity, ILP and Anarchist literature was freely available and speakers from London came up from all groups to talk. But this toleration from the old ILPers was fractured when the 1964 Glasgow bus strike occurred. We were told to wait until the branch met before we could leaflet the strikers that was the end. Out went a leaflet signed “some members of the ILP, the SWF and Solidarity”. 600 copies of the Solidarity “Busmen what next” pamphlet were sold in half an hour at a strike meeting.

'''New Magazine.'''

That summer we tried to form a group,unsuccessfully, but at Xmas 6/7 of us produced the first issue of the Glasgow magazine. In 1965 the Clydeside Solidarity group consolidated itself. Right from the start tension existed between the two ex-YS people and the others from the libertarian /Committee of 100 milieu. It was personified in an uneasy relationship between myself and Jim Fyfe. Our group felt theoretically raw and exposed not only in relation to the YS people but the more sophisticated London comrades who had been through the CP and Trot scenes (and who had similar conflicts with the Committee of 100 people who joined there). We felt that the “political” lot were cowardly Marxists because they were not too keen on “direct action” (adventurism to them). Fyfe socialised in the YS(IS) boozer and I drank with the libertarians. But we gelled round the magazine. We were strongly influenced by London Solidarity and they helped us a lot. A pamphlet on the Glasgow Bus Strike was written by London. We had 2 good conferences in the city with them. We modelled a lot of what we did, on their example. We sold a great deal of their literature. We retained our independence from both YS and anarchists and by having our own local mag – the only one in Glasgow – we were read and known. We leafleted regularly – and the magazine documents our areas of action: Committee of 100, bus workers, Linwood. We had lots of joint action with anarchists. We looked to the Committee of 100 for our members and strongly influenced the people in Aberdeen, so much that a group started there. A group formed out of Anarchists (Mitchell / Smith), ex Socialist Labour League (Gerry Healy trots),(N. Miller) and YSers (Browne) and peaceniks, it became a more politically advanced group – theoretically – than Glasgow and the moving of Dan Kane (3) from Aberdeen (when he was kicked out of the Law faculty) back to Dumbarton helped us. He unionised a whisky bond and became shop stewards convener and was a very active in Solidarity.

'''Old Antagonisms.'''

The Fyfes and Bill Lorie drifted away – personal and political differences – the old antagonisms never really got resolved. Maxwell, McLeod and Sutherland had all become inactive but were still “members”. In retrospect I often wonder about my role in their leaving – I pushed people a lot. We also had the arrival of Bert Ianello and Ben Mullen from Guy Aldred's group (he was dead a couple of years by now and they were disillusioned). And then some young blokes who had been in at the death throes of the peace movement – they were all engineering workers. We continued with the magazine but despite everything there was always that lack of a developing ongoing theory. This left us vulnerable in open debate with the heavies of the left. But we had so much of a sickener with their and our own Marxism that we hated pushing the newer younger people to get right into basic reading – we never really offered an alternative . We were never very sure if people had to start with basic texts and work their way through to the position we had reached. (The dilemma existed throughout Solidarity.) We still had this hang-up that you had to start with Marx before you rejected it. The group limped along for some time – publications continued – strength grew in Scotland. The group packed in, then restarted in 1967-8. (2)

(1) Stuart Christie writes: All I would add is that within the YS itself were three strands: Solidarity and IS, who largely co-existed quite amicably, and the 'Pabloites' and Healeyites - the SLL - (Gerry's lot) from south of the river with whom there was constant tension. You could say an armed truce existed between the north and south sides of the Clyde. The other omission, although I'm not sure how relevant it is, is the role of Scots Against War, which took Committee of 100 direct action tactics a few steps forward and led to considerable tension with the National Committee of 100…For more information from Stuart, see “My Granny Made Me an Anarchist” (Christie Books).

(2) Amongst later publications from the Clydeside group, was “Capitalism & Consciousness” in 1970.

(3) Dan Kane went on to found the West Scotland section of the Campaign for Real Ale and left Solidarity in 1973 to form Revolutionary Perspectives with Mitchell, and the Communist Workers Organisation (Bordigist).

(K.M., who part edited text, as it was from spoken word).

Posted by John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow Website]

The book Radical Glasgow.

Allan Burnett

2018-02-28T15:24:32Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Allan Burnett Jan. 12, 1925 - Oct.10, 2007.''' Allan Burnett was born on the 12th of January 1925 and grew up in Glasgow. He was politically active from an early age and a..."

'''Allan Burnett Jan. 12, 1925 - Oct.10, 2007.'''

Allan Burnett was born on the 12th of January 1925 and grew up in Glasgow. He was politically active from an early age and as a youth, became a member of the Glasgow Anarchist Federation. As a young man he worked at various jobs, among them a shipwright and and an insurance clerk. His views soon had him in conflict with the state, and as a conscientious objector. in 1943 he was sent to Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, and also served time in Saughton prison in Edinburgh. At his trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court, he made an impassioned statement from the dock, saying, “I refuse to be pitchforked or led into slaughter, like so much human manure, or to be duped into the lunatic butchery of my comrades and fellow workers of other geographical spheres who are like-wise enslaved in a system of organised misery imposed on them by their respective ruling classes.” After his release he moved to London and for some time lived in various communes. It was during this time that he started to travel, living in youth hostels in France and Italy. During this period Allan married and shortly after his marriage moved to New Zealand. He lived out the rest of his life in New Zealand, never returning to Scotland. In New Zealand he initially worked as a shipping clerk and a bank officer before eventually becoming self employed and running his own business in the building trade. In the 1970s Auckland City Council employed him as a housing inspector. Allan was also very active the the Workers Educational Association and had the honour of holding the association’s public speaking trophy in the mid 1970s. Allan throughout his life was a keen writer and poet and had several of his poems published in The New Zealand Writers Workshop regular publication, “Inksheds”, a book he helped to publish over a number of years. His poems cover a range of subjects from politics, in particular his libertarianism, to his love of the outdoors, a passion which is evident from his youthful diary. Allan died on the 10th of October 2007.

The Spirit of Revolt holds a collection of Allan Burnett’s writing, including his poems, diary and fragmentary reflections, and correspondence sent by Allan Burnett to his family, including letters sent by Allan to his mother while imprisoned in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow. The collection also includes photographs of Allan and his family and friends, employment references and school reports, job applications, and a number of issues of "Inkshed", a journal of poetry and short stories published by Burnett and his friends in the New Zealand Writers Workshop. Throughout the collection are explanatory notes written by Anne Oliver, his partner, providing contextual information on the material. This collection can be viewed on line at [[spirit of Revolt]]

Posted By John Couzin.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow Website]

Radical Glasgow the Book.

Main Page

2018-02-28T15:23:15Z

Annarky: /* (Mal)Contents */

== Welcome to radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia ==

Glasgow's working class history is a history of struggle and sacrifice not found in the school curriculum. The establishment would rather we forget our own past and deny the suffering and sacrifice of those who created that history. This site is dedicated to remembering and recording their selfless struggle for a better life for all. Add your stories to this site and record Glasgow's radical history here so that we and future generations can learn from and carry forward that radical tradition. If you prefer send your stories to[annarky@radicalglasgow.me.uk] to be posted on this site. It's their future or it's our future and the future will never be ours if we don't remember our past. Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia also works in conjucntion with the Spirit of Revolt archive, housed at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Return to Radical Glasgow.

== ''(Mal)''Contents ==

=== People ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Thomas Muir]]

[[Tom Anderson]]

[[Mary Barbour]]

[[Helen Crawfurd]]

[[John MacLean]]

[[Tom Bell]]

[[Jane Hamilton Patrick]]

[[Guy Aldred]]

[[George (Ballard) Barrett]]

[[Frank Leech]]

[[Helen Brown Scott Lennox]]

[[Charlie and Molly Baird]]

[[William C. McDougal]]

[[Ethel MacDonald]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[Robert (Bobby) Lynn]]

[[Allan Burnett]]

[[John Taylor Caldwell]]

[[Rita Milton]]

[[David Carruthers]]

[[John Farquhar McLay]]

[[Les Foster]]
</div>

----

=== Events ===

<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
[[Glasgow the name]]

[[Glasgow, City of Rebellion]]

[[The Weavers' Strike]]

[[The Cotton Spinners' Strike]]

[[1820 Insurrection]]

[[The Sma' Shot Strike, 1856]]

[[The Birth of Glasgow's Anarchism]]

[[The Scottish Labour Party]]

[[Scottish Anarchism]]

[[The World's First Ca'canny Strike]]

[[The Singer Strike]]

[[Women's Peace Crusade]]

[[The Rent Strike]]

[[The Clyde Workers' Committee]]

[[First World War Peace Movement]]

[[The Rent Strike to Bloody Friday]]

[[Fight for Freedom of Speech on the Green]]

[[The General strike]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937]]

[[World War 2, Conscientious Objectors]]

[[Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952]]

[[George Williamson on Glasgow 1960's Anarchist scene]]

[[A Public Nuisance|Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986]]

[[We Don't Need A Carpark]]

[[Counter Information]]

[[A Fight With The Housing Department]]

[[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in]]
</div>

----

<strong>MediaWiki has been successfully installed.</strong>

Consult the [//meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Localisation#Translation_resources Localise MediaWiki for your language]

Guy Aldred

2018-02-28T15:11:12Z

Annarky:

'''GUY ALDRED, 1886-1963.'''

'''ORIGINS.'''

Though born in London and spending the early years of his life there it was Glasgow that he spent most his adult life and in Glasgow that he died. Because of his popularity in the City we can rightly claim him as one of the City's Sons. Guy Alfred Aldred was born in Clerkenwell London on the 5th of November 1886 as a result of a short liaison at the beginning of 1886 between his father, a 22 year old Naval Lieutenant and a 19 year old parasol maker, Ada Caroline Holdsworth. Ada was socially unacceptable to the young Lieutenant, however he did the "respectable thing", marrying Ada on the 13th September 1886 but leaving her at the church after the wedding to return to his mother. On Guy Fawkes night the 5th November 1886 Ada gave birth to a son, hence the name "Guy", his middle name Alfred was after his father. Guy was brought up in the home of Ada's father, Charles Holdsworth a Victorian radical.

'''BOY PREACHER.'''

In 1902 at the age of 15 he printed his own leaflets and set about London as a "boy preacher" handing out leaflets and receiving ridicule and disdain in return. He eventually found work as an office boy with the National Press Agency in Whitefriars House. Soon he was writing articles for the agency and was promoted to position of Sub-Editor. At this time Guy met an evangelist called McMasters, together they founded the "Christian Social Mission". Five days after his 16th birthday the Mission opened with Guy as the "Holloway boy preacher", giving his first public sermon however It did not go down too well with his audience nor the other preachers due to its non-conformist approach.

By persistent writing to the Reverend Charles Voysey - BA, Guy was eventually granted an audience on the 20th December 1902. The 74 year old well-to-do Voysey was taken aback when confronted with a coarsely dressed 16 year old working class boy as his letters had indicated otherwise. After cautious preliminaries on the part of Voysey they settled down to a discussion that lasted three hours. The friendship was to continue until the old man's death in 1912. In January 1903 the Reverend George Martin an Anglican Minister arrived at Guy's home holding one of Guy's leaflets from six months earlier and asking to meet the "Holloway Boy Preacher". Martin was a gentle, compassionate and learned man who lived and worked in London's worst slums. Guy joined him in his work with London's poorest. Many nights were spent in long discussions in Martin's damp attic, the friendship lasted six years and had an immense impact on young Guy. At the end of January 1903 the "Holloway boy preacher" gave his last sermon from the pulpit and left the "Christian Social Mission".

'''AGNOSTIC.'''

During 1903-1904, Guy was speaking at the "Institute on Theism" but felt it was time to set up his own organisation. He called it the "Theistic Mission" , it met every Sunday and drew a considerable though not always friendly crowd. Guy was becoming known as a forceful young orator. He was also shifting towards atheism. August 1904 the meeting banner changed, it now read "The Clerkenwell Freethought Mission". Meetings from then on were on some instances extremely hostile. On one occasion the crowd charged the platform, knocked Guy to the ground and started to beat him, as he tried to regain the platform they again pulled him off with the police intervening to put an end to the meeting. Around this time he was reading "The Agnostic Journal" and became friendly with its editor "Saladin", William Stewart Ross, a Scotsman. It was at the Journal's office that he met another Scotsman John Morrison Davidson, these two men introduced Guy to Scottish affairs.

'''SOCIALISM.'''

1904 Guy heard Daniel De Leon speak on Clerkenwell Green, this lead him to the "Socialist Labour Party". These meetings confirmed his belief in socialism, in 1905 he joined the "Social Democratic Federation". Though only nineteen Guy was an accomplished orator and a tremendous gain to the Socialist platform. 1906 he was appointed Parliamentary Correspondent for "Justice", the organ of the SDF. Guy, an anti-parliamentarian, approached the job with hint of cynicism. Also in 1906 he relinquished the job. Shortly after this in June of the same year he broke with the SDF. The split was in part due to airing his atheist views from the platform when the federation did not want religion, anti or otherwise to muddy the socialist message.

'''ANTI-PARLIAMENTARIAN.'''

He was now a confirmed anti-parliamentarian and socialist. In October 1906 the "Islington Gazette" published his "Revolutionary Manifesto" in which he proposed to stand at the next election but refuse to take the Oath. Guy Aldred was by now a well know speaker at Hyde Park. An eloquent speaker with extremist views his platform always drew large crowds. He was also contributing to several socialist papers and contributed to all thirty issues of "The Voice of Labour" an anarchist paper, this lead him to the anarchist club in Jubilee Street.

'''ANARCHIST.'''

While visiting the "Jubilee Street Club" during 1906 Guy became more acquainted with Anarchist ideas and with many Anarchists of note from that period. He wrote two articles for "Freedom", the Anarchist paper. The Anarchist Rudolf Rocker referred to Guy as one of the promising young men of our time. It was at the "Jubilee Club" that Rocker asked Guy to stand in for Kropotkin who was to speak but could not attend. Guy's leanings were towards Proudhon and critical of Kropotkin. By now Guy was speaking every night at different places in London and three times on a Sunday in Hyde Park. The Sunday meetings were under the banner of the "National Secular Society". In January 1907, approaching the age of 21, saw Guy leave the "National Press Agency" for the "Daily Chronicle", six months later he left the paper and journalism intent on being a full-time propagandist, relying on collections and donations for his living, printing and any other expenses. At the "Jubilee Club" in 1907 he was introduced to "Rose Witcop" younger sister of"Milly Witcop", partner of Rudolf Rocker. The friendship developed but not to the pleasure of Guy's mother.

'''BAKUNIN PRESS.'''

In 1907 Guy in conjunction with John Turner and others formed the "Industrial Union of Direct Action". A union opposed to reforms its purpose was to organise for social revolution. In a short period there were branches in Dover, Liverpool, Leeds and Weston-super-Mare, plus six branches in London. Shortly after this Guy founded the "Communist Propaganda Group". The group spread rapidly, first with several branches in London, Wales, the North of England, then to Scotland with branches in Glasgow, Paisley, Fife, Aberdeen, Dundee and several towns in Lanarkshire. In 1921 all these groups federated into the "Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation". It was also around 1907 Guy, in the basement of his home, set up the first of his "Bakunin Press". Continued disapproval and resentment from Guy's mother about his association with Rose, she referred to her as "...that bloody Jewess", eventually forced Guy to leave home in January 1908. The two of them entered a period of extreme poverty with all its entailing problems. Rose Witcop was taken from the midst of the May Day parade of the 2nd of May 1909 to Queen Charlotte's Hospital where she gave birth to a boy. Due to the fact that she gave her name as Miss Witcop and did not wear a ring her treatment was cold and what the staff deemed fitting a fallen woman. Guy was not allowed to see her or receive any information about her until her discharge. The baby was called "Annesley", as a mark of respect to their friend the Reverend Voysey.

'''PRISON.'''

On the 2nd of July 1909 the Secretary of State for India, Sir Curzon Wylie was assassinated by Madan Lal Dhingra. On the day he was sentenced to death the printer of "The Indian Sociologist" was also sentenced to six months imprisonment. The Lord Chief Justice at the trial stated this was a warning that printing this sort of matter was a serious breach of the law. The "Times" in an article stated, nobody would dare print this sheet again. Guy, though not in favour of assassination and no advocate of nationalism was very much against suppression of opinion. So he duly printed the August issue of "The Indian Sociologist" and was arrested on the 25th of August; the trial was set for September the 10th at the Central Criminal Court. Guy conducted his own defence, was found guilty and sentenced to twelve months hard labour. Sir William Strickland heard of the trial and sent Guy a telegram congratulating him on his stand for freedom, he also sent him £10. This friendship lasted until Strickland's death in 1938. Guy was released from prison on the 2nd of July 1910.

'''GLASGOW.'''

It was the "Clarion Scouts" that brought Guy to Glasgow. In 1912 he accepted their invitation to speak at the City's Pavilion Theatre. The theatre was packed His fellow speaker was "Madam Sorge" with "Willie Gallacher" in the chair. Guy then went on to speak at nine "Clarion Scouts" open air meetings with a final rally at the Charing Cross fountain. He also spoke at the Renfrew Street Hall of the "Socialist Labour Party" and accepted the "Glasgow Anarchists" invitation to come back to speak at a series of meetings. Guy's skill on the platform and his intellectual breadth went down well with the Glasgow Anarchists. The Clarion had asked him back to Glasgow in 1913 but Guy arrived six weeks early to speak for the Anarchists. During the 1913 Clarion tour Guy spoke at meetings in Paisley, Dumfries, Dundee, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Leith and Kirkcaldy and after that he spoke every night for two weeks for his newly formed "Communist Group". Guy was by now a familiar figure in Glasgow drawing large crowds at street corner meetings throughout the City. 1914 saw Guy back in Glasgow to speak for the Anarchists on May Sunday. It was a grand affair, twenty thousand people with representatives from over 100 organisations set off from George Square accompanied by bands, banners, drums, whistles and singing they merrily marched their way to Glasgow Green.

'''COURT MARTIAL & PRISON.'''

In the early hours of April 14th 1916 a police sergeant called at Guy's London home and asked if he had received his call-up notice. Guy stated he had not and did not expect to receive the said notice as he was a married man. The sergeant asked for proof. The obvious proof, the presence of Rose and the child Annesley was not accepted. Guy and Rose on a matter of principle had no certificate to offer. Without summons or warrant Guy was arrested. He was charged with failing to report for Military Service, in spite of the fact that he had never been asked, and as a married man he was not yet due for service. He appeared at West London Police Court later that day. The Magistrate expressed surprise at the informal nature of Guy's arrest, but said that he " was here anyway". Scott Duckers acting for Guy stated that Guy was a married man by Scots Law of Habit and Repute and was not due to receive his call-up with the present batch. The case was adjourned until the 27th April. Guy continued his anti-war campaigning. The resumed hearing was brief. The Magistrate had still not been advised on Scots marriage law so the case was again adjourned until May 4th. When the Court convened on the 4th of May Guy conducted his own defence. The Magistrate fined him £5 and handed him over to the military authorities. He was taken under escort to Davis Street Barracks. His treatment at the Barracks was typical of the way the military treated conscientious objectors, brutal to say the least. On May 16th Guy was handed a sheet of paper on which to write his defence. It was a long and passionate defence based on his principles and beliefs. This his first Court Martial was to be held on May 17th. After the Court Martial he was held in his cell for two days before sentence was pronounced, six month military detention. On May 26th 1916 Guy appealed against his sentence. The Commanding Officer turned it down. On Monday 16th June Guy was ordered to parade, he refused and was taken before the Colonel who remanded him for court martial (his second). This took place at Fovant Camp on Tuesday 27th June. Guy's defence was that he was not a soldier but a civilian since he never received call-up notice. He was found guilty and sentenced to nine months hard labour. Later at a tribunal Guy was granted a "Certificate of Discharge". On the 4th of July 1916 Guy was moved to Winchester Prison then on August 25th he was transferred to the village of Dyce in the north of Scotland where a camp of tents had been erected in a granite quarry on a sea of mud. In these work camps a total of sixty nine conscientious objectors died. Guy walked out of the camp and returned to London but on the 1st of November he was arrested and sent to Wormwood Scrubs prison. Despite his having a Certificate of Discharge from the Army dated September 21st Guy would face another two cases of Court Martial and a further two years six months hard labour. March the 28th 1917 Guy was released from prison and taken under escort to Exeter Military Camp, his Certificate of Discharge ignored. He was given another order but he refused and was confined to the guardroom. Due to filthy conditions in the Guardroom Guy contracted scabies. He was returned to Deepcot Military Camp at the beginning of May then on the 9th of May he was ordered to parade which he refused and was therefore remanded for Court Martial. In spite of his Certificate of Discharge, he was deemed a soldier and went on to face his third Court Martial. It took place on the 17th of May 1917 with the very short proceedings resulting in Guy being sentenced to 18 months hard labour and sent to Wandsworth Prison. During this period there had been considerable unrest and protest by the conscientious objectors in the labour and work camps and in prisons. Wandsworth was probably the worst from the point of view of the authorities. A work and discipline strike had been planned. The ringleaders which included Guy were sentences to 42 days 'No.1' punishment. This consisted of 42 days solitary confinement with 3 days on bread and water and then 3 days off while locked in a bare unheated basement cell. After 3 days they were transferred to Brixton Prison, from their arrival at Brixton they continued their struggle against cruel and unjust treatment of conscientious objectors. 1918 August the 20th Guy, with two others, their sentenced served according to a government ruling should have been returned to their respective Army Units for formal dismissal. Instead they were transferred to Blackdown Barracks, Farnborough where they were given an order which they refused and were once more on remand for Court Martial. Guy Aldred's fourth. Throughout his terms of imprisonment Guy managed to write and was able to smuggle out several articles which were published in his paper the Spur. In his absence the articles edited by Rose Witcop. Guy's fourth Court Martial saw him speak for himself and the other two prisoners. In spite of showing that their sentences were in contravention of the Army Act and other illegalities in their treatment, a few days later he received a further two years hard labour. During the short period between August and September 1918 Guy managed to have several articles smuggled out and published in the Spur. Among these were "All for the Cause", "Shall we Deny", and "Militarism and Woodland". Another article smuggled out was "Socialism, Unity, and Reality". It was read at the Brixton branch of the ILP on the 14th of February 1918.
'''
GLASGOW AGAIN.'''

On January the 7th 1919 Guy was released on licence and was expected to make his own way back to Wandsworth Prison to be re-admitted on the 3rd of February. Instead he boarded a train for Glasgow. He said he was attracted to Glasgow by its citizen's truculent attitude, rebellious spirit and disrespect for leaders. The Glasgow Anarchists held a welcome meeting in St Mungo Halls, York Street, where Guy spoke on "The present struggle for liberty". The following month he spoke again in Glasgow then on to Wales, back to London; speaking at the Clapham Labour Party, Walthamstow British Socialist Party and then moving north again touring the North of England and Scotland as far north as Aberdeen. He returned to London and on the 10th of March and while speaking on Clapham Common he was arrested and taken to Wandsworth Prison. He stated that he would not eat or work until he was released from his illegal and vindictive imprisonment. In Guy's absence trouble at Wandsworth had not abated, he arrived back in the middle of an inquiry and continued his strike as he said he would. He was released after 4 days, that evening he was back on Clapham Common.

'''BAKUNIN HOUSE.'''

A conference under the auspices of the ILP and the BSP formed a "Hands of Russia" committee and on this platform Guy Aldred spoke with Bertrand Russell. Prior to 1921 the words "Communist", "Socialist" and "Anti-parliamentarian", went hand in hand. It was only after that date, after the formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain that you had to differentiate. At the time of leaving prison Guy associated himself with the newly formed Communist League, becoming its organiser and editor of its paper "The Communist". Guy was now working ever closer with Glasgow Anarchists, who had their head quarters in an old Victorian terraced house which they called "Bakunin House", it remained an open political centre for about twelve years. Guy and his colleagues continued to strengthen the anti-parliamentary groups especially in Glasgow.

'''SINN FEIN TACTIC.'''

The "Glasgow Communist Group" produced its own paper "The Red Commune" and in February 1921 it carried an article by Guy called the "Sinn Fein Tactic". This was a reference to the tactic of standing for election but not swearing the oath or taking your seat. Because of the times, the authorities took the term "Sinn Fein" very seriously. On March the 2nd Guy's London home was raided by the police and special branch, after four hours searching they found nothing. Never the less they decided to arrest Guy, who pointed out that they were acting on a Glasgow Magistrate's Warrant and it was not valid in London. They took him and locked him up anyway and three days later formally arrested him in his cell. The Glasgow police also raided Bakunin House arresting Jane Patrick - the secretary, Douglas McLeish - group member and Andrew Fleming a printer. Guy Aldred was charged with conspiring with Patrick and McLeish to "excite popular disaffection, commotion, and violence to popular authority". They made a formal appearance before the Sheriff on March the 7th and were remanded in custody for two weeks before appearing before Lord Chief Clerk who released Andrew Fleming on £200 bail, Douglas McLeish and Jane Patrick on £150 bail each but remanded Guy Aldred in custody. He remained in custody until the trial at Glasgow High Court on June 21st 1921. The jury took a few minutes to reach a guilty verdict. Lord Skerrington passed sentence; Guy Aldred 1 year, Jane Patrick 3 months, Douglas McLeish 3 months, Andrew Fleming, 3 months and a fine of £50 or another three months. Guy Aldred and Douglas McLeish went to Barlinnie Prison while Jane Patrick and Andrew Fleming were sent to Duke Street Prison. Guy served the full year plus the four months remand, the authorities stated that the remand did not count, the first time ever.

'''FAMILY PLANNING.'''

December 22nd 1922 Guy was prosecuted for publishing Margaret Sanger's family planning pamphlet "Family Limitation". The authorities deemed it an attack on the nation's morals. Conducting his own defence, he called as a defence witness Sir Arbuthnot Lane, consultant surgeon at Guy's Hospital London. Sir Lane stated that every young couple about to get married should have this pamphlet. Never the less, the Magistrate, "in the interest of the morals of society", ordered the pamphlet to be destroyed. Rose Witcop continued covertly to produce it.
'''
GLASGOW GREEN.'''

Guy Aldred brought out a new paper, The Commune, it appeared on May 1923. One of its tasks was to challenge the Glasgow City Council on the matter of free speech on Glasgow Green. On April 13th 1916 Glasgow Corporation passed a bye-law withdrawing the right of assembly on the Green, but it was not enforced until 1922 and then challenged by John MacLean, Guy Aldred and others. There were numerous attempts to have the bye-law repealed, it was not until March 3rd 1932 that the struggle found success.

In 1933 Guy left the Anti-parliamentary Communist Federation, he was later to form the Glasgow Townhead Branch of the ILP formed the United Socialist Movement. The group met in a hall in Stirling Road with the indoor meetings being held on a Wednesday and Sunday with a fund raising social on Fridays. Guy worked under this banner for the next thirty years. The Group would use elections to discredit the ballot box. At one election Guy managed to get nominated as candidate for 14 of the city's 37 wards managing to get over a thousand votes. An astonishing result as a referendum on less than half the city.

'''FREE ADVICE.'''

Guy always lived on the very edge of poverty, never taking fees for speaking, relying on money from sales of papers and pamphlets. Around this time he opened a second-hand book shop in Buchanan Street. No business entrepreneur he was more inclined to "lend" rather than sell books was soon left without stock in the shop and had to close. He opened an "Advice Bureau" in a dingy little office in Queen Street; with no toilet, no lighting and no heating and from here he offered legal advice, letter writing and typing. He never charged leaving it to the client to make a donation. Most of the clients being poor and in debt never left a donation or at most a shilling (10p). Financially it was a failure but was possibly the forerunner of today's Citizen's Advice Bureaus.

'''STRICKLAND PRESS.'''

Sir Walter Strickland died on August 1938 having left most of his money to peace causes of which Guy was the executor. Due to Strickland's hatred of Imperial Britain most of his money was invested in countries that would be at war with Britain before the will was probated. Guy received £3,000, with this he bought some second-hand printing machinery and Bakunin Press - renamed Strickland Press in memory of Sir Walter - moved into 104-106 George Street Glasgow. Strickland Press set about republishing many of Guy's pamphlets and the Word, which would appear every month for 25 years, for 22years of this period a free copy of the Word was sent to every Labour MP.

'''POST WORLD WAR 2 ACTIVITIES.'''

At a meeting on 7th of April 1946 in Central Halls Glasgow Guy put forward his ideas for world government. His office at George Street became the headquarters of the World Federalists, some Anarchists objected to his use of the word "government". In May 1945 Guy was asked to stand as a "peace candidate" by the Scottish Union of Ex-service Men and Women. The election was July 5th 1945 and Guy stood as 'Independent Socialist'. During the campaign Guy sometimes addressed three meetings on the same day but in spite of this he polled only 300 votes and Labour won a landslide victory across the country. In the Bridgeton bye-election on the 29th of August 1946 Guy again stood as Independent Socialist against four other candidates. Although the ILP won, Labour, still running high was 2nd and Guy this time polled 405 votes. Another bye-election in January 1947; the district of Camlachie, a win for the Conservatives, this time Guy gained a few more votes and came in above the Liberals. Guy stood in three more elections, February 1950, October 1951, and November 1962. During the 1950s the Word had a fairly good circulation by postal subscription around Glasgow and Lanarkshire, but Strickland Press was always in financial trouble. A problem that aggravated the situation was the Scottish Typographical Association's refusal to allow suppliers to serve Strickland Press because it employed women. This was not true as nobody was employed, it was a working partnership of two men and two women and was in no financial position to employ anybody. The late 50s and early 60s saw the demolition of large tracts of Glasgow and the premises in George Street were due for demolition. The building was more or less pulled down around his head as Guy sat tight, with no offer of alternative premises, trying to continue in a building that leaked, had plaster falling on the printing machinery and began to smell foul. Eventually the council, in February 1962, gave him the keys of a small shop in Montrose Street and the Press moved in on March 1962. Guy still addressed meetings on the first Sunday of every month in the Central Halls Bath Street and on occasions spoke at the Workers Open Forum in Renfrew Street Halls and he also continued to take on cases of personal injustice, all without a fee. At the age of 76 Guy stood for the Woodside District in the general election of Thursday 22nd of November 1962. He had spoken every night of the campaign plus interviews and questions while continuing with the next issue of the Word. Sadly he only polled 134 votes. The cold damp fog of the November weather, cold stuffy halls and excessive work load, the press physically falling apart and mounting debts, was beginning to take its toll. As a very cold winter moved slowly on to February 1963 Guy caught a cold but continued to work. His condition deteriorated and at one point was taken to hospital but signed himself out next day. Informed that he had a heart condition and warned against public speaking, he continued his monthly meetings. A compromise was made, he would sit at home and record his speeches and have them played at the meeting but Guy decided that if he could sit at home for an hour speaking into a microphone he could sit for an hour on the platform. His last meeting on Sunday the 6th. of October 1963 left him physically exhausted. On Wednesday the 16th he was admitted to hospital, he died on Thursday the 17th of October 1963. Guy Alfred Aldred had worked ceaselessly at his propaganda, writing, publishing and public speaking, he took on injustices wherever he saw it. He had spoken at every May Day for 60 years except the years he spent in prison. He never once asked for a fee nor sought personal gain, throughout his 62 years of campaigning his principles never faltered.

Some of the writings of Guy Aldred.

Posted by John Couzin.

The book Radical Glasgow.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

John MacLean

2018-02-28T15:09:58Z

Annarky:

'''JOHN MACLEAN, 1879-1923.'''

'''EARLY LIFE.'''

Born 24th August 1879 in the district of Pollokshaws near Glasgow. His family were forced by the clearances of 1840 to move to the industrial belt of Scotland. John, second youngest of seven, (3 died at birth) was 8 when his father died. His mother for a while returned to her trade as a weaver. Later she opened a shop but that failed.She took in lodgers to provide for herself and her children. Her self sacrifice and suffering had a tremendous impact on John. It was her self sacrifice that allowed John to be educated, and he vowed to use his education in the service of the working class.

'''EDUCATION.'''

Educated at Queen's Park School and Pollokshaws Academy. During this time he would work during the vacations as a news vendor, a caddy at the local golf course and also in a print work machine shop. His first appointment was as pupil teacher at Polmadie School 1896-97. He enrolled at the Free Church Teachers' College graduating in the year 1900. His first full time teaching appointment was at Strathbungo School Shawlands. In 1903 he joined the S.D.F. He registered as a part time student with Glasgow University and in 1904 graduated with an M.A. in Political Economy. The years from 1904 to 1907 he attended continuation classes at the Glasgow Technical College studying three subjects chemistry, ,mathematics and physics.

'''INFLUENCES AND BELIEFS.'''

John was a founder member of the Glasgow Teachers' Society, in 1905. His socialism was born from a hatred of landlordism that had grown out of the personal social experiences of his family and a rejection of religion, (although brought up a strict Calvinist of the Original Secession Church). His reading of T. H. Huxley, H. Spencer and others, added to his experiences and observations regarding the hypocrisy of the Churches on social questions turned John to secularism very early in his life. His Calvinistic upbringing endowed him with a very strong sense of morality, austerity and seriousness. He rarely visited the theatre or art galleries, never drank or smoked had a strong appreciation and love of literature. In spite of his humanitarianism and unstinting generosity that impressed everyone who met him he appeared to lack a sense of humour.

'''EARLY CAMPAIGNS.'''

In 1900 he joined the Pollokshaws Progressive Union, this was mainly an educational and debating society but also campaigned for progressive social reforms and proved to be a useful platform for John's intellectual and political ideas. It also introduced him to a wide range of concepts and writers in the social sciences. The year 1905 saw John as the Pollokshaws Co-operative Society's delegate to the British Co-operative Congress held in Paisley. He used this platform and subsequent ones, to advocate a more class orientated approach. In 1912 at the Renfrewshire Co-operative Society's conference his resolution, "urging school boards to introduce classes in Marxian Economics and if they failed, to carry on classes under the auspices of the Societies themselves" the resolution was passed. Many large west of Scotland Co-operative Societies did hold these classes. In 1914 John was conducting a speaker's class for the Glasgow Guildswomen. August 1914 saw the Co-operative leaders become very patriotic and John's influence in the Co-operative Movement diminished.

'''HIS ROLE AS LECTURER.'''

In 1906 he was appointed SDP lecturer in economics, he conducted his class unfailingly every Sunday in Glasgow. Weekdays with James MacDougal the classes were taken to the outlying districts of Glasgow and Lanarkshire, where he won the respect of the workers in the mining areas. During the winter of 1915 the classes in Glasgow attracted 400 workers, the classes were suspended in 1916. Due to MacLean's efforts the classes resumed in 1917 with a class roll of 500 in Glasgow and 1000 in the coalfields of Lanarkshire and Fife.

'''THE SINGER STRIKE AND OTHER DEMONSTRATIONS.'''

In 1908 John MacLean enthusiastically threw himself into organising the unemployed and lead one demonstration through the Glasgow Stock Exchange. 1910 saw him successfully organise female workers at Neilston thread mills, who were on strike for higher wages and shorter hours. He was involved in the 1911 strike at the American owned Singer Machine Co. at Clydebank. It was during this strike that he came into contact with members of syndicalist union the Independent Workers of the World and became a believer in the "One Big Union" as the only way to combat monopoly capitalism. He believed that the socialist revolution could be carried out peacefully by the adequate political education of the working class not by the violent overthrow of the system by an elite group nor would it come through the inevitability of some Darwinian principle. The working class had to acquire political power before it could proceed to socialise the means of production and distribution.

'''THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT.'''

Even with this exceptional workload in the field of education he continued to throw himself into active political work at strikes and industrial disputes. By July 1914 it was obvious that the police were taking a greater interest in his meetings. August 9th 1914 saw the first anti-war demonstration held in Glasgow Green under the auspices of the Labour and Socialist Organisation and the Peace Society

Aims of the demonstration;

1. To demand an armistice

2. To protest against food prices

3. To call for Government distribution of food

MacLean stated “ ...our business is to develop a 'class patriotism', refusing to murder one another for a sordid world capitalism ”. ... “ ...let the propertied class go out old and young alike, and defend their blessed property---" In Glasgow on January 3rd 1915, the BSP passed the following revolution; "That this meeting of the Glasgow members of the BSP. Recognise that this war has been brought about by the intrigues of the Capitalist and Landlord interests of all the countries involved; and that the workers of the world will obtain no advantages out of the war, determines to do all it can to peacefully stop the war at the earliest moment" This summed up John MacLean's views on war, and he continued his anti-war campaign of meetings and articles..

'''FIRST PROSECUTION.'''

Wednesday 27th of October 1915 MacLean was brought before the Summary Court in Glasgow charged under the "Defence of the Realm Act" with "uttering statements calculated to prejudice recruiting", and remitted to the Sheriff on the 10th of November. He was brought before Sheriff Lee and defended by Mr Cassels. Long before the proceedings were due to begin a large crowd of workers from all over the Clydeside had assembled in support of MacLean. The Sheriff and Officers were overwhelmed by the numbers and the proceedings had to be suspended for ten minutes to allow the crowd to settle. Dispensing with court ormalities, MacLean loudly stated, "Do you want me to repeat again what I said at the meeting. I have been enlisted for fifteen years in the socialist army which is the only army worth fighting for; God damn all other armies! I have already said so, haven't I? Did you not hear me? The Sheriff sentenced him to a £5 fine or five days imprisonment. After the case MacLean was dismissed from his post as a teacher. On his day of release from Duke St. Prison, a large crowd gathered to greet him, the authorities however, to avoid a demonstration had released him earlier. A delegation of South Lanarkshire miners arrived at Central Station and marched through the streets, on learning of his early release they marched to Pollokshaws to make sure for themselves. Later they made their way to Fairfield Shipyard where a massive workers meeting was held.

'''SECOND PROSECUTION, AND IMPRISONMENT.'''

MacLean continued to remain active at work gate meetings during the day and at public meetings in the evening. On the 1st of February 1916 he was again arrested and handed over to the Military authorities in Edinburgh Castle. Public outcry forced his release from Military to Civil authorities. He appeared in private before the Sheriff on the 14th of February and released on bail of £100, the trial set for 11th of April 1916. There were six counts in the indictment concerning statements allegedly to have been made at separate meetings during January 1916. He refused to take the oath and affirmed. He was found guilty on the first four charges, not proven on the fifth and not guilty on the sixth. The sentence was three years penal servitude. Large meetings and demonstrations for his release continued throughout his prison sentence. He was released on the 30th of June 1917 on "ticket of leave", having served 14 months and 22 days. In July 1917 he was served with call up papers, but they were immediately cancelled.

'''SEDITION.'''

1917 saw him appointed Consul for Soviet Affairs in Great Britain. He set up a Consulate Office in 12 Portland Street Glasgow. The police raided the office on March 22nd 1918 and arrested MacLean's assistant Louis Shamus. On Monday the 13th of April 1918 they again raided the office and arrested MacLean. The charge was sedition, this was to prove one of the greatest political trials in Scottish history.

May 9th 1918 was the date for the start of the trial in Edinburgh High Court. There were 11 charges in the indictment, accusing MacLean of " addressing audiences in Glasgow, Shettleston, Cambuslang, Lochgelly and Harthill, making statements which were likely to prejudice the recruiting, training and discipline of H.M. Forces. He further attempted to cause mutiny, sedition and disaffection among the civil population. MacLean conducted his own defence and refused to plead. When advised that he could object to any particular juryman, he replied, "I would object to the whole of them". Without retiring, the jury intimated through the foreman their verdict of guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to 5 years penal servitude. MacLean turning to friends in the court shouted, "Keep it going, boys; keep it going". His stay in Peterhead Prison caused a considerable deterioration in his health, being force fed through hunger strikes.

'''A FREE MAN AGAIN.'''

On his release on the 3rd of December he travelled from Peterhead Prison to Aberdeen by train. On arrival he was given a formal reception by friends of the I.L.P. Later a social was held in the S.L.P. rooms in Aberdeen with MacLean as Guest of Honour. The train carrying him from Aberdeen was due in Glasgow Buchanan Street Station at 4:30. Two hours before its arrival thousands gathered at George Square. The two hours waiting was spent singing revolutionary songs and chanting slogans. Mr and Mrs MacLean were met at the station by a horse drawn carriage, the horse was duly removed and the carriage was drawn through the streets by a group of workers. Thousands lined the streets and thousands more followed the procession as it wound its way through the city to the offices of the A.S.E. in Carlton Place. After short speeches Mr and Mrs MacLean went home by taxi.
'''
LAST DAYS.'''

John MacLean, though by now a very sick man continued with his meetings. He campaigned as a republican candidate for the Gorbals District in the coming election of 6th of December 1923. Sadly he was seized by a very virulent pneumonia and died two days later on the 30th of November 1923, six days before polling day. On the day of his funeral crowds lined the streets from Eglinton Toll to Auldhouse Road and followed the cortege to Eastwood Cemetery where he was buried.

Posted by John Couzin.

The book Radical Glasgow.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Tom Anderson

2018-02-28T15:08:15Z

Annarky:

'''TOM ANDERSON, 1863-1947'''

'''EARLY YEARS.'''

Tom Anderson was born on the 17th December 1863, at a place called Pollokshaws in Glasgow. His father, a hand-loom weaver came from a long line of hand-loom weavers and a line of Presbyterians. Though Tom's father was a Presbyterian he also held very strong radical views and taught his children to be courteous to all but bow to none. The family moved to Airdrie, at that time it was a small village not far from Glasgow. At the age of ten, Tom started work. He did not follow the family craft but at the age of fourteen started his apprenticeship as a joiner with Shanks of Motherwell (a small town near Airdrie). Tom was by nature a rebel and did not take readily to the ideas of the Church. He became an avid reader and devoured the books in the local library. His favourite being Gibbon's "Decline and fall of the Roman Empire", he later wrote 'Across the Ages', a small book based on his study of this book. His attendance at Church dwindled and eventually stopped as Tom became a Freethinker.

'''TRADE UNIONISM & POLITICS.'''

At the age of twenty in 1883 he moved back to Glasgow and joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, a year later he was elected as the society's president. In 1889, Tom married Bella Craig, she came from a Unitarian family. Throughout her life she looked on the bible stories as stories of childhood and not to be taken seriously, she was a staunch comrade and enthusiastically helped Tom in all his activities. They had three sons James, Robert, and Tom, and one daughter, Bella. During the 1914-1918 war, their son James was an Absolutist. The year 1894 saw Tom join the newly formed Independent Labour Party and worked with them for several years. Later he joined the Socialist Democratic Federation, and threw himself into its pioneering work. In 1907 the south side branch of the SDF presented Tom with an illuminated address in appreciation of his work on behalf of socialism.

'''SOCIALIST SUNDAY SCHOOL.'''

1894 was also the year that Tom founded the first Socialist Sunday school and three years later he formed the South Side Socialist Sunday School, which continued well into the 1930s. Tom believed in the Catholic maxim, "Give us the child until he is six, and you can do what you like with him afterwards". For over thirty years Tom Anderson taught the children of the working class the virtue of independence, the power to think for themselves and the meaning of socialist revolution. Tom was an accomplished musician and a fine poet, and in 1907 he compiled a song book containing fifty three songs. Of these songs thirty three had original melodies and most were of a socialist nature. His poetry was always of social protest and revolt. Tom Anderson was probably the first socialist member of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and it was as a socialist that in January and February 1901 he led one of the biggest strikes in the city. Throughout the strike Tom showed himself to be a courageous and very capable leader and gained the respect of all the workers involved and those out with the trade. After the strike Tom found it almost impossible to get work, he seemed to be blacklisted by all of the city's employers. At this period he left his trade and started working for himself.

'''TEN PROLETARIAN MAXIMS.'''

Tom now joined the Socialist Labour Party, and in 1910 they opened a Socialist School for children. They dropped the word "Sunday" as they did not want to be seen as hypocrites. Tom became President of the school and remained so throughout its existence. In June 1917 the first issue of Revolution appeared with Tom as editor. 1917 also saw Tom write his famous 'Ten Proletarian Maxims', he believed them to be the basic principles of Revolutionary Socialism. In 1918, Tom founded the Proletarian School Movement in conjunction with the Proletarian Colleges, with the ten proletarian maxims as the basis of its teachings. The movement was inaugurated with the purpose of teaching children of the working class the necessity of abolishing the present political state. In March 1919 the first number of the 'Red Dawn' appeared, this was the official organ of the Proletarian School Movement and Tom was the editor. The Proletarian Colleges were to carry forward the work of the Proletarian Schools, but embrace all the social activities of the working class. Among the subjects taught were, economics, industrial history, sexual science, drama and music. Tom Anderson as Principle of the college was fortunate to have the help and assistance of John MacLean MA, John S. Clarke and many others in the socialist revolutionary movement. On the 4th of April 1920, the Proletarian Schools held their first annual conference with Tom Anderson as President. The outcome of this conference was the formation of the International Proletarian School Movement affiliated to the Third International and the Young People's Movement. By now the movement had a good hold in Scotland and Wales and was spreading in the Midlands and the south. In 1923, a public petition was organised by the National Citizens Union, deploring, "...the existence and the rapid growth of Proletarian Schools which by their teaching of sedition and revolution, and their blasphemous treatment of all religion, are fast becoming a menace to the stability of the democratic constitution of his country; as well as to our national character, moral standards, and home life; and urge upon the Government the necessity of taking immediate steps to deal with this communist movement to pervert the minds of British children; and to give all facilities for the private bill which is being introduced with this object into the House of Commons." The private bill mentioned in the above petition was introduced into the House of Commons by Sir John Butchard Bart., MP. The National Citizens Union managed to raise 71 petitions and collect 72,718 signatures. Some indication as to how worried the established institutions had become.

'''SPEAKER & WRITER.'''

As well as being an excellent speaker Tom Anderson was a brilliant story teller and over a period of many years wrote extensively, often under different pen names, the better known being John Davidson, Mary Davis and Margaret Dobson. In July 1919, under the name of John Davidson he published in book form his story of the class war. It appeared in the New York Weekly People, it was reprinted in the Socialist and the Sydney People and the IWW of Sydney printed it in thousands as a propaganda leaflet. In February 1924, under the name of Margaret Dobson, he published Sex knowledge for Parents. In July 1924 the Government confiscated the entire issue, leaving Tom facing considerable financial difficulties. Tom Anderson continued in the revolutionary movement all his life and also continued writing. Below is listed some of Tom Anderson's printed thoughts;

·Across the Ages: Short stories for young workers, (part 1) 1930, (part 2) 1932, 3rd. ed 1945.

·Two slaves and the underman (1915)

·The Proletarian song-book (1919)

·The fat bourgeois: A story for the young (1919)

·The class state (1930)

·Comrade Josef Dietzgen (1937)

·Comrade John MacLean: His life (1930, 2nd. ed. 1938)

·The God Man (1931)

·The story of the inquisition (1946)

·Proletarian poems (2nd. ed. 1946)

This is only a small proportion of the writings of Tom Anderson but might give some idea to the breadth of ideas and the effort he put into his beliefs. Tom had been involved in public speaking from the age of fourteen and then from the age of twenty five to the age of fifty five there never was a week he didn't speak at one or more meetings during the open air propaganda season, nor during the winter indoor meetings.

Tom, was born in poverty of working class parents, he was well qualified to understand their plight and their hopes. He never drifted away from his class nor betrayed any of the principles he professed. After a lifetime of struggle for the cause of revolutionary socialism Tom Anderson died in 1947.

Posted by John Couzin.

The book Radical Glasgow.

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Guy Aldred

2018-02-28T15:03:00Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''GUY ALDRED, 1886-1963.''' '''ORIGINS.''' Though born in London and spending the early years of his life there it was Glasgow that he spent most his adult life and in Glas..."

John MacLean

2018-02-28T14:57:49Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''JOHN MACLEAN, 1879-1923.''' '''EARLY LIFE.''' Born 24th August 1879 in the district of Pollokshaws near Glasgow. His family were forced by the clearances of 1840 to move..."

Tom Anderson

2018-02-28T14:52:51Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''TOM ANDERSON, 1863-1947''' '''EARLY YEARS.''' Tom Anderson was born on the 17th December 1863, at a place called Pollokshaws in Glasgow. His father, a hand-loom weaver ca..."

'''TOM ANDERSON, 1863-1947'''

'''EARLY YEARS.'''

Tom Anderson was born on the 17th December 1863, at a place called Pollokshaws in Glasgow. His father, a hand-loom weaver came from a long line of hand-loom weavers and a line of Presbyterians. Though Tom's father was a Presbyterian he also held very strong radical views and taught his children to be courteous to all but bow to none. The family moved to Airdrie, at that time it was a small village not far from Glasgow. At the age of ten, Tom started work. He did not follow the family craft but at the age of fourteen started his apprenticeship as a joiner with Shanks of Motherwell (a small town near Airdrie). Tom was by nature a rebel and did not take readily to the ideas of the Church. He became an avid reader and devoured the books in the local library. His favourite being Gibbon's "Decline and fall of the Roman Empire", he later wrote 'Across the Ages', a small book based on his study of this book. His attendance at Church dwindled and eventually stopped as Tom became a Freethinker.

'''TRADE UNIONISM & POLITICS.'''

At the age of twenty in 1883 he moved back to Glasgow and joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, a year later he was elected as the society's president. In 1889, Tom married Bella Craig, she came from a Unitarian family. Throughout her life she looked on the bible stories as stories of childhood and not to be taken seriously, she was a staunch comrade and enthusiastically helped Tom in all his activities. They had three sons James, Robert, and Tom, and one daughter, Bella. During the 1914-1918 war, their son James was an Absolutist. The year 1894 saw Tom join the newly formed Independent Labour Party and worked with them for several years. Later he joined the Socialist Democratic Federation, and threw himself into its pioneering work. In 1907 the south side branch of the SDF presented Tom with an illuminated address in appreciation of his work on behalf of socialism.

'''SOCIALIST SUNDAY SCHOOL.'''

1894 was also the year that Tom founded the first Socialist Sunday school and three years later he formed the South Side Socialist Sunday School, which continued well into the 1930s. Tom believed in the Catholic maxim, "Give us the child until he is six, and you can do what you like with him afterwards". For over thirty years Tom Anderson taught the children of the working class the virtue of independence, the power to think for themselves and the meaning of socialist revolution. Tom was an accomplished musician and a fine poet, and in 1907 he compiled a song book containing fifty three songs. Of these songs thirty three had original melodies and most were of a socialist nature. His poetry was always of social protest and revolt. Tom Anderson was probably the first socialist member of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and it was as a socialist that in January and February 1901 he led one of the biggest strikes in the city. Throughout the strike Tom showed himself to be a courageous and very capable leader and gained the respect of all the workers involved and those out with the trade. After the strike Tom found it almost impossible to get work, he seemed to be blacklisted by all of the city's employers. At this period he left his trade and started working for himself.

'''TEN PROLETARIAN MAXIMS.'''

Tom now joined the Socialist Labour Party, and in 1910 they opened a Socialist School for children. They dropped the word "Sunday" as they did not want to be seen as hypocrites. Tom became President of the school and remained so throughout its existence. In June 1917 the first issue of Revolution appeared with Tom as editor. 1917 also saw Tom write his famous 'Ten Proletarian Maxims', he believed them to be the basic principles of Revolutionary Socialism. In 1918, Tom founded the Proletarian School Movement in conjunction with the Proletarian Colleges, with the ten proletarian maxims as the basis of its teachings. The movement was inaugurated with the purpose of teaching children of the working class the necessity of abolishing the present political state. In March 1919 the first number of the 'Red Dawn' appeared, this was the official organ of the Proletarian School Movement and Tom was the editor. The Proletarian Colleges were to carry forward the work of the Proletarian Schools, but embrace all the social activities of the working class. Among the subjects taught were, economics, industrial history, sexual science, drama and music. Tom Anderson as Principle of the college was fortunate to have the help and assistance of John MacLean MA, John S. Clarke and many others in the socialist revolutionary movement. On the 4th of April 1920, the Proletarian Schools held their first annual conference with Tom Anderson as President. The outcome of this conference was the formation of the International Proletarian School Movement affiliated to the Third International and the Young People's Movement. By now the movement had a good hold in Scotland and Wales and was spreading in the Midlands and the south. In 1923, a public petition was organised by the National Citizens Union, deploring, "...the existence and the rapid growth of Proletarian Schools which by their teaching of sedition and revolution, and their blasphemous treatment of all religion, are fast becoming a menace to the stability of the democratic constitution of his country; as well as to our national character, moral standards, and home life; and urge upon the Government the necessity of taking immediate steps to deal with this communist movement to pervert the minds of British children; and to give all facilities for the private bill which is being introduced with this object into the House of Commons." The private bill mentioned in the above petition was introduced into the House of Commons by Sir John Butchard Bart., MP. The National Citizens Union managed to raise 71 petitions and collect 72,718 signatures. Some indication as to how worried the established institutions had become.

'''SPEAKER & WRITER.'''

As well as being an excellent speaker Tom Anderson was a brilliant story teller and over a period of many years wrote extensively, often under different pen names, the better known being John Davidson, Mary Davis and Margaret Dobson. In July 1919, under the name of John Davidson he published in book form his story of the class war. It appeared in the New York Weekly People, it was reprinted in the Socialist and the Sydney People and the IWW of Sydney printed it in thousands as a propaganda leaflet. In February 1924, under the name of Margaret Dobson, he published Sex knowledge for Parents. In July 1924 the Government confiscated the entire issue, leaving Tom facing considerable financial difficulties. Tom Anderson continued in the revolutionary movement all his life and also continued writing. Below is listed some of Tom Anderson's printed thoughts;

·Across the Ages: Short stories for young workers, (part 1) 1930, (part 2) 1932, 3rd. ed 1945.

·Two slaves and the underman (1915)

·The Proletarian song-book (1919)

·The fat bourgeois: A story for the young (1919)

·The class state (1930)

·Comrade Josef Dietzgen (1937)

·Comrade John MacLean: His life (1930, 2nd. ed. 1938)

·The God Man (1931)

·The story of the inquisition (1946)

·Proletarian poems (2nd. ed. 1946)

This is only a small proportion of the writings of Tom Anderson but might give some idea to the breadth of ideas and the effort he put into his beliefs. Tom had been involved in public speaking from the age of fourteen and then from the age of twenty five to the age of fifty five there never was a week he didn't speak at one or more meetings during the open air propaganda season, nor during the winter indoor meetings.

Tom, was born in poverty of working class parents, he was well qualified to understand their plight and their hopes. He never drifted away from his class nor betrayed any of the principles he professed. After a lifetime of struggle for the cause of revolutionary socialism Tom Anderson died in 1947.

Posted by John Couzin.

The book Radical Glasgow.

Radical Glasgow website.(http://radicalglasgow.me.uk/)

Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in

2018-02-26T16:24:42Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in, 1971/72''' == Boom & Bust == The end of the 2nd World War, for understandable reasons, saw British shipyards enjoy a period of boom...."

'''Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in, 1971/72'''

== Boom & Bust ==

The end of the 2nd World War, for understandable reasons, saw British shipyards enjoy a period of boom. The boom however soon turned to decline due to lack of investment. In 1965 the Labour government in an attempt to stop the decline set up the Geddes committee on the future of shipbuilding and how it could become more competitive. In the spring of 1966 the committee reported its findings. It recommended that the government should invest money in consolidating shipbuilding on the Clyde. So, in February 1968, Fairfields and Stephens on the south bank, Connels and Yarrows on the north bank and John Browns at Clydebank were incorporated into one company and Upper Clyde Shipbuilders came into being. The government had a 48.4% holding in the consortium there was also a £5.5m interest free government loan over the first three years. There was a labour force of 13,000 and an order book of £87m.

In spite of the new air of confidence the early years of the venture inherited a considerable package of real problems. Among the problems were poor capital investment, unprofitable orders and a legacy of poor worker-management relations. The consortium addressed the problems, improving worker-management relations, acquiring a more profitable order book and reducing the work force by a policy of redundancies. In view of the progress made the Labour government made available further grants and loans. The progress was such that by the end of 1970 the UCS Chairman reported that the company was "gaining in strength and morale as each day passes" and that he felt the company could be profitable by 1972. It appeared that Clyde shipbuilding had a bright future.

== Tory Government ==

Elections in June 1970 brought about a change of government. The new Conservative government was determined to return state industries to private ownership and to get rid of "lame duck" firms. This dogma meant that on the 4th of February 1971 the prime symbol of British engineering, Rolls Royce, was forced into liquidation.

== Lame Ducks ==

On the 11th February 1971 Mr John Davies, author of the "lame duck" strategy and Secretary for Trade and Industry announced that Yarrows would be taken from the consortium and returned to the private sector and indicated that no more public money would be made available to UCS. Although UCS had made no request for further money at this stage the Minister's statement brought about a rush of creditors' claims and UCS was refused further credit. By June 1971 the company's cash flow ceased and the management requested a further government loan. On Friday June 11th UCS Chairman Anthony Hepper announced to a meeting of the trade unions that to survive the company's present cash crisis he had sought £6m from the government. The alternative was to petition for a provisional liquidator. The Glasgow Herald on Saturday 12th ran an article pointing out the dire consequences of the impending collapse of UCS and warning the government, "the economic and social cost - never mind the political cost - of allowing UCS to go to the wall could be vastly greater than £6m". On Sunday 13th Secretary for Trade and Industry John Davies met UCS chairman Anthony Hepper for final discussions. On Sunday evening at Chequers, Davies met with Prime Minister Heath. A full Cabinet meeting was called for Monday morning. At question time in the House of Commons on Monday 14th June 1971 John Davies stood up and stated the government's intention not to save the UCS from bankruptcy. The statement was met by two very different responses; in the Visitors' Gallery the UCS shop stewards, who had travelled down to lobby for support, sat grim and devastated while the government back benchers cheered with some gusto. Davies then announced the appointment of a Provisional Liquidator and commissioned a report on the state of the UCS. The committee that would carry out the report became know as the "Three Wise Men", a fourth was later added. The four men - Alexander McDonald, Chairman of Distillers; Sir Alexander Glen, shipping magnate; David MacDonald of Hill Samuel; and Lord Rubens - did not inspire those at UCS with confidence.

== Mass Resistance ==

If prior to the 14th June the government had been planning its strategy concerning the UCS, the same had been happening with the work force of the UCS. On Saturday morning 12th June there was a meeting in Glasgow of all the leading shop stewards from each of the yards, and it was agreed to call a meeting the following day of all the shop stewards within UCS. This meeting took place on Sunday afternoon, with over 200 attending. During the meeting plans were drawn up for a campaign of mass resistance. It was here that the idea of a "work in" was formulated as opposed to a strike, which would probably speed the closure of the yards. Slogans were put forward which encapsulated the mood of the meeting which was to be maintained for the duration of the protest; -The Right to Work; Not a Yard will Close; Not a Man Down the Road.

== Mass Meetings ==

Monday 14th June saw mass meetings take place in the four yards, and the shop stewards' plan was accepted with overwhelming support. The STUC had already, at the previous meeting, pledged their support. The plan now was to gain the support of the wider labour and trade union movements. That Monday evening, with the government's decision known, another meeting took place in Clydebank Town Hall to meet the shop stewards' delegation on its return from London. The delegation arrived at Clydebank accompanied by some Scottish Labour MPs and Tony Benn, Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry. It was obvious that Tony Benn, a leading figure in the Labour Party, had come to be seen to be supporting the direct action of the workers to defend their jobs. In his speech at the meeting, to loud cheers, he said, "Your decision not to evacuate the yards is absolutely justified." This was a tremendous boost to the morale of those involved. The feelings of the Clydebank community were captured in a phrase by Bob Fleming, Lord Provost of Clydebank when he said "The government were trying to do to Clydebank what the Germans had failed to do during the second world war." He stated that the Clydebank Town Council would stand by the UCS workers and agreed to underwrite from the Common Good Fund the £1,250 cost of hiring a train for the following day to take hundreds of workers to lobby the Prime Minister in London.

== Church Support ==

Tuesday 15th June saw a train leave Glasgow crammed full with angry representatives from all four yards of UCS, Yarrows, Rolls Royce, Babcocks, Singers and British Steel Corporation intending not just to take their own anger but the outrage of the Scottish community in general to the seat of government in London. A joint telegram from the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Cardinal and other leading Churchmen was sent to the Prime Minister advising him that "without the existence of alternative industry, the action would be so damaging to the economy of Scotland in an area of already severe unemployment, and would have such social and human consequences, as to be totally unacceptable in a responsible society."

== Tony Benn ==

The attack on the government in the debate on the 15th June 1971 in the House of Commons was led by Tony Benn; he accused the government of deliberately engineering a liquidity crisis by the withholding of Treasury shipbuilding credit guarantees. He gave a detailed account, citing UCS management figures, of the progress the company had made towards viability despite the earlier difficulties: An 87% increase in productivity in steel in 12 months. A current order book worth £90m with a possible £100m worth of profitable orders in the pipeline. A 16% reduction in the steelwork labour force and a 25% reduction in the labour force overall in the previous 15 months. Deliveries of ships increased from 3 in 1968, 7 in 1969 to 12 in 1970, with a programme for 1971 for 18 deliveries. He then went on to make the charge that it was a political decision that was killing off the UCS and not simply economics. The UCS debate lasted almost seven hours and it was drained and weary Tory MPs that filed through the Westminster division lobbies just about the same time the train with its angry cargo was pulling out of Glasgow for London.

== Downing Street ==

The demonstrators' train arrived at Euston London at 6am on Wednesday 16th June and was met by Tony Benn. A mass rally was held at the Methodist Central Hall not far from the House of Commons, where they were joined by about forty Labour MPs, before marching on to Downing Street and then on to the House of Commons. On arriving at Downing Street a delegation went into No. 10 and spent an hour with the Prime Minister, Mr Heath. The members of the delegation were, Lord Provost Bob Fleming, shop stewards Reid, Airlie, Barr, Dickie, Cook and McInnes. Although the meeting to all accounts was polite, it was very clear to the delegation the Mr Heath and his government had no intention of changing anything to favour UCS.

== Lord Provost of Glasgow ==

It was now very clear to the shop stewards that as far as the government was concerned, the decision was set in stone, and the only road open to the UCS work force was to mobilise as much political, industrial, and general support as possible, and to arrange a show of strength that might bring about the overturn of the government's decision. The following week saw the effort intensify to bring about that mobilisation. A further meeting was arranged for the next Monday. Clydebank clergymen agreed to print and distribute protest petitions among their congregations. Posters and stickers started to appear in shop windows and shopkeepers began to place collection cans in their shops. Similar events were taking place in Glasgow and further afield. Donald Liddle, Lord Provost of Glasgow, chaired a crisis meeting of members of the STUC, MPs, and local authority representatives. The meeting was unanimous in demanding that shipbuilding should be retained on the Upper Clyde. It was now obvious that all Clydeside was staunchly behind the campaign to save the UCS.

== George Square ==

On Monday June 21st a meeting was held in the old Rosevale Cinema in Partick; at this meeting the plans were laid for an industrial stoppage and demonstration two days later. On Wednesday June 23rd thousands of marchers assembled in George Square, Glasgow. It was a warm sunny day as they arrived from far and wide. Three special trains from Clydebank, another full train from the Hillington factory of Rolls Royce, plus the entire Clydebank Town Council. It is estimated that well over 100,000 stopped work and more than 40,000 assembled to join the march. It was the biggest demonstration since the 2nd World War. Meanwhile the Davies Committee of the "wise men" continued with their investigation of the company and completed their report in six weeks. The Cabinet discussed the report at a two hour meeting on Wednesday, July 28th. While all this was going on the STUC had again met with Davies in London in another attempt to avert the impending social disaster but left empty handed. It was on Thursday July 29th in a packed House of Commons that Davies made the committee's findings public and proclaimed that UCS had been doomed from the start, "any continuation of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in its present form would be wholly unjustified." The government accepted the committee's conclusions in full, the findings being that production should be concentrated at the Govan and Linthouse sites where "it should be possible to form a new company which would retain a viable shipbuilding capability on the Upper Clyde." If this was carried through the workforce would be reduce to 2,500 men. UCS was to go into liquidation, the workforce reduced from 8,500 to 2,500. A new company would be set up at Govan and Linthouse, whilst the Clydebank and Scotstoun yards would close.

== Work-in Begins ==

The news of the closure of the two yards was met with disbelief all over Clydeside but probably more so in Clydebank where the idea of John Browns actually closing created shock and bewilderment. The Glasgow Herald had an article describing the atmosphere as "a town in mourning, . groups discussed the decision in hushed tones, creating the atmosphere normally found at the scene of a disaster," The work-in started immediately at John Browns; the other yards were still on holiday, but enacted the same policy the following week. At John Browns, the shop stewards requested permission from the liquidator Mr. Courtney Smith, to enter the yard; this was refused and the matter was referred back to the co-ordinating committee who sent Garry Ross, John Browns' boilermakers' convenor, to the gate where he informed the gateman Alex Stewart, that the shop stewards were now in charge and the barrier was opened. The work-in now in progress, all men and materials entering or leaving the yards were under the control of the shop stewards, Mr. Courtney Smith accepted the fact that the workers were in control. The taking over of the yards was a quite efficient drama-free event; the police, who had been warned to expect some sort of incident, had no need to interfere.

== Finance ==

It was always known that money would be a major problem for the success of the campaign, and as well as a 50p levy per worker, an appeal, led by Jimmy Airlie, was launched through the media on the 2nd August. Within a matter of days support came flowing in, not only from all over Britain, but from all around the world. Support came from across the Atlantic, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Cash from individuals and from organisations also arrived. Other shipbuilding areas in Britain agreed to give support by means of a weekly levy. Other donations included £1,000 from John Lennon and Yoko, £2,700 from the shipyard workers of the Soviet Union, £1,000 from the National Union of Mineworkers, £600 from Dutch shipyard workers, and many more large donations. However the bulk of mail was from smaller groups, individuals and public collections. By the end of August the total had reached £46,353, and it was necessary to seek the services of an accountant. The fund was later managed by the Burgh Chamberlain of Clydebank Town Council.

== Glasgow Visit ==

The sheer range and passion of the opposition to the government's plans had taken them by surprise. Their first shock was the intensity of the debate on the "wise men's" report held in the House of Commons on August 2nd. The report actually weakened the government's position by showing that UCS had inherited approximately £12m in losses from the parent companies. Although there was no change in the government's intentions, the language took on a more sympathetic tone. Davies made his first visit to Glasgow on August 3rd. He seemed surprised at the ferocity of the criticism being hurled at him from all sections of the community. His meetings with a cross section of Scottish businesses achieved nothing, in fact those who could be counted as friends of the Tory government were among the most critical of his plans, namely the 2,000 who, if liquidation went through, stood to lose £32,000,000. John Thomson of Thomson Shipcranes, Greenock, was one creditor owed £80,000; he raised a formal objection to the appointment of a liquidator, stating that he had the backing of 600 creditors. He openly stated, "The figures of 'debt' are part of a plot to paint a black picture and teach the workers a lesson." At the time of liquidation the UCS order book was about to increase by £120,000,000. The entire crisis was the direct result of a cash flow problem brought about by the government withholding credit guarantees. Also, the liquidation had taken place without any consultation with the Scottish banks allowing credit to the UCS.

== Trade Union Support ==

August 12th saw 1200 shop stewards from all over Scotland and the North of England arrive in Glasgow to show solidarity with the UCS "work-in". The delegates agreed to appeal to all workers to help financially in support of the "work-in". A decision to hold a demonstration in Glasgow on Wednesday August 18th was unanimously endorsed. On Monday the 16th the STUC convened the first Special Congress in its history. It was held in the Partick Burgh Hall where 400 delegates heard the General Secretary of the TUC, Vic Feather, pledge the strength of the British trade union movement in support of the UCS "work-in". There was an unanimous decision to support the industrial stoppage and demonstration on August 18th.

== Demonstration ==

Wednesday 18th August arrived, and by mid-day thousands were beginning to assemble in George Square, arriving by special trains and coaches, by mini bus and by car from all over Scotland and from all corners of England. The figure for those in Scotland who stopped work in support of the demonstration was put at 200,000. The city's public transport system, due to the large numbers of its members who had stopped work, was finding it almost impossible to ferry the crowds into the city. By the afternoon the crowd could no longer be contained in George Square and began to fill up the adjoining streets and still they kept arriving. At 3pm the marchers armed with placards and colourful union banners set off for Glasgow Green accompanied by many bands. The music, the colour and the warm sunny weather, gave the march a carnival atmosphere. Lots of the colourful banners were testimony to the support from England, with names such as: "London airport", "Manchester", "Liverpool", "Dagenham", "Coventry", "Wolverhampton", "Tyneside", "Derby", "Birmingham", "Barrow" and many more. Leading the procession to Glasgow Green, were shop stewards McInnes, Cook, Jimmy Reid, Jimmy Airlie, Dickie, Barr, along with Willie Ross of the Labour Party, Tony Benn, James Jack of the STUC, Hugh Scanlan of the engineers, Dan McGarvey of the boilermakers, Vic Feather, General Secretary of the TUC, and Alex. Murray of the Communist Party. While the leading marchers were arriving at Glasgow Green the marchers were still assembling and leaving George Square. The entire route was lined by cheering supporters, and the city centre was at a standstill. The estimated number who marched was put at over 80,000. At Glasgow Green all the speakers pledge to fight unemployment with special praise for the UCS for being the spearhead in the fight for the right to work.

== Archibald Kelly ==

This show of such widespread solidarity was a serious blow to the government's confidence in the UCS affair, so much so that the following day, Thursday August 19th, Mr Davies's assistant Sir John Eden was dispatched to hurriedly arranged meetings in Glasgow and London. The meetings were fruitless as both sides were still looking in different directions. A further embarrassing blow to the government's case came in the person of Archibald Kelly, a Clydeside entrepreneur, who stated through the press his interest in buying all four yards. Though the shop stewards were a little sceptical of this line, the liquidator, took a much more positive view and stated, " I see no need to talk of the closures of any of the yards. I never have." This statement gave the shop stewards another opportunity to put the government under further pressure. The government was still intent on pursuing a two yard solution and organised direct talks with the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions but excluded the shop stewards from the talks. During the talks the government admitted the "wise men's" report had not been an in depth study and announced a more thorough review, hinting that it might consider financial assistance to a buyer of the two remaining yards. The shop stewards with the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions agreed to give consideration to any proposals to keep the four yards open even if not as one unit.

== Redundancies ==

The liquidators announcement of the first redundancies created fresh problems for the "work-in" as the wages of the redundant men would have to be met by the funds of the campaign. By September 1st 399 men had been made redundant; to maintain their "work-in" wages £40,000 would be required. To counter the resultant drop in morale the shop stewards organised mass meetings and launched an internal bulletin furnishing everyone with accurate information of what was actually happening, as opposed to the speculation in the press. Of the 399 men made redundant, 277 decided to stay with the "work-in" and were able to continue working and receiving their average weekly wage from the campaign fund. This was made possible by the fact that by September 1971, material support for the UCS "work-in" had grown considerably with flag days in Glasgow and Dundee; house to house collections were organised in Aberdeen, and everywhere across the country factory meetings were arranged to raise levies to add to the campaign fund. Alongside this 18 local authorities had pledged direct support and local support groups formed in cities, towns and villages throughout Scotland and England. It was now obvious that the support for the UCS, "work-in", rather than fading as time went on, was growing daily.

== STUC Inquiry ==

The STUC on September 1st opened an inquiry into "the social and economic consequences of the decision to run down UCS." The STUC made the inquiry as broad based and objective as possible, with Professor Illsley of Aberdeen University in the Chair assisted by Frank Cousins, former General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, and George Perry, chairman of General Motors (Scotland). The inquiry called more than 40 witnesses, among them senior politicians, senior management from UCS, as well as shop stewards. Once again the government's cause was undermined when the inquiry called Jimmy Reid. He made available to the inquiry photocopies of a document, later to be called the "Ridley letters". The letters proved that the government's plan for UCS was not drawn up from economics circumstances in government but had been planned while in opposition. The author of the letters, written in 1969, was Nicholas Ridley, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, when he was Opposition Spokesman on technology. The letters made clear Ridley's plan that no further public money should be given to UCS, and after carving off Yarrows, the rest should be sold off to private enterprise. What was more damning was the language Ridley used in the letters, he wrote, "We could put in a government 'butcher' to cut up UCS and to sell (cheaply) to Lower Clyde and others, the assets of UCS". Copies of the letters were circulated to the press. The government's case took another blow when on September 17th Ken Douglas, then Managing Director of UCS, in a tabloid newspaper interview stated that the company had made record improvements in productivity and progress in industrial relations, also saying that UCS had been building ships so fast that "the problem became where to park them. Our fitting-out basins were full." This interview was taken as public support for the UCS "work-in".

== Benefit Concerts ==

By the end of September the campaign fund had climbed to an all time high. Several events were responsible for this. Stars from the world of entertainment gave two benefit concerts in the King's Theatre, Glasgow, and the publicity from the tabloid article and the STUC inquiry boosted support to a new high. Journalists gave increasing space to the campaign, professional groups offered their services and the clergymen issued statements deploring the decision to " butcher UCS". However, undeterred, the government continued to push ahead with its two yard plan by appointing a rudimentary board for the two yards, Govan and Linthouse. At first they could not get anybody from the business world to accept the position, among those who refused was Lord Weir, Chairman of the Weir Engineering Group. Eventually the government found three who were prepared to accept, Archie Gilchrist, Managing Director of a ship steering gear manufacturer, Angus Grossart, merchant banker and treasurer of the Conservative Party in Scotland, and Hugh Stenhouse, who was appointed Chairman. The shop stewards refused to recognise or co-operate with the appointees, nor could they gain access to the yards. The Co-ordinating Committee for the "work-in" stated that from here on it would be using the Linthouse Board Room. On September 24th, a mass meeting of 8,000 workers in Govan endorsed the shop stewards policy of non co-operation.

== Four Yards or None ==

At this stage the new Chairman (Stenhouse) let it be known that he was prepared to listen to proposals that went beyond the government's declared position; the shop stewards agreed an exploratory meeting to see if he would consider, "extending his position to cover the four yards." Stenhouse at later meetings agreed that the Scotstoun yard would be considered if it could be shown to be viable. However he would not consider the Clydebank yard but would press the government to find a solution for the yard. Stenhouse then made a request for Archie Gilchrist and himself to tour the yards at Scotstoun, Govan and Linthouse. The shop stewards reply was an emphatic no, they also added that no member of their Board would be allowed in unless they included Clydebank in the plans. Stenhouse eventually agreed to look seriously at Clydebank, if he could get government backing. The government however had not changed its position and in early October the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Union was called to a meeting with Davies, who made it clear that as far as the government was concerned there was no room for the Clydebank yard. He added that unless there was "meaningful discussions" with the new Govan Shipbuilders Company, no new order would be released for Govan and there would be an immediate cut in jobs. This was seen by the shop stewards as an attempt by the government to divide the workforce leaving Clydebank out and isolated. On October 8th. a mass meeting was held at Linthouse where a powerful message of "four yards or none" was the outcome. Further meetings in London between the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Union and Davies brought about new developments, including the Co-ordinating Committee agreeing to open discussions with Govan Ship builders on the understanding that the government would implement the immediate release of the Govan orders. The government agreed to a feasibility study at Scotstoun, and Davies also agreed to "make every effort to encourage a purchaser for the Clydebank yard." Following these developments the Co-ordinating Committee at a full shop stewards meeting restated its commitment to continue the "work-in" until the future of the four yards was secured.

== Low Morale ==

By the end of October the campaign seemed to be in a kind of limbo, with people waiting for the feasibility study for Scotstoun to be completed, and the search for a purchaser for Clydebank showing little progress. The newspapers no longer seeing it as a drama, moved it from the front pages; the public's awareness seemed to have changed, now seeing it as just a matter of discussions. The effect of all this on the fighting fund was to cause contributions to decline. Also at this time a series of domestic problems between yards materialised, mainly from a feeling of uncertainty, more so in the Clydebank yard where there was still a real fear of being left out of any deal. The morale took another dip when the news broke that Hugh Stenhouse had been killed in a road accident on the November 24th. A further meeting with Davies on December 23rd. produced no further change.

== Marathon ==

The start of 1972 saw Lord Strathalmond appointed as Stenhouse's successor as Chairman of Govan Shipbuilders. The appointment seemed to bring with it a new feeling of flexibility and understanding in relation to the Clydebank problem. The start of the year also saw the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Union on January 8th. send their representative, Dan McGarvey, to Houston Texas in an attempt to find a buyer for the Clydebank yard. The trade union had taken this initiative on the hope that the government would join forces with them to give great impetus to the quest; the government refused to participate. Dan McGarvey's Texas visit was very reassuring. Although the first contact, a company called Breaksea, had little credibility, his approach to the Marathon Manufacturing Corporation, the world's largest deep sea oilrig construction company, appeared to have more promise. By the end of January, Wayne Harbin, Marathon's President, had visited London and Clydebank and stated that the yard was a serious proposal, not only because of the site but the availability of the skilled craftsmen that they so badly needed.

== Government Commitment ==

February 2nd 1972 saw a draft report of the government's "more thorough review of the situation" regarding the UCS land on Lord Strathalmond's desk. He lost no time in making his own assessment of the situation; he wrote, "we feel the problem of shipbuilding on the upper Clyde must be treated at the outset as a social one, or one in the national interest, or both", thus making the argument that the government should make available generous aid for the new company. On the strength of this statement, Dan McGarvey and the shop stewards met Davies in London on the February 14th; there they discussed the details of the funding for the Govan, Linthouse, and Scotstoun yards and received assurance on the level of funding that would be made available. The government also gave a commitment to give its full co-operation and support in trying to bring Marathon to Clydebank. The outcome of this meeting convinced the shop stewards that they could now agree to early negotiations with the new Govan Shipbuilders.

== Victory ==

The extent of the government assistance to the Govan Shipbuilders, including Scotstoun, was announced to the House of Commons by Davies on February 28th. Even the most optimistic supporters of the campaign were pleasantly surprised by the amount, a total of £35,000,000 was to be made available, taking into account the current number employed which was 4,300. It was now obvious that the government's "lame duck" and non-intervention policies had been shattered by the determination of the "work-in", and the strength of the support. The decision between the government and Marathon dragged on longer than anticipated. This was mainly due to two facts; firstly, Marathon was intent on getting maximum assistance from the government; there was also still the matter of agreements to be sorted out between Marathon, an American company, and the British trade unions. Two months later, on the 28th April, the government and Marathon reached an agreement. It took a further three months for the unions and Marathon to finally come to an acceptable agreement, which was signed on the 7th August, 1972. Now that Clydebank was secure, formal agreements with Govan Ship builders could be concluded, and the 6th September saw this completed. One week later Govan Shipbuilders became a reality. Sixteen months after the "work-in" campaign started, on the 9th October 1972 the terms of the settlement were endorsed at the final mass meeting of the UCS campaign. It was seen as a campaign to save more than jobs, it was a struggle to save communities. Jimmy Reid's words best sum it up when he said, "it was a victory not just for the workers but for the whole Scottish community."

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Counter Information

2018-02-26T16:23:14Z

Annarky: Created page with "== A Rich Field == Since the start of the industrial revolution Glasgow has always been rich in its production of independent radical newspapers, bulletins, free-sheets etc...."

== A Rich Field ==

Since the start of the industrial revolution Glasgow has always been rich in its production of independent radical newspapers, bulletins, free-sheets etc. Over the years the various radical groups have plied their wares by selling or handing out these independent publications at street corners, public meeting places and workplaces or where ever. However Counter Information (CI) stands out as probably Scotland’s best agitational paper in the late 20th century. Heavily influenced by Anarchist/Libertarian Socialist ideas on how to organise, resist and report on all manner of resistance, (CI) achieved a standard and a circulation that probably hasn’t been reached since.

== Born of Conflict ==

Counter Information (CI) started life during the miners’ dispute of the 1980's to counter the lies and propaganda of mainstream media. We were involved in many aspects of the miners struggle and because we were working with and within mining communities and seen the autonomous nature of the organising at grassroots level, we felt we had to report these happenings to a wider audience. As the miners’ strike came to a conclusion it was decided to continue with the news-sheet. We had built up so many and varied contacts throughout Scotland, Wales and England that we felt we could produce an informative and inspiring source of resistance.

== A Radical Pedigree ==

C.I. was a collective (some of us had been involved in the past with such projects Paisley Gutter Press, Practical Anarchy, Here and Now, Black Bairn, Glasgow Bookshop Collective and others I canny remember) where everybody had a say in the content of the paper. We had regular meetings in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Grangemouth. These were usually on a rotational basis but the cities were where the actual physical lay-out took place, in the days before computers! The editorial meetings discussed letters, articles, papers, magazines, ideas we had received from around the world. We had contacts in all 5 continents and these took up a large part of the editorial content. We gave priority to those we received as eye-witness accounts or from participants themselves and these became known as “from our correspondent”.

== Midnight Oil Editorials ==

The editorial meetings are a thing of legend and at times could take up to 8 hours to agree on the content, style, spelling and grammar! A lot of heated argument at times took place but overall the collective stayed focused and cohesive. We had a no alcohol policy during meetings but once the meeting had finished we would head for the pub or crack open some cider to celebrate. Its thirsty work talking for so long! The news-sheet was self financed by the members of the collective and from the many grateful donations made by our supporters in the form of standing orders, cash, cheques or stamps. C.I. tried to come out on a 3 monthly basis and also do “one offs” if need be. We had a print run of 12,000 minimum and this was often added to due to demand. We had contacts in other areas of the world who also printed; photocopied and other wise reproduced the paper as well.

== Global Influence ==

Counter Information was also invited to many discussions around the globe most notably in South Korea in 1988 to discuss what the idea of what peace meant. This had been organised by the remnants of the Korean Anarchist movement that had been decimated during Japanese occupation in the 1940’s. And another notable invite was to a Self-Determination event in Govan, Glasgow, where the main speaker was Noam Chomsky. We also attended the Anarchist Bookfair in London annually along with other regular Anarchist periodicals to discuss and formulate national activities.

== Last but not Final Copy ==

The last ever Counter Information was published in summer 2003 and can be viewed online or at any Radical Independent Bookfair Event, where an archive of past printed C.I. s are available to read. The actual collective members are now getting on with their lives, some are involved in the Industrial Workers of the World, some are active in ACE in Edinburgh, some are involved in global solidarity issues and some are involved in community projects, some (believe it or not) have even stood for the SSP!! The legacy of Counter Information can be seen in newssheets such as Schnews, Indymedia and a host of local Anarchist newssheets from South Wales to Glasgow, covering events and reporting resistance to authority. Long may they continue!

This material was supplied by Stevie Gallagher. Thanks Stevie.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

A Public Nuisance

2018-02-26T16:19:49Z

Annarky:

<p style="size:larger">'''Tales of Adventure & Spirit of Revolt'''<br />''Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986''</p>

By Jim McFarlane

== Squats and Seeds ==

A Libertarian Socialist group forms<ref>Autumn 1974</ref> at Strathclyde University, reproducing an expanded version of Solidarity’s ''As We See It''<ref>Libertarian Socialist network</ref> as a founding statement; an ad appears in the last issue of the ‘Glasgow News’<ref>Investigative paper, early seventies</ref> about an Anarchist group participating in squatting in the Glasgow University campus; a prominent NUSS<ref>National Union School Students</ref> activist gets involved in the Anarchist Workers Association<ref>national organisation modelled on International Socialists (platformists)</ref>. Contact made between individuals leads to a Group being formed and the ‘withering away’ of former pursuits such as candle-making in favour of class struggle politics. A primitive duplicator churns out the first leaflet on Binmen’s dispute. Formation of the Glasgow Union of the Glasgow Union of Squatters and attempts made to make contact with individual squatters in Maryhill, Govanhill and elsewhere. Anarchist centre set up in Bute Gardens in large squat with 9 rooms, a large public room equipped with duplicator, silkscreen (donated by Art Lecturer) and space for 20-30 bodies. Skirmishes with University officials<ref>mid-1975</ref> when door repainted a defiant Red but this abates when bottles owned by Dept. of Urology are released, without more samples being added! Another squat exists with less ‘political’ elements (interview appears in the ‘Daily News’) but another, vacated by Trotskyite Lecturer is closed down by the authorities.

<references />

== New Groups, Meetings, Conferences ==

By way of bookstalls, leafleting, demonstrations and Public meetings<ref>1975/76</ref> the nucleus of the GAG makes contact with other anarchists<ref>Stephano from Italy and Alain from France: active in GAG, deserters from military service</ref>. Some of the Public Meetings were notable: the late John Olday (veteran anti-militarist and revolutionary who tried to assassinate Hitler) spoke on ‘German Anarchism’ which he equated with armed struggle groups, and cooked us a meal at the Social afterwards; also in Partick we had a talk and filmshow about the Kirkby Rent Strike on the outskirts of Liverpool, which was supported by ‘Big Flame’<ref>Revolutionary socialists group, then more libertarian</ref>; a debate on the Spanish Revolution included the participation of the late Miguel Garcia and Albert Meltzer<ref>London Anarchist Black Cross</ref> but ascendancy over the International Marxist Group was only achieved by speakers from the floor, veterans of groups in the 1960s. By then a federation, the SLF<ref>Scottish Liberation Federation</ref>, not to be confused with the punk ‘New wave’, was established in 6 Scottish Centres<ref>SLF Newsletters commence. I write 'Towards a philosophy of anarchist praxis' (later printed in Freedom).</ref>. In Aberdeen a breakaway from the Socialist Party of Great Britain had formed an effective direct action group<ref>Anarchist alternatives against authority, electro-stenciled magazine, produced at Bute Gardens, 'Theorectical'</ref> with individual anarchists<ref>Clydeside paper produces two issues under anarchist control - later 'taken over' by Scottish republicans</ref>; in Dundee spasmodic activity by the group lacked cohesion; in St. Andrews there was a brief student group fronted by somebody called ‘Haggis’; in Stirling the Local Council took fright and cancelled the inaugural Anarchist meeting but a group was formed, largely student base with Anarchist Collection established at the University Library<ref>John Watson Collection</ref>; in Edinburgh there were close ties with Glasgow and joint campaign work, the nucleus being members of AWA. A series of 7 Conferences were held between the beginning of 1975 and the end of 1977, three of which were in Glasgow. The formal sessions, like the interminable Internal Newsletters that were intended to sustain the momentum of the network in between conferences and joint campaigns, deserve scant memory. The after conference spirit was usually much more interesting and intoxicating. In Edinburgh the SLF Conference<ref>SLF newsletter became 'Scottish Libertarian', duplicated journal for 2 issues including Tom Woolley 'Containment & Liberation'.</ref> was interrupted by a marching Orange procession below and some comrades has to be dissuaded from uttering challenges: in Aberdeen the Glasgow group were confronted with the ideology of Anti-sexism by a Dundee Libertarian who persuaded them to refrain from uttering expletives like ‘Fuck’ and say ‘sneeze’ instead.

<references />

== Solidarity ==

More practical was immersion in International Solidarity<ref>Glasgow libertarian socialist returns from Portugese revolt 1976.</ref> work. This included solidarity<ref>Reports of direct action in Scotland and Murray's support activity appear in 'Black Flag' & 'Anarchist Worker'.</ref> with the hanged Salvador Puig in Spain, Ralf Stein in Cologne, the ‘accidental death of’ Pinelli in Italy framed by the State, Akatasuna in the Basque country<ref>William Burroughs fan publishes 'Pocket Sedition; journal of the Emergency Sanitation Dept.' Nice title, pity about comic contents.</ref>, and the 1976 uprising in South Africa. Closer to home was the case of Noel and Marie Murray in Dublin who was facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a Garda (policeman). This led to support activities including the picket at the Anglo-Irish Bank in Jamaica Street and the occupation of Aer Lingus in St. Enoch Square, a successful exercise aided by a squad from Easterhouse linked to ‘Clydesider’ and Scottish Republicanism. Such protests were widespread in the British Isles, and abated with the commuting of the sentence. A feature of such activity was the generation of a moral righteousness and selfless exterior which, being flawed human beings, we couldn’t sustain long. A real progression(4)<ref>1976-77</ref> was the move into ‘community issues’, including the struggle to save Partick Bus Garage in 1977<ref>March 77 – one trial issue of 'Maryhill Offensive' – duplicated rant.</ref>. More influential was the Fair Fares campaign which saw the group in 1976 launch a widespread poster campaign to popularise resistance to fares increases. Silkscreened ‘Snoopy says No’ purple posters appeared on bus shelters all over the city, especially by the nightshift of flyposterers who jumped in and out of vans on drives from Drumchapel to Easterhouse<ref>Propaganda of the Deed</ref>. Others scaled bridges and painted slogans, and the ‘catalyst’ efforts led to community groups linking in protests (and SNP gains from Labour in the peripheral estates). A few ‘situations’ were created on buses on a proclaimed ‘Day of Action’ and mysteriously a confrontation with transport police who happened to be on a 43 bus into town which a squad of Fares Fighters had boarded, refusing to pay the new fare and engaged in persuading passengers to join in the spirit.

<references />

== People's Press ==

The Glasgow People's Press<ref>mid-1977</ref> was launched in September 1977. We had teamed up with a Possilpark based graphic artist/amateur journalist who had produced a ‘pilot edition’ called ‘The Source’. His appeal for support was joined by a dozen anarchists and we worked together on several issues before he bailed out. The paper, with an initial print-run of 2,000, was modelled on a fusion of radical community investigative paper integrated with an anarchic spirit of fostering revolt. Inevitably the blend was patchy and the project witnessed a steady drop in editorial collective participation and print run, dropping to less than a thousand. On the plus side 11 issues were produced and the GPP provided a training ground in producing propaganda for popular consumption and spread knowledge of local community issues, campaigns on fares and setting up claimants unions, and awareness of projects such as the Alternative Bookshop Collective and libertarian publications.

<references />

== Claimants Unions ==

The spread of the Claimants Union movement initially was due to anarchist influence centred in Drumchapel, Partick,& Maryhill. The anarchists also made links with the Firemen during their winter 1977/78 dispute. Support for local activists in Possilpark, Blackhill and Castlemilk led to the establishment of Unions with more entrenched credibility. Other unions in Rutherglen, Govanhill, Garthamlock and Paisley were formed, usually with a nucleus of 6 to 10 activists. A bond of mutual aid and distrust of the local State originally pervaded at the monthly coordination meetings. Yet within a year forces had combined to weaken the libertarian socialist element – apart from Castlemilk – and establish the Clydeside CUs as predominantly parochial, and seduced by a welfare rights mentality. A contributory factor in this process was the Community Development Officers<ref>1978/79 Claimants activists (excl. 2 Trots on the left) at Supp Benefits Commission Seminar chaired by David Donnison, 1979

Bratach Dubh pamphlets published from Port Glasgow, 'Anarchism & National Liberation Struggles', Critique of Syndicalist Methods', 'Workers Aotonomy', 'Angry Brigade Documents'. Later moved to London, printed in Sicily!

3 issues of rotated 'Solidarity for Social Revolution', magazine produced in Scotland, No. 9 exclusively in Glasgow.</ref> attached to the Social Work Department to award Start Up Grants and second Community Workers whose remit was to institutionalise the service of the local Union, allocate community flats and so on. The squabbles with a handful of IMG activist’s also diverted attention from the emerging ‘non-political’ hegemony of welfarism, disregarding the socialist and more confrontational model of the CUs in England - in London organised on a borough-wide basis. The region also set up a network of Welfare Rights Officers and other posts linked to Urban Aid projects and (after years of self-imposed austerity) many of the ‘Westenders’ were sucked into jobs as ‘insiders’. Activity in the CU movement was part-and-parcel of a ‘revolution of Everyday Life’ approach which recognised a need to be involved in ‘bread & butter’ issues and negated identity as Anarchists. In 1979<ref>1979/80 Hammer & Tongs, Workers Newssheet distributed within Scott-Lithgows Shipyard.

Motor bulletin about Chrysler, sells 6 at Linwood, SWP members retrieve posted copy from bin.

Some cadres produce one-off duplicated 'Workers Councillist' broadsheet, leaving party en route to Arran.

'Jack Thompson' newssheets produce by Paisley College students. Ferguslie anarchists play Chou Parhot at football.

'A.C.A.' conference in Hillhead, avoids sectarian punch-up in Arlington Bar.

Anarchists help produce 'Castlemilk Today' & 'Possil Post' community newspapers, both attacked by labour reactionaries.

Collective producing 2 issues of 'Hard Times' insert in 'Bread & Roses' (ACA), produce reprint issue of 'Bread & Roses' from Castlemilk under collective title, 'Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists'.

Big print paper produces 12 issues, Aberdeen Community struggle views.</ref> the General Election produced a Thatcherite victory, largely courtesy of exploiting the fallout from the ‘Winter of Discontent’. and the vacillation of Callaghan in ‘going to the country’. It also saw the end of Teddy Taylor’s fiefdom in Cathcart. And it was in the ‘sleeping giant’ of Castlemilk that the anarchists concentrated a local campaign to ‘Put Rubbish in its Place’, intended as a spoof of the District Council ‘clean up’ campaign redefined by the anarchists as politicians being consigned to the ‘rubbish bin of history’. The joke was well intended but the campaign imploded as Maxton mobilised the highest Labour turnout in the seat, despite an inert and corrupt local party. A similar effect occurred two years later in the Hillhead by-election which ushered in the claret era of Roy Jenkins. Anarchist flirted with ant-parliamentary street meetings and propaganda which included a speaker exhorting the crowd the crowd to trash a Rolls-Royce stuck in a Byres Road traffic jam and a verbal assault of Pastor Jack Glass’s cavalcade. Unlike the earlier era which drew from the everyday interaction engendered by living in squats and the solidarity of claimants in regular contact, the activity on this period lacked a sense of purpose and belief. Episodes nevertheless occurred including public meetings in Scotland addresses by John Quail and a quick debate on Libertarian Education; the launch of ‘Hard Times’<ref>1980/81. Anti-authority leaflet distributed at Anti-Nazi League rally in Edinburgh.

'Smash Hip Capitalism', follow up to fines levied against Virgin 2 fiasco.

Benefit concert in Paisley College distrupted by punk bands unwilling to surrender stage to 'Chou Parhot'.

Experimental anarchist 'Brains Trust' meeting, City Halls.

Practical Anarchy Xmas Special promotes do-it-yourself subversion kits.</ref> as a Glasgow insert in the Anarchist Communist Association paper ‘Bread & Roses’; anti-militarist leaflets by rendezvous and other efforts at radicalising CND from the outside; solidarity with the Polish workers faced with the military clampdown of Dec ’81 in a march to the Polish Consulate; the one-off appearance of the Izel Liberation Front; anti-nuclear action at Torness; and the fracas at Virgin Records which led to two arrests after the megastore had been invaded by anarchists declaring ‘all records are free!’

<references />

PUNKS, REVIVAL, BOOKSTORE.

== Punks, Revival, Bookstore ==

The last mentioned event, and the possibly misguided intervention of masked anarchists in the huge unemployment march in 1981, nevertheless ushered in a new era and the birth of the Clydeside anarchists as a fighting force. The momentum started in Paisley in 1980 with the punk-inclined Practical Anarchy fanzine accompanying Grouch Marx Records promoting local bands such as the Fegs and XS Discharge. This led to the widespread circulation of a local broadsheet Paisley Gutterpress which achieved a notoriety through lampooning politicians and revealing scandals in the corridors of the Local Council. ‘Practical Anarchy’ then went on to its second reincarnation as a Group magazine, only 1 of the 2 issues being distributed. The inspiration from England of the 1981 riots became an underlying factor<ref>1982/83 - Internal Clydeside anarchist newsletters to link dispersed group and encourage local projects.<br />Scottish tour by anarcha-feminists from 'Outta Control' paper in Belfast.<br />'Get the monkeys off our backs' leaflet distributed against professionalising (jobs for the boys) at Paisley unemployed workers centre.<br />Libertarian Voice produced from Pilton, Edinburgh. Antelope Gazelle, hand written fanzine from Paisley buddie.<br />'Black Cat' & 'Not the Coorier' fanzines produced by Dundee anarchists. Free winged Eagle magazine produced by anarchists in Orkneys, linked to Black Flag.<br />Anarchist Window Pane, veteran syndicalist pruduces broadsheet from Gllowgate. Subversive Grafitti newssheet distributed in Aberdeen regularly.<br />Spoof leaflet distributed as 'joint appeal' by parties warning of anti-parliamentary views, Hillhead bye-election.<br />Reprint of'The Bourgeois Role of Bolshevism', Councillist text on Russian Revolution distributed by GPP pamphlet, 1982.<br />End of Music produced by Calderwood 15 Collective, 1982.</ref> and the perceived need to combat the ‘politics of despair’ & rituals that personified the Left transfixed with the decisive ending of consensus politics. A new influx of lively characters formerly involved in punk, CND or Trotskyite circles revitalised the approach. Facilitating this was the use of the Glasgow Bookshop Collective’s basement in Great Western Road, where a printing press was located & meetings could be held to plan activity. The Bookshop Collective has been set up with the participation of anarchists & fellow-travellers in feminist & other circles and managed to combine a base for promoting anti-authoritarian activities with the voluntary based selling of alternative literature.

<references />

== Relaunch, Practical Anarchy ==

In April 1982<ref>Autonomy Press print Farquar McLay's 'Art& Anarchism' & 'Education : Towards an Anarchist Approach' pamphlets 1982.</ref>, Practical Anarchy was relaunched as a broadsheet and its notoriety was immediately achieved by the coincidence of the Falklands War. ‘Fuck the Falklands’ declared the tabloid –style front-page & to underline the tension at the targeted CND demonstration a dozen anarchists were arrested as the local constabulary desperately tried to impound the offending challenge to anti-militarism.. Issues followed at more or less monthly intervals, and although circulation rarely exceeded 4,000 an issue<ref>12,000 in August 1982 with 'Phew what' with Atomic Bomb Blast plc.</ref>, there was a generally well-received response at CND demonstrations<ref>Regular contacts with Faslane Peace Camp.</ref> & the like, excepting the Stewards & the straight Left who were wrong-footed by the audacious & lampooning approach. Apart from broadsheets<ref>Practical Anarchy distributed simultaneously at 3 shipyards in Glasgow/Clydebank, one response!</ref>, which came to predominate up to mid-1984, flyers were produced, ideal for flyposting, announcing ‘This Man is Rat’ (Wm Gray, ex-Provost); ‘’Anarchist Alternative to Suicide’<ref>Anarchist Youth Movement briefly active among young punks in Clydeside with links in Dunfermline & Edinburgh, 1983/84.</ref> after two unemployed youths topped themselves in Warrington; an ‘expose’ on an underground shelter in the Burrell Collection vaults(!); an anti-parasite warning on the occasion of Pr Charles’ wedding; and odd creations such as the ‘passport’ leaflet during the Falklands War, the giro leaflet paid to A. Doler of nowhere Place, and the Songs for Swinging Scroungers at the Picket of the CBI Conference in 1984.

<references />

== Free Speech ==

This group was organised on fluid principles<ref>As a Tyranny of Structurelessness.</ref> but inevitably this let to its perceived domination by able individuals & the beginning of a momentum to reorganise the ‘Clydeside Anarchists’ by 1984. The previous year, the public persona of the group had expanded with a series of Public Meetings held in Clydebank, Paisley, East Kilbride & Shawlands following on from a large rally (a disaster) at the McLellan Galleries shortly after the June 1983 Thatcher ‘second term’ victory. Thereafter one of the most positive developments took place with the ‘free speech fight’; to establish a weekly pitch for Street Speaking in Argyle Street fronted by a pool of 4 varied speakers using contrasting styles to ‘capture’ the audience, briefly freed from the routine of shopping (or shoplifting). There was also the production of local anarchist broadsheets – Toejam in Kilmarnock, West End Crimes in Hillhead/Maryhill, Refuse Collection in East Kilbride & Springburn Follies, produced by a couple of people in each locality and federated to the wider group, who often covered printing costs. Carries along by frenetic activity and the suspicion that our influence was more superficial and merely anecdotal to the ‘serious’ Left, there developed a move to re-establish the group the group as an Organisation, to which activity would be more accountable & coordinated by an agreed strategy. To this end, a discussion journal, The Clydeside Anarchist produced two issues in 1984<ref>Anarchist Burns Night held in Garret Theatre, DIY acts January 1984. Black Bairn broadsheet distributed in Falkirk & Grangemouth. After the 'Unemployed Diners Club' disrupt normal service in the Holiday Inn, 1984.</ref>. This was cast aside by the momentus development of the miners strike.

<references />

== Miners Strike ==

Not fully appreciating the significance of the miners’ resolve<ref>1984/86</ref> to ‘take-on’ the Government, the anarchists originally produced a couple of Practical Anarchy specials. As the dispute become more determined , with the deployment of centrally coordinated Policing, control over movement& so on, the mood of the Clydeside Anarchists changed, and the playful spirit was discarded. The mentality of self-sacrifice became enshrined in the Price-Waterhouse occupation<ref>Sequestrators of Union Funds.</ref> and the ensuing intense street-collections (6 times a week) which raised £12,000 which was passed direct to Strike Centres, especially those in Ayrshire. Links with Union activists from Ayrshire were briefly formed, but in the process the Street-speaking pitches & the opening up of a public sphere for anarchist ideas was abandoned in favour of a role as an unofficial miners support group. Inevitably such activity & the delayed trial of the Price Waterhouse defendants exhausted those involved intensively<ref>Counter Information broadsheet started September 1984 from Edinburgh/Glasgow. Here & Now Theoretical magazine, founded December 1984, first issue February 1985, post-situationist content.</ref>, while those unable to match such commitment dropped by the wayside, often afflicted by a sense of guilt that they had not ‘done enough’. An impetus to this mood was provided by the growing influence of Animal Rights activity alongside anarchism & its stress upon indignation & anti-intellectualism.

<references />

== Reflections ==

Although spasmodic activities organised around ‘Clydesider’ broadsheet<ref>One pilot issue of 'Scorcher' broadsheet, & anti-Social work '...paid to grass...'</ref> occurred in 1986, heralded the new Sheriff Court, & a visit by a Wapping militant trying to open up a ‘second front’ at the News International Plant in Kinning Park, another cycle of popular anarchist organising has dissipated with negligible legacy. Reflecting on such activity over the years, which achieved a greater impact in the 1982-4 period than previous anarchist projects<ref>Probably since the 1942/45 Anarchist Federation group.</ref>, it is often difficult to analyse, by adopting the standpoint of a detached ‘outsider’, why certain activities occurred at certain times & why cycles of activity took place without apparent direct influence if historic events (excluding the observations about the miners; dispute)<ref>Central Scotland Collective carry on producing Counter Information after end of Miners Strike, 10,000 circulation by 1987/88.</ref>. The questions of praxis, the fusion of theory and practical activity, interested few militants over the years. The inability of the theorists to express themselves in clear, concise ways led to their ridicule, or at least marginalised influence, which they could only redeem by a bout of militarism. Similarly as J.T Caldwell<ref>Biographer of Guy Aldred, including 'The Red Evangel'.</ref> has remarked, anarchist groups tend to attract a ‘rank-and-file’ member with an outlook pre-disposed to ideological certainties, an idée fixé which sees theory in terms of historical dogma, a heritage enshrined on tablets of stone. Invariably many of the prime movers in successive groups, myself included, do not subscribe to such an approach, but our ‘practical reflexivity’ is rarely communicated with a relish & clearsightedness that dovetails with the collective imagination of a political project which measures its impact in terms of ‘bearing witness’. As an interesting tangent to this it is instructive to note the marginal involvement (in Glasgow, especially when compared to Edinburgh) of women in the myriad of activities. In 1975 there was a joint discussion meeting of the GAG with the Women’s Liberation Movement & in 1983 a brief anarcho-feminists discussion circle, an offshoot from the Bookshop collective & anarchist group. The Glasgow tradition is of workerism fused with Stirnerism, and the cultural transfer of such an approach over the last 50 years, helps to explain the peripheral concern with ‘new social movements’ around cultural and gender concerns. Glasgow has a more enduring working class culture than most other UK cities & one interesting result of the Thatcherite authoritarian strategy in the coming years will be to undermine the hold of Labourism, the Welfare State & the electoral basis of ‘dependency’ politics.

<references />

== Note ==

Inevitably activities & influences have been missed by this survey of anti-politics. To view leaflets & the mass of material received in 'mutual exchange' in UK and overseas, visit the Mitchell Library, second floor, Social Science & ask to see the Anarchist reference collection. See also the article by Robert Lynn in Workers City, Clydeside Press, 1988. For obvious reasons, names & certain direct actions have been omitted from mention.

This article first appeared in The Edinburgh Review issue 83, E.U.S.P.B. 1990 editor Peter Kravitz isbn 07486 60216 pp 96-105

Digital photos of literature relating to this period; [https://www.flickr.com/photos/55173256@N05 Keef's flickr].

----

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

A Public Nuisance

2018-02-26T16:19:06Z

Annarky:

'''Tales of Adventure & Spirit of Revolt'''<br />''Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986''

By Jim McFarlane

== Squats and Seeds ==

A Libertarian Socialist group forms<ref>Autumn 1974</ref> at Strathclyde University, reproducing an expanded version of Solidarity’s ''As We See It''<ref>Libertarian Socialist network</ref> as a founding statement; an ad appears in the last issue of the ‘Glasgow News’<ref>Investigative paper, early seventies</ref> about an Anarchist group participating in squatting in the Glasgow University campus; a prominent NUSS<ref>National Union School Students</ref> activist gets involved in the Anarchist Workers Association<ref>national organisation modelled on International Socialists (platformists)</ref>. Contact made between individuals leads to a Group being formed and the ‘withering away’ of former pursuits such as candle-making in favour of class struggle politics. A primitive duplicator churns out the first leaflet on Binmen’s dispute. Formation of the Glasgow Union of the Glasgow Union of Squatters and attempts made to make contact with individual squatters in Maryhill, Govanhill and elsewhere. Anarchist centre set up in Bute Gardens in large squat with 9 rooms, a large public room equipped with duplicator, silkscreen (donated by Art Lecturer) and space for 20-30 bodies. Skirmishes with University officials<ref>mid-1975</ref> when door repainted a defiant Red but this abates when bottles owned by Dept. of Urology are released, without more samples being added! Another squat exists with less ‘political’ elements (interview appears in the ‘Daily News’) but another, vacated by Trotskyite Lecturer is closed down by the authorities.

<references />

== New Groups, Meetings, Conferences ==

By way of bookstalls, leafleting, demonstrations and Public meetings<ref>1975/76</ref> the nucleus of the GAG makes contact with other anarchists<ref>Stephano from Italy and Alain from France: active in GAG, deserters from military service</ref>. Some of the Public Meetings were notable: the late John Olday (veteran anti-militarist and revolutionary who tried to assassinate Hitler) spoke on ‘German Anarchism’ which he equated with armed struggle groups, and cooked us a meal at the Social afterwards; also in Partick we had a talk and filmshow about the Kirkby Rent Strike on the outskirts of Liverpool, which was supported by ‘Big Flame’<ref>Revolutionary socialists group, then more libertarian</ref>; a debate on the Spanish Revolution included the participation of the late Miguel Garcia and Albert Meltzer<ref>London Anarchist Black Cross</ref> but ascendancy over the International Marxist Group was only achieved by speakers from the floor, veterans of groups in the 1960s. By then a federation, the SLF<ref>Scottish Liberation Federation</ref>, not to be confused with the punk ‘New wave’, was established in 6 Scottish Centres<ref>SLF Newsletters commence. I write 'Towards a philosophy of anarchist praxis' (later printed in Freedom).</ref>. In Aberdeen a breakaway from the Socialist Party of Great Britain had formed an effective direct action group<ref>Anarchist alternatives against authority, electro-stenciled magazine, produced at Bute Gardens, 'Theorectical'</ref> with individual anarchists<ref>Clydeside paper produces two issues under anarchist control - later 'taken over' by Scottish republicans</ref>; in Dundee spasmodic activity by the group lacked cohesion; in St. Andrews there was a brief student group fronted by somebody called ‘Haggis’; in Stirling the Local Council took fright and cancelled the inaugural Anarchist meeting but a group was formed, largely student base with Anarchist Collection established at the University Library<ref>John Watson Collection</ref>; in Edinburgh there were close ties with Glasgow and joint campaign work, the nucleus being members of AWA. A series of 7 Conferences were held between the beginning of 1975 and the end of 1977, three of which were in Glasgow. The formal sessions, like the interminable Internal Newsletters that were intended to sustain the momentum of the network in between conferences and joint campaigns, deserve scant memory. The after conference spirit was usually much more interesting and intoxicating. In Edinburgh the SLF Conference<ref>SLF newsletter became 'Scottish Libertarian', duplicated journal for 2 issues including Tom Woolley 'Containment & Liberation'.</ref> was interrupted by a marching Orange procession below and some comrades has to be dissuaded from uttering challenges: in Aberdeen the Glasgow group were confronted with the ideology of Anti-sexism by a Dundee Libertarian who persuaded them to refrain from uttering expletives like ‘Fuck’ and say ‘sneeze’ instead.

<references />

== Solidarity ==

More practical was immersion in International Solidarity<ref>Glasgow libertarian socialist returns from Portugese revolt 1976.</ref> work. This included solidarity<ref>Reports of direct action in Scotland and Murray's support activity appear in 'Black Flag' & 'Anarchist Worker'.</ref> with the hanged Salvador Puig in Spain, Ralf Stein in Cologne, the ‘accidental death of’ Pinelli in Italy framed by the State, Akatasuna in the Basque country<ref>William Burroughs fan publishes 'Pocket Sedition; journal of the Emergency Sanitation Dept.' Nice title, pity about comic contents.</ref>, and the 1976 uprising in South Africa. Closer to home was the case of Noel and Marie Murray in Dublin who was facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a Garda (policeman). This led to support activities including the picket at the Anglo-Irish Bank in Jamaica Street and the occupation of Aer Lingus in St. Enoch Square, a successful exercise aided by a squad from Easterhouse linked to ‘Clydesider’ and Scottish Republicanism. Such protests were widespread in the British Isles, and abated with the commuting of the sentence. A feature of such activity was the generation of a moral righteousness and selfless exterior which, being flawed human beings, we couldn’t sustain long. A real progression(4)<ref>1976-77</ref> was the move into ‘community issues’, including the struggle to save Partick Bus Garage in 1977<ref>March 77 – one trial issue of 'Maryhill Offensive' – duplicated rant.</ref>. More influential was the Fair Fares campaign which saw the group in 1976 launch a widespread poster campaign to popularise resistance to fares increases. Silkscreened ‘Snoopy says No’ purple posters appeared on bus shelters all over the city, especially by the nightshift of flyposterers who jumped in and out of vans on drives from Drumchapel to Easterhouse<ref>Propaganda of the Deed</ref>. Others scaled bridges and painted slogans, and the ‘catalyst’ efforts led to community groups linking in protests (and SNP gains from Labour in the peripheral estates). A few ‘situations’ were created on buses on a proclaimed ‘Day of Action’ and mysteriously a confrontation with transport police who happened to be on a 43 bus into town which a squad of Fares Fighters had boarded, refusing to pay the new fare and engaged in persuading passengers to join in the spirit.

<references />

== People's Press ==

The Glasgow People's Press<ref>mid-1977</ref> was launched in September 1977. We had teamed up with a Possilpark based graphic artist/amateur journalist who had produced a ‘pilot edition’ called ‘The Source’. His appeal for support was joined by a dozen anarchists and we worked together on several issues before he bailed out. The paper, with an initial print-run of 2,000, was modelled on a fusion of radical community investigative paper integrated with an anarchic spirit of fostering revolt. Inevitably the blend was patchy and the project witnessed a steady drop in editorial collective participation and print run, dropping to less than a thousand. On the plus side 11 issues were produced and the GPP provided a training ground in producing propaganda for popular consumption and spread knowledge of local community issues, campaigns on fares and setting up claimants unions, and awareness of projects such as the Alternative Bookshop Collective and libertarian publications.

<references />

== Claimants Unions ==

The spread of the Claimants Union movement initially was due to anarchist influence centred in Drumchapel, Partick,& Maryhill. The anarchists also made links with the Firemen during their winter 1977/78 dispute. Support for local activists in Possilpark, Blackhill and Castlemilk led to the establishment of Unions with more entrenched credibility. Other unions in Rutherglen, Govanhill, Garthamlock and Paisley were formed, usually with a nucleus of 6 to 10 activists. A bond of mutual aid and distrust of the local State originally pervaded at the monthly coordination meetings. Yet within a year forces had combined to weaken the libertarian socialist element – apart from Castlemilk – and establish the Clydeside CUs as predominantly parochial, and seduced by a welfare rights mentality. A contributory factor in this process was the Community Development Officers<ref>1978/79 Claimants activists (excl. 2 Trots on the left) at Supp Benefits Commission Seminar chaired by David Donnison, 1979

Bratach Dubh pamphlets published from Port Glasgow, 'Anarchism & National Liberation Struggles', Critique of Syndicalist Methods', 'Workers Aotonomy', 'Angry Brigade Documents'. Later moved to London, printed in Sicily!

3 issues of rotated 'Solidarity for Social Revolution', magazine produced in Scotland, No. 9 exclusively in Glasgow.</ref> attached to the Social Work Department to award Start Up Grants and second Community Workers whose remit was to institutionalise the service of the local Union, allocate community flats and so on. The squabbles with a handful of IMG activist’s also diverted attention from the emerging ‘non-political’ hegemony of welfarism, disregarding the socialist and more confrontational model of the CUs in England - in London organised on a borough-wide basis. The region also set up a network of Welfare Rights Officers and other posts linked to Urban Aid projects and (after years of self-imposed austerity) many of the ‘Westenders’ were sucked into jobs as ‘insiders’. Activity in the CU movement was part-and-parcel of a ‘revolution of Everyday Life’ approach which recognised a need to be involved in ‘bread & butter’ issues and negated identity as Anarchists. In 1979<ref>1979/80 Hammer & Tongs, Workers Newssheet distributed within Scott-Lithgows Shipyard.

Motor bulletin about Chrysler, sells 6 at Linwood, SWP members retrieve posted copy from bin.

Some cadres produce one-off duplicated 'Workers Councillist' broadsheet, leaving party en route to Arran.

'Jack Thompson' newssheets produce by Paisley College students. Ferguslie anarchists play Chou Parhot at football.

'A.C.A.' conference in Hillhead, avoids sectarian punch-up in Arlington Bar.

Anarchists help produce 'Castlemilk Today' & 'Possil Post' community newspapers, both attacked by labour reactionaries.

Collective producing 2 issues of 'Hard Times' insert in 'Bread & Roses' (ACA), produce reprint issue of 'Bread & Roses' from Castlemilk under collective title, 'Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists'.

Big print paper produces 12 issues, Aberdeen Community struggle views.</ref> the General Election produced a Thatcherite victory, largely courtesy of exploiting the fallout from the ‘Winter of Discontent’. and the vacillation of Callaghan in ‘going to the country’. It also saw the end of Teddy Taylor’s fiefdom in Cathcart. And it was in the ‘sleeping giant’ of Castlemilk that the anarchists concentrated a local campaign to ‘Put Rubbish in its Place’, intended as a spoof of the District Council ‘clean up’ campaign redefined by the anarchists as politicians being consigned to the ‘rubbish bin of history’. The joke was well intended but the campaign imploded as Maxton mobilised the highest Labour turnout in the seat, despite an inert and corrupt local party. A similar effect occurred two years later in the Hillhead by-election which ushered in the claret era of Roy Jenkins. Anarchist flirted with ant-parliamentary street meetings and propaganda which included a speaker exhorting the crowd the crowd to trash a Rolls-Royce stuck in a Byres Road traffic jam and a verbal assault of Pastor Jack Glass’s cavalcade. Unlike the earlier era which drew from the everyday interaction engendered by living in squats and the solidarity of claimants in regular contact, the activity on this period lacked a sense of purpose and belief. Episodes nevertheless occurred including public meetings in Scotland addresses by John Quail and a quick debate on Libertarian Education; the launch of ‘Hard Times’<ref>1980/81. Anti-authority leaflet distributed at Anti-Nazi League rally in Edinburgh.

'Smash Hip Capitalism', follow up to fines levied against Virgin 2 fiasco.

Benefit concert in Paisley College distrupted by punk bands unwilling to surrender stage to 'Chou Parhot'.

Experimental anarchist 'Brains Trust' meeting, City Halls.

Practical Anarchy Xmas Special promotes do-it-yourself subversion kits.</ref> as a Glasgow insert in the Anarchist Communist Association paper ‘Bread & Roses’; anti-militarist leaflets by rendezvous and other efforts at radicalising CND from the outside; solidarity with the Polish workers faced with the military clampdown of Dec ’81 in a march to the Polish Consulate; the one-off appearance of the Izel Liberation Front; anti-nuclear action at Torness; and the fracas at Virgin Records which led to two arrests after the megastore had been invaded by anarchists declaring ‘all records are free!’

<references />

PUNKS, REVIVAL, BOOKSTORE.

== Punks, Revival, Bookstore ==

The last mentioned event, and the possibly misguided intervention of masked anarchists in the huge unemployment march in 1981, nevertheless ushered in a new era and the birth of the Clydeside anarchists as a fighting force. The momentum started in Paisley in 1980 with the punk-inclined Practical Anarchy fanzine accompanying Grouch Marx Records promoting local bands such as the Fegs and XS Discharge. This led to the widespread circulation of a local broadsheet Paisley Gutterpress which achieved a notoriety through lampooning politicians and revealing scandals in the corridors of the Local Council. ‘Practical Anarchy’ then went on to its second reincarnation as a Group magazine, only 1 of the 2 issues being distributed. The inspiration from England of the 1981 riots became an underlying factor<ref>1982/83 - Internal Clydeside anarchist newsletters to link dispersed group and encourage local projects.<br />Scottish tour by anarcha-feminists from 'Outta Control' paper in Belfast.<br />'Get the monkeys off our backs' leaflet distributed against professionalising (jobs for the boys) at Paisley unemployed workers centre.<br />Libertarian Voice produced from Pilton, Edinburgh. Antelope Gazelle, hand written fanzine from Paisley buddie.<br />'Black Cat' & 'Not the Coorier' fanzines produced by Dundee anarchists. Free winged Eagle magazine produced by anarchists in Orkneys, linked to Black Flag.<br />Anarchist Window Pane, veteran syndicalist pruduces broadsheet from Gllowgate. Subversive Grafitti newssheet distributed in Aberdeen regularly.<br />Spoof leaflet distributed as 'joint appeal' by parties warning of anti-parliamentary views, Hillhead bye-election.<br />Reprint of'The Bourgeois Role of Bolshevism', Councillist text on Russian Revolution distributed by GPP pamphlet, 1982.<br />End of Music produced by Calderwood 15 Collective, 1982.</ref> and the perceived need to combat the ‘politics of despair’ & rituals that personified the Left transfixed with the decisive ending of consensus politics. A new influx of lively characters formerly involved in punk, CND or Trotskyite circles revitalised the approach. Facilitating this was the use of the Glasgow Bookshop Collective’s basement in Great Western Road, where a printing press was located & meetings could be held to plan activity. The Bookshop Collective has been set up with the participation of anarchists & fellow-travellers in feminist & other circles and managed to combine a base for promoting anti-authoritarian activities with the voluntary based selling of alternative literature.

<references />

== Relaunch, Practical Anarchy ==

In April 1982<ref>Autonomy Press print Farquar McLay's 'Art& Anarchism' & 'Education : Towards an Anarchist Approach' pamphlets 1982.</ref>, Practical Anarchy was relaunched as a broadsheet and its notoriety was immediately achieved by the coincidence of the Falklands War. ‘Fuck the Falklands’ declared the tabloid –style front-page & to underline the tension at the targeted CND demonstration a dozen anarchists were arrested as the local constabulary desperately tried to impound the offending challenge to anti-militarism.. Issues followed at more or less monthly intervals, and although circulation rarely exceeded 4,000 an issue<ref>12,000 in August 1982 with 'Phew what' with Atomic Bomb Blast plc.</ref>, there was a generally well-received response at CND demonstrations<ref>Regular contacts with Faslane Peace Camp.</ref> & the like, excepting the Stewards & the straight Left who were wrong-footed by the audacious & lampooning approach. Apart from broadsheets<ref>Practical Anarchy distributed simultaneously at 3 shipyards in Glasgow/Clydebank, one response!</ref>, which came to predominate up to mid-1984, flyers were produced, ideal for flyposting, announcing ‘This Man is Rat’ (Wm Gray, ex-Provost); ‘’Anarchist Alternative to Suicide’<ref>Anarchist Youth Movement briefly active among young punks in Clydeside with links in Dunfermline & Edinburgh, 1983/84.</ref> after two unemployed youths topped themselves in Warrington; an ‘expose’ on an underground shelter in the Burrell Collection vaults(!); an anti-parasite warning on the occasion of Pr Charles’ wedding; and odd creations such as the ‘passport’ leaflet during the Falklands War, the giro leaflet paid to A. Doler of nowhere Place, and the Songs for Swinging Scroungers at the Picket of the CBI Conference in 1984.

<references />

== Free Speech ==

This group was organised on fluid principles<ref>As a Tyranny of Structurelessness.</ref> but inevitably this let to its perceived domination by able individuals & the beginning of a momentum to reorganise the ‘Clydeside Anarchists’ by 1984. The previous year, the public persona of the group had expanded with a series of Public Meetings held in Clydebank, Paisley, East Kilbride & Shawlands following on from a large rally (a disaster) at the McLellan Galleries shortly after the June 1983 Thatcher ‘second term’ victory. Thereafter one of the most positive developments took place with the ‘free speech fight’; to establish a weekly pitch for Street Speaking in Argyle Street fronted by a pool of 4 varied speakers using contrasting styles to ‘capture’ the audience, briefly freed from the routine of shopping (or shoplifting). There was also the production of local anarchist broadsheets – Toejam in Kilmarnock, West End Crimes in Hillhead/Maryhill, Refuse Collection in East Kilbride & Springburn Follies, produced by a couple of people in each locality and federated to the wider group, who often covered printing costs. Carries along by frenetic activity and the suspicion that our influence was more superficial and merely anecdotal to the ‘serious’ Left, there developed a move to re-establish the group the group as an Organisation, to which activity would be more accountable & coordinated by an agreed strategy. To this end, a discussion journal, The Clydeside Anarchist produced two issues in 1984<ref>Anarchist Burns Night held in Garret Theatre, DIY acts January 1984. Black Bairn broadsheet distributed in Falkirk & Grangemouth. After the 'Unemployed Diners Club' disrupt normal service in the Holiday Inn, 1984.</ref>. This was cast aside by the momentus development of the miners strike.

<references />

== Miners Strike ==

Not fully appreciating the significance of the miners’ resolve<ref>1984/86</ref> to ‘take-on’ the Government, the anarchists originally produced a couple of Practical Anarchy specials. As the dispute become more determined , with the deployment of centrally coordinated Policing, control over movement& so on, the mood of the Clydeside Anarchists changed, and the playful spirit was discarded. The mentality of self-sacrifice became enshrined in the Price-Waterhouse occupation<ref>Sequestrators of Union Funds.</ref> and the ensuing intense street-collections (6 times a week) which raised £12,000 which was passed direct to Strike Centres, especially those in Ayrshire. Links with Union activists from Ayrshire were briefly formed, but in the process the Street-speaking pitches & the opening up of a public sphere for anarchist ideas was abandoned in favour of a role as an unofficial miners support group. Inevitably such activity & the delayed trial of the Price Waterhouse defendants exhausted those involved intensively<ref>Counter Information broadsheet started September 1984 from Edinburgh/Glasgow. Here & Now Theoretical magazine, founded December 1984, first issue February 1985, post-situationist content.</ref>, while those unable to match such commitment dropped by the wayside, often afflicted by a sense of guilt that they had not ‘done enough’. An impetus to this mood was provided by the growing influence of Animal Rights activity alongside anarchism & its stress upon indignation & anti-intellectualism.

<references />

== Reflections ==

Although spasmodic activities organised around ‘Clydesider’ broadsheet<ref>One pilot issue of 'Scorcher' broadsheet, & anti-Social work '...paid to grass...'</ref> occurred in 1986, heralded the new Sheriff Court, & a visit by a Wapping militant trying to open up a ‘second front’ at the News International Plant in Kinning Park, another cycle of popular anarchist organising has dissipated with negligible legacy. Reflecting on such activity over the years, which achieved a greater impact in the 1982-4 period than previous anarchist projects<ref>Probably since the 1942/45 Anarchist Federation group.</ref>, it is often difficult to analyse, by adopting the standpoint of a detached ‘outsider’, why certain activities occurred at certain times & why cycles of activity took place without apparent direct influence if historic events (excluding the observations about the miners; dispute)<ref>Central Scotland Collective carry on producing Counter Information after end of Miners Strike, 10,000 circulation by 1987/88.</ref>. The questions of praxis, the fusion of theory and practical activity, interested few militants over the years. The inability of the theorists to express themselves in clear, concise ways led to their ridicule, or at least marginalised influence, which they could only redeem by a bout of militarism. Similarly as J.T Caldwell<ref>Biographer of Guy Aldred, including 'The Red Evangel'.</ref> has remarked, anarchist groups tend to attract a ‘rank-and-file’ member with an outlook pre-disposed to ideological certainties, an idée fixé which sees theory in terms of historical dogma, a heritage enshrined on tablets of stone. Invariably many of the prime movers in successive groups, myself included, do not subscribe to such an approach, but our ‘practical reflexivity’ is rarely communicated with a relish & clearsightedness that dovetails with the collective imagination of a political project which measures its impact in terms of ‘bearing witness’. As an interesting tangent to this it is instructive to note the marginal involvement (in Glasgow, especially when compared to Edinburgh) of women in the myriad of activities. In 1975 there was a joint discussion meeting of the GAG with the Women’s Liberation Movement & in 1983 a brief anarcho-feminists discussion circle, an offshoot from the Bookshop collective & anarchist group. The Glasgow tradition is of workerism fused with Stirnerism, and the cultural transfer of such an approach over the last 50 years, helps to explain the peripheral concern with ‘new social movements’ around cultural and gender concerns. Glasgow has a more enduring working class culture than most other UK cities & one interesting result of the Thatcherite authoritarian strategy in the coming years will be to undermine the hold of Labourism, the Welfare State & the electoral basis of ‘dependency’ politics.

<references />

== Note ==

Inevitably activities & influences have been missed by this survey of anti-politics. To view leaflets & the mass of material received in 'mutual exchange' in UK and overseas, visit the Mitchell Library, second floor, Social Science & ask to see the Anarchist reference collection. See also the article by Robert Lynn in Workers City, Clydeside Press, 1988. For obvious reasons, names & certain direct actions have been omitted from mention.

This article first appeared in The Edinburgh Review issue 83, E.U.S.P.B. 1990 editor Peter Kravitz isbn 07486 60216 pp 96-105

Digital photos of literature relating to this period; [https://www.flickr.com/photos/55173256@N05 Keef's flickr].

----

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

A Public Nuisance

2018-02-26T16:16:36Z

Annarky:

A Public Nuisance

2018-02-26T16:15:14Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''Tales of Adventure & Spirit of Revolt''' ''Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986'' By Jim McFarlane == Squats and Seeds == A Libertarian Socialist group forms<ref>Autumn 1974..."

'''Tales of Adventure & Spirit of Revolt'''

''Glasgow Anarchists 1974 to 1986''

By Jim McFarlane

== Squats and Seeds ==

A Libertarian Socialist group forms<ref>Autumn 1974</ref> at Strathclyde University, reproducing an expanded version of Solidarity’s ''As We See It''<ref>Libertarian Socialist network</ref> as a founding statement; an ad appears in the last issue of the ‘Glasgow News’<ref>Investigative paper, early seventies</ref> about an Anarchist group participating in squatting in the Glasgow University campus; a prominent NUSS<ref>National Union School Students</ref> activist gets involved in the Anarchist Workers Association<ref>national organisation modelled on International Socialists (platformists)</ref>. Contact made between individuals leads to a Group being formed and the ‘withering away’ of former pursuits such as candle-making in favour of class struggle politics. A primitive duplicator churns out the first leaflet on Binmen’s dispute. Formation of the Glasgow Union of the Glasgow Union of Squatters and attempts made to make contact with individual squatters in Maryhill, Govanhill and elsewhere. Anarchist centre set up in Bute Gardens in large squat with 9 rooms, a large public room equipped with duplicator, silkscreen (donated by Art Lecturer) and space for 20-30 bodies. Skirmishes with University officials<ref>mid-1975</ref> when door repainted a defiant Red but this abates when bottles owned by Dept. of Urology are released, without more samples being added! Another squat exists with less ‘political’ elements (interview appears in the ‘Daily News’) but another, vacated by Trotskyite Lecturer is closed down by the authorities.

<references />

== New Groups, Meetings, Conferences ==

By way of bookstalls, leafleting, demonstrations and Public meetings<ref>1975/76</ref> the nucleus of the GAG makes contact with other anarchists<ref>Stephano from Italy and Alain from France: active in GAG, deserters from military service</ref>. Some of the Public Meetings were notable: the late John Olday (veteran anti-militarist and revolutionary who tried to assassinate Hitler) spoke on ‘German Anarchism’ which he equated with armed struggle groups, and cooked us a meal at the Social afterwards; also in Partick we had a talk and filmshow about the Kirkby Rent Strike on the outskirts of Liverpool, which was supported by ‘Big Flame’<ref>Revolutionary socialists group, then more libertarian</ref>; a debate on the Spanish Revolution included the participation of the late Miguel Garcia and Albert Meltzer<ref>London Anarchist Black Cross</ref> but ascendancy over the International Marxist Group was only achieved by speakers from the floor, veterans of groups in the 1960s. By then a federation, the SLF<ref>Scottish Liberation Federation</ref>, not to be confused with the punk ‘New wave’, was established in 6 Scottish Centres<ref>SLF Newsletters commence. I write 'Towards a philosophy of anarchist praxis' (later printed in Freedom).</ref>. In Aberdeen a breakaway from the Socialist Party of Great Britain had formed an effective direct action group<ref>Anarchist alternatives against authority, electro-stenciled magazine, produced at Bute Gardens, 'Theorectical'</ref> with individual anarchists<ref>Clydeside paper produces two issues under anarchist control - later 'taken over' by Scottish republicans</ref>; in Dundee spasmodic activity by the group lacked cohesion; in St. Andrews there was a brief student group fronted by somebody called ‘Haggis’; in Stirling the Local Council took fright and cancelled the inaugural Anarchist meeting but a group was formed, largely student base with Anarchist Collection established at the University Library<ref>John Watson Collection</ref>; in Edinburgh there were close ties with Glasgow and joint campaign work, the nucleus being members of AWA. A series of 7 Conferences were held between the beginning of 1975 and the end of 1977, three of which were in Glasgow. The formal sessions, like the interminable Internal Newsletters that were intended to sustain the momentum of the network in between conferences and joint campaigns, deserve scant memory. The after conference spirit was usually much more interesting and intoxicating. In Edinburgh the SLF Conference<ref>SLF newsletter became 'Scottish Libertarian', duplicated journal for 2 issues including Tom Woolley 'Containment & Liberation'.</ref> was interrupted by a marching Orange procession below and some comrades has to be dissuaded from uttering challenges: in Aberdeen the Glasgow group were confronted with the ideology of Anti-sexism by a Dundee Libertarian who persuaded them to refrain from uttering expletives like ‘Fuck’ and say ‘sneeze’ instead.

<references />

== Solidarity ==

More practical was immersion in International Solidarity<ref>Glasgow libertarian socialist returns from Portugese revolt 1976.</ref> work. This included solidarity<ref>Reports of direct action in Scotland and Murray's support activity appear in 'Black Flag' & 'Anarchist Worker'.</ref> with the hanged Salvador Puig in Spain, Ralf Stein in Cologne, the ‘accidental death of’ Pinelli in Italy framed by the State, Akatasuna in the Basque country<ref>William Burroughs fan publishes 'Pocket Sedition; journal of the Emergency Sanitation Dept.' Nice title, pity about comic contents.</ref>, and the 1976 uprising in South Africa. Closer to home was the case of Noel and Marie Murray in Dublin who was facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a Garda (policeman). This led to support activities including the picket at the Anglo-Irish Bank in Jamaica Street and the occupation of Aer Lingus in St. Enoch Square, a successful exercise aided by a squad from Easterhouse linked to ‘Clydesider’ and Scottish Republicanism. Such protests were widespread in the British Isles, and abated with the commuting of the sentence. A feature of such activity was the generation of a moral righteousness and selfless exterior which, being flawed human beings, we couldn’t sustain long. A real progression(4)<ref>1976-77</ref> was the move into ‘community issues’, including the struggle to save Partick Bus Garage in 1977<ref>March 77 – one trial issue of 'Maryhill Offensive' – duplicated rant.</ref>. More influential was the Fair Fares campaign which saw the group in 1976 launch a widespread poster campaign to popularise resistance to fares increases. Silkscreened ‘Snoopy says No’ purple posters appeared on bus shelters all over the city, especially by the nightshift of flyposterers who jumped in and out of vans on drives from Drumchapel to Easterhouse<ref>Propaganda of the Deed</ref>. Others scaled bridges and painted slogans, and the ‘catalyst’ efforts led to community groups linking in protests (and SNP gains from Labour in the peripheral estates). A few ‘situations’ were created on buses on a proclaimed ‘Day of Action’ and mysteriously a confrontation with transport police who happened to be on a 43 bus into town which a squad of Fares Fighters had boarded, refusing to pay the new fare and engaged in persuading passengers to join in the spirit.

<references />

== People's Press ==

The Glasgow People's Press<ref>mid-1977</ref> was launched in September 1977. We had teamed up with a Possilpark based graphic artist/amateur journalist who had produced a ‘pilot edition’ called ‘The Source’. His appeal for support was joined by a dozen anarchists and we worked together on several issues before he bailed out. The paper, with an initial print-run of 2,000, was modelled on a fusion of radical community investigative paper integrated with an anarchic spirit of fostering revolt. Inevitably the blend was patchy and the project witnessed a steady drop in editorial collective participation and print run, dropping to less than a thousand. On the plus side 11 issues were produced and the GPP provided a training ground in producing propaganda for popular consumption and spread knowledge of local community issues, campaigns on fares and setting up claimants unions, and awareness of projects such as the Alternative Bookshop Collective and libertarian publications.

<references />

== Claimants Unions ==

The spread of the Claimants Union movement initially was due to anarchist influence centred in Drumchapel, Partick,& Maryhill. The anarchists also made links with the Firemen during their winter 1977/78 dispute. Support for local activists in Possilpark, Blackhill and Castlemilk led to the establishment of Unions with more entrenched credibility. Other unions in Rutherglen, Govanhill, Garthamlock and Paisley were formed, usually with a nucleus of 6 to 10 activists. A bond of mutual aid and distrust of the local State originally pervaded at the monthly coordination meetings. Yet within a year forces had combined to weaken the libertarian socialist element – apart from Castlemilk – and establish the Clydeside CUs as predominantly parochial, and seduced by a welfare rights mentality. A contributory factor in this process was the Community Development Officers<ref>1978/79 Claimants activists (excl. 2 Trots on the left) at Supp Benefits Commission Seminar chaired by David Donnison, 1979

Bratach Dubh pamphlets published from Port Glasgow, 'Anarchism & National Liberation Struggles', Critique of Syndicalist Methods', 'Workers Aotonomy', 'Angry Brigade Documents'. Later moved to London, printed in Sicily!

3 issues of rotated 'Solidarity for Social Revolution', magazine produced in Scotland, No. 9 exclusively in Glasgow.</ref> attached to the Social Work Department to award Start Up Grants and second Community Workers whose remit was to institutionalise the service of the local Union, allocate community flats and so on. The squabbles with a handful of IMG activist’s also diverted attention from the emerging ‘non-political’ hegemony of welfarism, disregarding the socialist and more confrontational model of the CUs in England - in London organised on a borough-wide basis. The region also set up a network of Welfare Rights Officers and other posts linked to Urban Aid projects and (after years of self-imposed austerity) many of the ‘Westenders’ were sucked into jobs as ‘insiders’. Activity in the CU movement was part-and-parcel of a ‘revolution of Everyday Life’ approach which recognised a need to be involved in ‘bread & butter’ issues and negated identity as Anarchists. In 1979<ref>1979/80 Hammer & Tongs, Workers Newssheet distributed within Scott-Lithgows Shipyard.

Motor bulletin about Chrysler, sells 6 at Linwood, SWP members retrieve posted copy from bin.

Some cadres produce one-off duplicated 'Workers Councillist' broadsheet, leaving party en route to Arran.

'Jack Thompson' newssheets produce by Paisley College students. Ferguslie anarchists play Chou Parhot at football.

'A.C.A.' conference in Hillhead, avoids sectarian punch-up in Arlington Bar.

Anarchists help produce 'Castlemilk Today' & 'Possil Post' community newspapers, both attacked by labour reactionaries.

Collective producing 2 issues of 'Hard Times' insert in 'Bread & Roses' (ACA), produce reprint issue of 'Bread & Roses' from Castlemilk under collective title, 'Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists'.

Big print paper produces 12 issues, Aberdeen Community struggle views.</ref> the General Election produced a Thatcherite victory, largely courtesy of exploiting the fallout from the ‘Winter of Discontent’. and the vacillation of Callaghan in ‘going to the country’. It also saw the end of Teddy Taylor’s fiefdom in Cathcart. And it was in the ‘sleeping giant’ of Castlemilk that the anarchists concentrated a local campaign to ‘Put Rubbish in its Place’, intended as a spoof of the District Council ‘clean up’ campaign redefined by the anarchists as politicians being consigned to the ‘rubbish bin of history’. The joke was well intended but the campaign imploded as Maxton mobilised the highest Labour turnout in the seat, despite an inert and corrupt local party. A similar effect occurred two years later in the Hillhead by-election which ushered in the claret era of Roy Jenkins. Anarchist flirted with ant-parliamentary street meetings and propaganda which included a speaker exhorting the crowd the crowd to trash a Rolls-Royce stuck in a Byres Road traffic jam and a verbal assault of Pastor Jack Glass’s cavalcade. Unlike the earlier era which drew from the everyday interaction engendered by living in squats and the solidarity of claimants in regular contact, the activity on this period lacked a sense of purpose and belief. Episodes nevertheless occurred including public meetings in Scotland addresses by John Quail and a quick debate on Libertarian Education; the launch of ‘Hard Times’<ref>1980/81. Anti-authority leaflet distributed at Anti-Nazi League rally in Edinburgh.

'Smash Hip Capitalism', follow up to fines levied against Virgin 2 fiasco.

Benefit concert in Paisley College distrupted by punk bands unwilling to surrender stage to 'Chou Parhot'.

Experimental anarchist 'Brains Trust' meeting, City Halls.

Practical Anarchy Xmas Special promotes do-it-yourself subversion kits.</ref> as a Glasgow insert in the Anarchist Communist Association paper ‘Bread & Roses’; anti-militarist leaflets by rendezvous and other efforts at radicalising CND from the outside; solidarity with the Polish workers faced with the military clampdown of Dec ’81 in a march to the Polish Consulate; the one-off appearance of the Izel Liberation Front; anti-nuclear action at Torness; and the fracas at Virgin Records which led to two arrests after the megastore had been invaded by anarchists declaring ‘all records are free!’

<references />

PUNKS, REVIVAL, BOOKSTORE.

== Punks, Revival, Bookstore ==

The last mentioned event, and the possibly misguided intervention of masked anarchists in the huge unemployment march in 1981, nevertheless ushered in a new era and the birth of the Clydeside anarchists as a fighting force. The momentum started in Paisley in 1980 with the punk-inclined Practical Anarchy fanzine accompanying Grouch Marx Records promoting local bands such as the Fegs and XS Discharge. This led to the widespread circulation of a local broadsheet Paisley Gutterpress which achieved a notoriety through lampooning politicians and revealing scandals in the corridors of the Local Council. ‘Practical Anarchy’ then went on to its second reincarnation as a Group magazine, only 1 of the 2 issues being distributed. The inspiration from England of the 1981 riots became an underlying factor<ref>1982/83 - Internal Clydeside anarchist newsletters to link dispersed group and encourage local projects.<br />Scottish tour by anarcha-feminists from 'Outta Control' paper in Belfast.<br />'Get the monkeys off our backs' leaflet distributed against professionalising (jobs for the boys) at Paisley unemployed workers centre.<br />Libertarian Voice produced from Pilton, Edinburgh. Antelope Gazelle, hand written fanzine from Paisley buddie.<br />'Black Cat' & 'Not the Coorier' fanzines produced by Dundee anarchists. Free winged Eagle magazine produced by anarchists in Orkneys, linked to Black Flag.<br />Anarchist Window Pane, veteran syndicalist pruduces broadsheet from Gllowgate. Subversive Grafitti newssheet distributed in Aberdeen regularly.<br />Spoof leaflet distributed as 'joint appeal' by parties warning of anti-parliamentary views, Hillhead bye-election.<br />Reprint of'The Bourgeois Role of Bolshevism', Councillist text on Russian Revolution distributed by GPP pamphlet, 1982.<br />End of Music produced by Calderwood 15 Collective, 1982.</ref> and the perceived need to combat the ‘politics of despair’ & rituals that personified the Left transfixed with the decisive ending of consensus politics. A new influx of lively characters formerly involved in punk, CND or Trotskyite circles revitalised the approach. Facilitating this was the use of the Glasgow Bookshop Collective’s basement in Great Western Road, where a printing press was located & meetings could be held to plan activity. The Bookshop Collective has been set up with the participation of anarchists & fellow-travellers in feminist & other circles and managed to combine a base for promoting anti-authoritarian activities with the voluntary based selling of alternative literature.

<references />

== Relaunch, Practical Anarchy ==

In April 1982<ref>Autonomy Press print Farquar McLay's 'Art& Anarchism' & 'Education : Towards an Anarchist Approach' pamphlets 1982.</ref>, Practical Anarchy was relaunched as a broadsheet and its notoriety was immediately achieved by the coincidence of the Falklands War. ‘Fuck the Falklands’ declared the tabloid –style front-page & to underline the tension at the targeted CND demonstration a dozen anarchists were arrested as the local constabulary desperately tried to impound the offending challenge to anti-militarism.. Issues followed at more or less monthly intervals, and although circulation rarely exceeded 4,000 an issue<ref>12,000 in August 1982 with 'Phew what' with Atomic Bomb Blast plc.</ref>, there was a generally well-received response at CND demonstrations<ref>Regular contacts with Faslane Peace Camp.</ref> & the like, excepting the Stewards & the straight Left who were wrong-footed by the audacious & lampooning approach. Apart from broadsheets<ref>Practical Anarchy distributed simultaneously at 3 shipyards in Glasgow/Clydebank, one response!</ref>, which came to predominate up to mid-1984, flyers were produced, ideal for flyposting, announcing ‘This Man is Rat’ (Wm Gray, ex-Provost); ‘’Anarchist Alternative to Suicide’<ref>Anarchist Youth Movement briefly active among young punks in Clydeside with links in Dunfermline & Edinburgh, 1983/84.</ref> after two unemployed youths topped themselves in Warrington; an ‘expose’ on an underground shelter in the Burrell Collection vaults(!); an anti-parasite warning on the occasion of Pr Charles’ wedding; and odd creations such as the ‘passport’ leaflet during the Falklands War, the giro leaflet paid to A. Doler of nowhere Place, and the Songs for Swinging Scroungers at the Picket of the CBI Conference in 1984.

<references />

== Free Speech ==

This group was organised on fluid principles<ref>As a Tyranny of Structurelessness.</ref> but inevitably this let to its perceived domination by able individuals & the beginning of a momentum to reorganise the ‘Clydeside Anarchists’ by 1984. The previous year, the public persona of the group had expanded with a series of Public Meetings held in Clydebank, Paisley, East Kilbride & Shawlands following on from a large rally (a disaster) at the McLellan Galleries shortly after the June 1983 Thatcher ‘second term’ victory. Thereafter one of the most positive developments took place with the ‘free speech fight’; to establish a weekly pitch for Street Speaking in Argyle Street fronted by a pool of 4 varied speakers using contrasting styles to ‘capture’ the audience, briefly freed from the routine of shopping (or shoplifting). There was also the production of local anarchist broadsheets – Toejam in Kilmarnock, West End Crimes in Hillhead/Maryhill, Refuse Collection in East Kilbride & Springburn Follies, produced by a couple of people in each locality and federated to the wider group, who often covered printing costs. Carries along by frenetic activity and the suspicion that our influence was more superficial and merely anecdotal to the ‘serious’ Left, there developed a move to re-establish the group the group as an Organisation, to which activity would be more accountable & coordinated by an agreed strategy. To this end, a discussion journal, The Clydeside Anarchist produced two issues in 1984<ref>Anarchist Burns Night held in Garret Theatre, DIY acts January 1984. Black Bairn broadsheet distributed in Falkirk & Grangemouth. After the 'Unemployed Diners Club' disrupt normal service in the Holiday Inn, 1984.</ref>. This was cast aside by the momentus development of the miners strike.

<references />

== Miners Strike ==

Not fully appreciating the significance of the miners’ resolve<ref>1984/86</ref> to ‘take-on’ the Government, the anarchists originally produced a couple of Practical Anarchy specials. As the dispute become more determined , with the deployment of centrally coordinated Policing, control over movement& so on, the mood of the Clydeside Anarchists changed, and the playful spirit was discarded. The mentality of self-sacrifice became enshrined in the Price-Waterhouse occupation<ref>Sequestrators of Union Funds.</ref> and the ensuing intense street-collections (6 times a week) which raised £12,000 which was passed direct to Strike Centres, especially those in Ayrshire. Links with Union activists from Ayrshire were briefly formed, but in the process the Street-speaking pitches & the opening up of a public sphere for anarchist ideas was abandoned in favour of a role as an unofficial miners support group. Inevitably such activity & the delayed trial of the Price Waterhouse defendants exhausted those involved intensively<ref>Counter Information broadsheet started September 1984 from Edinburgh/Glasgow. Here & Now Theoretical magazine, founded December 1984, first issue February 1985, post-situationist content.</ref>, while those unable to match such commitment dropped by the wayside, often afflicted by a sense of guilt that they had not ‘done enough’. An impetus to this mood was provided by the growing influence of Animal Rights activity alongside anarchism & its stress upon indignation & anti-intellectualism.

<references />

== Reflections ==

Although spasmodic activities organised around ‘Clydesider’ broadsheet<ref>One pilot issue of 'Scorcher' broadsheet, & anti-Social work '...paid to grass...'</ref> occurred in 1986, heralded the new Sheriff Court, & a visit by a Wapping militant trying to open up a ‘second front’ at the News International Plant in Kinning Park, another cycle of popular anarchist organising has dissipated with negligible legacy. Reflecting on such activity over the years, which achieved a greater impact in the 1982-4 period than previous anarchist projects<ref>Probably since the 1942/45 Anarchist Federation group.</ref>, it is often difficult to analyse, by adopting the standpoint of a detached ‘outsider’, why certain activities occurred at certain times & why cycles of activity took place without apparent direct influence if historic events (excluding the observations about the miners; dispute)<ref>Central Scotland Collective carry on producing Counter Information after end of Miners Strike, 10,000 circulation by 1987/88.</ref>. The questions of praxis, the fusion of theory and practical activity, interested few militants over the years. The inability of the theorists to express themselves in clear, concise ways led to their ridicule, or at least marginalised influence, which they could only redeem by a bout of militarism. Similarly as J.T Caldwell<ref>Biographer of Guy Aldred, including 'The Red Evangel'.</ref> has remarked, anarchist groups tend to attract a ‘rank-and-file’ member with an outlook pre-disposed to ideological certainties, an idée fixé which sees theory in terms of historical dogma, a heritage enshrined on tablets of stone. Invariably many of the prime movers in successive groups, myself included, do not subscribe to such an approach, but our ‘practical reflexivity’ is rarely communicated with a relish & clearsightedness that dovetails with the collective imagination of a political project which measures its impact in terms of ‘bearing witness’. As an interesting tangent to this it is instructive to note the marginal involvement (in Glasgow, especially when compared to Edinburgh) of women in the myriad of activities. In 1975 there was a joint discussion meeting of the GAG with the Women’s Liberation Movement & in 1983 a brief anarcho-feminists discussion circle, an offshoot from the Bookshop collective & anarchist group. The Glasgow tradition is of workerism fused with Stirnerism, and the cultural transfer of such an approach over the last 50 years, helps to explain the peripheral concern with ‘new social movements’ around cultural and gender concerns. Glasgow has a more enduring working class culture than most other UK cities & one interesting result of the Thatcherite authoritarian strategy in the coming years will be to undermine the hold of Labourism, the Welfare State & the electoral basis of ‘dependency’ politics.

<references />

== Note ==

Inevitably activities & influences have been missed by this survey of anti-politics. To view leaflets & the mass of material received in 'mutual exchange' in UK and overseas, visit the Mitchell Library, second floor, Social Science & ask to see the Anarchist reference collection. See also the article by Robert Lynn in Workers City, Clydeside Press, 1988. For obvious reasons, names & certain direct actions have been omitted from mention.

This article first appeared in The Edinburgh Review issue 83, E.U.S.P.B. 1990 editor Peter Kravitz isbn 07486 60216 pp 96-105

Digital photos of literature relating to this period; [https://www.flickr.com/photos/55173256@N05 Keef's flickr].

----

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Clydeside Apprentices Strike 1952

2018-02-26T16:13:53Z

Annarky: Created page with "== The Conference == January 27 1952 saw an event that set the ball rolling for the first major apprentices' strike since 1937, before the second world war. On that Sunday th..."

== The Conference ==

January 27 1952 saw an event that set the ball rolling for the first major apprentices' strike since 1937, before the second world war. On that Sunday the Young Engineers Clydeside Conference was called. It took place at 1pm in Community House Clyde Street Glasgow, wages and conditions being the main subjects up for discussion. A Clydeside Apprentices' leaflet claimed, “Apprentices pay the same as journeymen for meals, travel, tools and overalls, etc.” The conference also called for Action Committees to be set up in every workshop and to pursue a claim for £1 week increase on apprentices' wages. At the conference there were 31 firms represented with 114 apprentice delegates representing all trades in engineering and shipbuilding.

Committee secretary, Jimmy Reid, stated, ”--it is not enough to feel indignation, but it was necessary to translate it into action. The committee supported 100% trade union membership among apprentices and stated, “We are the skilled tradesmen of tomorrow---and it is in our hands that the future prosperity of this country depends--.” At this time young lads were being sent to fight in Korea, Egypt, Malaya etc.

== A Rise in Feelings ==

A delegation from Fairfield Shipyard, Govan, Glasgow, stated that the apprentices there believed that the next step forward was a token strike and demonstration on the streets of Glasgow. “We will make the bosses shake when they see 1,000 apprentices marching through the streets of Glasgow.” Some working conditions were described, saying, apprentices were working on water tests, up to their knees in muck and rust and earning 24 shillings a week.

== First Day of Action ==

The first one day strike and demonstration saw 5,000 apprentices march through Glasgow city centre. There was a roar of cheering when the demonstration was informed that 1,200 Greenock apprentices had stopped work in solidarity. At the Hydepark Locomotive works Springburn Glasgow, the management tried to get the apprentices to go to an arranged film show instead of striking. It failed miserably.

Eric Parks of Weirs Pumps Cathcart Glasgow said he was called before the apprentices' supervisor who said, “Eric my boy, you've fallen down in my respect. The employers are making sacrifices in our works--.” Eric pointed out that Weirs had made £1.25 million profit last year, or £6 per head per week.

A comment by a member of the government that a loaf of bread might soon cost 10/- (ten shillings, -50p). This was taken up as, 3 loaves of bread a week—an apprentices wage.

== The London Delegation ==

A delegation of apprentices interviewed employers representatives in London and it was stated in the press, that these young engineers didn't fear important looking gents in Anthony Eden hats and impeccable suits. On this London delegation were Eric Parks, Jimmy Reid, John McColl, and Ernest Skilling.

== Spreading ==

In Aberdeen 600 apprentices noisily marched through the city streets, the call for strike action was now spreading. There was now apprentice action in Glasgow, Greenock, Aberdeen, Manchester, Shefield and London.

== The Resolution ==

At a delegate conference on Sunday March 2nd a resolution to call a strike for Monday March 10th 1952 was carried by 95 for and 5 against. The resolution stated, This conference of delegates representing apprentices from all over Scotland, demands a reply not later than 12am of Friday March 7th to the claim of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions for a £1 per week increase in all apprentices wages. An unsatisfactory reply or a failure to reply will be regarded as deliberate refusal to reach agreement and will result in strike action commencing on Monday March 10th at 11am..

== Bullish Attitude ==

The attitude of the apprentices was very bullish with speaker after speaker emphasising that apprentices wanted strike action in the belief that only militant action would lead to a successful campaign. At the conference Jimmy Reid stated; “Before the lads went into action the employers had no need to worry about them, but now these people are sitting up and having to take notice of the apprentices,--- the lesson is clear.” Eric Parks reminded the conference of the huge profits being made by the employers and said; “We must see the necessity of forming apprentices' committees in every factory as the main form of organisation----it is better to suffer a little hardship than to grovel on our bellies and accept the miserable and intolerable conditions of the present time.”

== The Strike ==

On Wednesday March 6th 500 apprentices from Caledonian Shipyard Dundee staged a half day token strike in support of the £1 claim. Other action, demonstrations and marches of support sprang up in London, Manchester and elsewhere.

No satisfactory answer arrived so the strike went ahead on Monday 10th March. With 5,000 Clydeside apprentices walking out at 11am that day. By March 22nd over 17,000 apprentices in engineering and shipbuilding and other key industries were on strike. At this period Birkenhead, Manchester and Shefield joined the strike. There was union and financial support form workplaces, some workplaces were levying workers 2/6 (two shillings and sixpences,12 and a half pence.) to 5/- (five shillings, 25 pence.) Workers at the Rolls Royce Works donated £150.

By March 25th nearly 20,000 apprentices were on strike. March 26th Glasgow shop stewards decided to take token action to support the apprentices strike. In Edinburgh where apprentices had decided to go back, they walked out again the same day 800 strong. Harland and Wolf's Belfast now joined the strike with over 1,000 apprentices walking off the job.

That week there was a march and demonstration in Glasgow which saw 5,000 apprentices march through the city streets. By this time Rolls Royce had donated £500 to the strike fund.

== Personal Experience ==

Like most boys in the area where I lived, I left school at 15. My first job was as the boay in the time office in Fairfield's Shipyard in Govan, Glasgow. On turning 16 I would start my apprenticeship, It wasn't a case of selecting your chosen profession, it was a matter of being told that yi wur ti go ti' the fittin' shoap. It could just as easily have been the brass foundry or the joinery shop, or any other of the many trades in shipbuilding, and my “career” would have gone on a different direction. However the powers that be set my sails as a marine engineer, a “fitter” was the usual title.

That's when my education started, I found myself among a myriad of political pundits of all shades. The discussions were many, varied and at times “ferocious” and I loved it. Probably most of the workers were Labour with a very strong communist contingent. There was one Tory among the fitters, he was one of the journeymen that I was attached to, and he was insane, but a great tradesman. When asked why he was a Tory, his answer was, at least when you vote for them you know that they are going to screw you, not like the other bastards who pretend that they won't. It seemed a fair answer. In all the debates and discussions I was always being “courted” by the communists and being told that I should join the YCL (Young Communist League). Somehow or other they never fitted in with the way I felt.

From entering the yards, I was always eager to get involved in the political and it was in 1952, as a third year apprentice that I got my first real feel of “political” activity. That was the year of the first Clydeside apprentice's strike since the second world war. I loved all the activity and was keen to do my stint of leafleting and what ever else to further “the cause”.

It was during this strike at one of the several marches through the city that we had a rather interesting event. We were supposed to march from Blythswood Square to Glasgow Green and on passing the City Chambers at George Square, the police had set our route to proceed from there round the corner into Cochrane St. and through some more back streets to the Green. Our little group at the front had some other ideas, and as the police were lined up expecting us to turn left into Cochrane St. we marched merrily on deciding that we wanted a more public route down Glassford St. Argyle St. and Trongate to the Green. More publicity for our “cause”. There was chaos as the rest of the marchers not really thinking just followed on and the police trying to form up to turn us round. It failed miserably. By now it was no longer a march but lots of grinning apprentices running in groups, down Glassford St. with the police trying to re-direct or grab, what was now a wild mob of youth. By the time various groupings reach Argyle St. some were running in the direction of the Green, perhaps hopeful of still holding a rally, while others, myself among them, were running along Argyle St. in the opposite direction.

At that time Argyle St. was still a two way traffic system and the pavements were mobbed. As I ran furiously along I could see ahead the ludicous site of some of the apprentices still carrying their placards, and these could be seen weaving their way though the crowds. By now there were mounted police and foot slogging coppers in hot pursuit. As I, and many others, ran past what is now Debenham's (then it was Lewis's) and turned into the lane at the side of the building, I knew the the mounted police were gaining fast, and as a simple city lad, I had this stupid idea that if I ran up the stairs of the lane up to what was St Enoch's Station, the horses wouldn't be able to follow. Of course as I got near the top I could hear the unmistakable clippity-clop of horses hoofs behind me. Entering the station I stopped running and tried to merge with the station crowd, others ran straight through and out the front and as I walked casually towards the front entrance I saw about 8 or so of my hapless marcher colleagues run straight into a ring of police, who duely flung them into waiting vans. One of those caught by that ring of police went on to make a name for himself on the Clyde during the Upper Clyd Work-in, he was Jimmy Reid.

== The Return to Work ==

Approximately 20,000 apprentices who had been on strike for more than three weeks went back to work on the understanding that it would speed up negotiations with the employers. Delegates representing 14,500 took decisions for future action should the employers fail to give a satisfactory response. The conference adopted a strong worded resolution which expressed determination to carry the fight to a successful conclusion.

Pat McCauley, secretary of the Greenock strike committee stated; “This is only the first round in the struggle. The lads have shown their mettle and shaken the bosses. If we don't get a reply to our claim shortly, the bosses must be held responsible for what will follow--- this is a tactical retreat not a defeat. The boys are still in fighting mood.” On Friday April 25th apprentice delegates from Clydeside, Aberdeen, Manchester, Shefield and York decided in Glasgow to accept, under protest, the recent wage award agreed between the trade unions and the employers. The conference stated that this was only the first stage in the struggle for better conditions.

== Discontent ==

Eric Parks, secretary of the Clydeside Apprentices committee said that the amount employers gave which was higher than their first offer, and the fact that they negotiated a separate wage claim for the apprentices at was entirely due to the militant action taken by the lads in the workshops and shipyards. The fact that there had been a separate negotiated wage claim for the apprentices represented a terrific victory for the lads. Previously the apprentices wage increases, if any, were simple tacked on to the end of the wages agreement made with the journeymen.

The general feeling among the apprentices, especially the 1st. 2nd. and 3rd year lads was one of discontent. A discontent that said it should be accepted under protest and immediately make arrangements to go forward for a new demand.

== The Awards ==

{|
|Age||Award
|-
|15||5s 6d
|-
|16||6s 5d
|-
|17||7s 4d
|-
|18||8s 3d
|-
|19||10s 1d
|-
|20||11s
|}

The 10s and 11s award was a fair bit of money to many apprentices and this may have been the aim of the employers by making it less likely that the older lads, who would be journeymen in a year or so, would be less likely to support further strike action.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

World War 2, Conscientious Objectors

2018-02-26T16:12:46Z

Annarky: Created page with "== No Conscription league == The peace movement during the 2nd World War was far different to the type of movement that formed during the First World War. The 1914-1918 peace..."

== No Conscription league ==

The peace movement during the 2nd World War was far different to the type of movement that formed during the First World War. The 1914-1918 peace movement was a mass movement with women playing a major role, and featured marches and demonstrations. Also the left on the political field were united in their total opposition to the war. During the 2nd World War, the political left was split with most seeing it as a war against fascism, and that they therefore supported the war. The main groups of the left that remained opposed to the war were the Independent Labour Party, the Socialist Party of Great Britain, and the Anarchists. The No Conscription League also had branches in most towns and cities throughout the country, and Glasgow was no exception. The Glasgow City branch met in the SSP rooms at 70 Robertson Street, Glasgow. The Glasgow Branch of the NCL held a meeting in the Central Halls on Bath Street on Wednesday 2nd November 1939; the hall was packed and another meeting was arranged for Wednesday 17th November. The first meeting of the Glasgow (South Side) NCL, was held in Nov 1939. Regular meetings were arranged for every Thursday at 7:30 in the ILP rooms 643 Govan Road. The NCL Glasgow (Central Branch) filled the St. Andrew's Halls on Sunday 19th November 1939 with a meeting at which the speakers were Guy Aldred and Councillor Tom Kerr plus two "conchies". The Glasgow Clarion Scouts commander, W. L. Taylor, held meetings in support of the ILP and the Peace Pledge Movement.

In October 1939, Baillie Thomas A. Kerr, a Glasgow Senior Magistrate, and a conscientious objector in the 1st World War showed his convictions by joining the Glasgow Branch of the NCL as soon as it was formed. In doing so he expected political victimisation.

== Glasgow & West of Scotland Tribunal Results ==

Between conscription being introduced in Britain in 1939 and April 1940 26,681 conscientious objectors had registered. The Glasgow and West of Scotland Tribunal for conscientious objectors opened its proceedings at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 16th of October 1939. Those sitting were: Sir Archibald Campbell Black KC, OBE, Sir Robert Bruce LLD, William Lorimer OBE, Robert Bryce Walker CBE, and J J. Craik Henderson. according to the Reverend T. J. Harvey, Minister of Partick Baptist Church, all of those sitting on the Tribunal supported the war, and seemed to believe it their duty not to grant exemption. During the first three days 59 cases were heard, with the following results:

<blockquote>Non combatant service, 26.

National service of a civilian nature, 15.

Entered on the Military Register, 11.

Unconditional exemption, 7.</blockquote>

On the first day the first case took only a few minutes; this was the best period of the tribunal hearings. After the first day, with certain rare exceptions, the Tribunal was openly hostile to the applicants. Recruiting for the forces and open hostility towards the applicants became the norm for days 2 and 3. From then on the tribunal ceased to enquire into the sincerity of the applicants, having decided that its duty was to persuade, guide or command the applicants into some form of service. To youths unaccustomed to a courtroom atmosphere, this was nothing short of brow-beating.

The Reverend Richard Lee MA, of Ross Street Unitarian Church Glasgow stated "that it was amazing that men of scholarship and intellect should uphold the distinction between a political CO and a religious CO, and proceed to condemn the conscience of a political CO as mere cowardice, while accepting the conscience of a Plymouth Brethren or Christadelphian. It is assumed that a man's conscience is regarded as having some relation to an ethical religion. If the CO can quote from the Bible, he has a greater chance of remaining on the valid CO list." By the 16th November 1939, the Glasgow tribunal had placed only 30 objectors (13%) on the unconditional register. Other figures were 41% removed from the CO register, (therefore having to go to the army or to jail), 24% registered for non-combatant service, 22% registered as COs on condition they undertake civilian work or training. When these figures are compared with the rest of the country it becomes clear that COs in Scotland had a greater risk of being removed from the register than anywhere else in Britain. The figures for other parts of the country were London 21% removed from the CO register; SW England 3% removed from the register and 41% registered as unconditional COs; whilst in North Wales no objectors were taken off the CO Register. In Britain as a whole the average for refusal was 19%, whereas the figures for Scotland were:

<blockquote>SW Scotland, 41% refusal.

SE Scotland, 34% refusal.

N Scotland, 50% refusal.

NE Scotland, 22% refusal.</blockquote>

In Glasgow reasoned political argument was usually turned down, whereas religious objectors were considered much more favourably.

== Philip Boyle ==

Although there was no united front from the political left, those who took up the stance against the war did so with conviction and courage. Some with a small act of defiance such as Douglas Campbell, son of Ethel Campbell, Secretary of the SSP, who was sent home from Queen's Park Secondary School for refusing to obtain or carry a gas mask; a sign of the stand he would make in later years as a CO. Another courageous stand was that of Philip Boyle of 246 Todd Street Dennistoun Glasgow. Phillip was the first 2nd World War CO in Glasgow to face court martial, and also the first Catholic CO in Britain to face court martial. Arrested on Monday May 6th 1940 at 10 pm at home, he was held overnight; the following morning at Glasgow Eastern Police Court he was handed over to the military authorities. From then until his court martial on May 24th he suffered very rough treatment. The "New Leader" of May 16th published a description of Phillip Boyle's treatment on being handed over to the military Authorities. "When the father of the arrested CO visited his son in prison he found that the young man was clad only in an old macintosh. The soldier's uniform which had previously been forced on him, lay on the floor. . The CO, Phillip Boyle, of Dennistoun Glasgow, had been placed under arrest and taken to Maryhill Barracks. After he had been forced into a uniform, he was taken before the Commanding Officer, who told Boyle to go home for the day and then come back tomorrow and be a good soldier. . Instead, Boyle went back to his cell and stripped himself of the uniform. . Boyle had been refused exemption by the Local and Appellate Tribunals on the grounds that as a Catholic he could not be a CO," The Catholic hierarchy, seconded by the Catholic press, maintained that a Catholic cannot be a CO.

== Court Martial ==

On the 24th May 1940 Phillip Boyle faced his first court martial charged with having, while on active service, disobeyed a lawful command given by his superior officer and refused to wear his military uniform when ordered to do so. On June 6th Phillip was found guilty and sentenced to 112 days, reduced to 28 days, and removed to Barlinnie Military Prison. He was released from Barlinnie Military Prison on September 19th and returned to Maryhill Barracks. On Monday July 15th Philip Boyle faced his second court martial. He was found guilty and sentenced to 98 days imprisonment without hard labour in Barlinnie Civil Prison. The "Scottish Daily Express" on Saturday 5th October 1940 reported the case of Phillip Boyle under the heading "Private CO Appears in Civvies". The report contained the following passage:

"Phillip Boyle, a Glasgow civil service student, now a most unwilling private of the HLI, said last May; "nobody will make me a soldier." The army took away his suit, but he refused to "sign it in". They used force to uniform him. He was court martialled. He did "solitary". Then he did the regulation 90 days detention, and yesterday he appeared to the outside world. Still stubborn and unbroken, this 21 year old man was led in by an officer and a lance-corporal to the CO Appeal Court in Edinburgh wearing his own brown suit. At the hearing Mr Gordon Stott, Advocate, pointed to the dress and said "It shows that in the eyes of the military authorities he had proved his case" The Chairman asked Boyle if he would be a non-combatant; the reply was an emphatic no. "Would he do farm work?" -"Nothing I am compelled to do." "Boyle seemed to be going the limit" added Mr Stott, "I have seen his cell and I think that anyone who is prepared to put up with such conditions is a very strong objector."

On the 15th October 1940, Mr Campbell Stephen was advised by the Ministry of Labour that Phillip Boyle had been granted conditional exemption, the condition being that he should work on land drainage, forestry or agriculture. It would be correct to say that another case, that of Glasgow CO Bert Campbell, set a pattern that would be repeated throughout the country. Bert as a conscientious objector was sentenced to one year in prison, his appeal was refused which meant that at the end of his sentence he would again be handed over to the Military, after which he would be sentenced to a further two years in prison, and so it could go on. The medical examination after the call up was not all that it should have been, as in the case of Glasgow CO, James Curran. James suffered from St. Vitus Dance and had been under the doctor's care since 1931. He was graded A1, and after being manhandled he was sent to Liverpool, then sentenced to 28 days at Chorley.

The Order in Council, made at Buckingham Palace on May 9th 1940, order No. 680, 1940 adding Regulations 2c and 94a to and amending Regulation 39a of the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939, made under Section 1, Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939, gave the Secretary of State a raft of new measures he could use against individuals and organisations plus the right to seize printing presses.

== Defence Regulation No.39A ==

The pressure of the State was not only felt by COs, but by their supporters. On Wednesday July 31st 1940, Frank Leech, James Kennedy, Frank Dorans and Edward Shaw were arrested under Sheriff's Warrant and charged with contravening Defence Regulations No. 39A Leech was charged that, between June 8th and July 20th, in premises occupied by the Anarchist Federation at 127 George Street Glasgow he publicly, in a window facing the street, placed an advertisement in the following terms, "Conscientious objectors and those about to register, meet here every Wednesday at 8pm. Call for free advice anytime. Assert your right to freedom." The charge alleged that this was an invitation and incitement to persons who had become, or might become, liable under the National Services Armed Forces Act 1939, to be called up for service to attend a meeting in the premises when advice and guidance were given concerning methods of procuring exemption from combatant military service. The charge continued, Leech did, preparatory to an endeavour being made at these meetings by the three other accused and others unknown, incite persons attending the meeting to evade the duties and liabilities which they might become liable to perform or discharge by virtue of the said Act, contrary to the Defence (General) regulation 1939. The charges against Shaw, Kennedy and Dorans was that, on various occasions they held mock Conscientious Objectors Tribunals, thereby providing the most effective methods for procuring exemption and did incite those present to evade any duties or liabilities they were, or might become, liable to discharge. The case was called in the Sheriff Summary Court the following morning Thursday 1st August, with Sheriff Robertson presiding. The trail was set for Thursday 4th September 1940. The prosecution later advanced the hearing to Tuesday 20th August. The trial took place with Sheriff Wellwood Johnston presiding; evidence was given by two police constables who described visiting, in plain clothes, the mock tribunals held in the back shop at 127 George Street. Among questions asked were these two put by Sheriff Wellwood Johnston to Constable John McHardy:

<blockquote>Sheriff; "Did you see anything in the nature of people who were not conscientious objectors being urged to pretend to be COs ?"

Witness; "No."

Sheriff; "Did you notice any sort of attempt to advise people to profess opinions, which they did not really hold, in order to evade service?"

Witness; "No."</blockquote>

The trial was adjourned until Thursday 22nd August. After further questioning Sheriff Wellwood Johnston intimated that he did not propose to hear the four accused. Finding the accused not guilty, he gave a most important ruling and a statement of the right of civil liberty during those very trying days when freedom was menaced. The Sheriff stated; "In order to succeed in this case the Crown must establish that an endeavour was made to incite persons to evade their duties or liabilities under the National Service (Armed Forces) Act. . According to the dictionary , to "incite" means "to rouse or stir up, to move to action, to spur, or urge on." It is not easy, or perhaps it is not possible, to imagine incitement without some sort of direct exhortation, and in the present case direct exhortation to evade duties was not only not proved but disproved." This trial legalised mock tribunals.

== Persecution ==

The COs who were sent to work on farms were under the control of the farmers and their treatment got so dreadful that there were calls that for humanitarian reasons they be removed from the farmers' control and placed under the control of some other body. Some Municipal Councils sacked any COs in their employment. The press kept up a campaign against COs and their supporters, claiming that most COs were "pansies" or "gay". They also claimed that they were cowards, but when we consider the treatment from some of the general public, the institutions, the effect on their families and friends, the treatment in courts and prisons, and the separation from 99% of the population, we have to accept that only a very determined, very strong conviction would carry them through. This is not the characteristic of a coward. The Peace Pledge Union continued holding its meetings throughout the war at the Dick Sheppard Centre, 48 Dundas Street, Glasgow. They managed to raise funds by donations, collections and a stamp card system whereby regular donors had a card and bought stamps for varying amounts. Notes from their audit for the period 8th October 1941 to 30th April 1942 show the income for the period as £473.15.3. They also managed to produce a twice monthly bulletin. Others working for the conscientious objectors like the Scottish Pacifist Fund for Conscientious Objectors raised funds by various activities run by the Women's Conscientious Objectors Fund. These groups along with the Fellowship of Conscientious Objectors and the National Council of Civil Liberties, though working independently, also worked under the umbrella group, the Scottish Central Board for Conscientious Objectors. Bearing in mind the number of these groups, it is obvious that up to the end of the war the public were still supporting them with donations, as shown by the audit sheet of the Fellowship of Conscientious Objectors, at their meeting held in the Geneva Room of the Green's Playhouse in Renfield Street, Glasgow in late 1945. The audit sheet gives the income from 1st March 1944 to 26th July 1945, as £269.3.7 On the 21st September 1946 at a special meeting held in the Central Halls, Bath Street, Glasgow the Scottish Central Board for Conscientious Objectors passed a motion to voluntarily dissolve itself.

== Peace Pledge Union ==

In spite of the considerable pressure brought to bear on COs and their support groups, their effort never wavered. Groups such as the NCL, the ILP, the Anarchist Federation, and the Workers Open Forum continued with their anti-war meetings throughout the war. Near the end of the war the Peace Pledge Union held meetings under the banner of "Has conscription come to stay", while the NCL went with the banner "How to prevent another war". The mock tribunals continued, and the Anarchists, among others, continued to try and find "safe houses" for deserters.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

Clydeside Apprentices' Strike 1937

2018-02-26T16:11:34Z

Annarky: Created page with "== Wage Rates == Apprentices for some time had felt that they were drastically under paid, and were no more than a form of cheap labour. Apprentices' wages ranged from 8/- to..."

== Wage Rates ==

Apprentices for some time had felt that they were drastically under paid, and were no more than a form of cheap labour. Apprentices' wages ranged from 8/- to 19/- a week. In his first year he would be paid from 8/- to 12/- per week and a last year boy would receive 16/- to 19/-. Apprentices of 23 years of age would be paid 20/- per week. Boys in their last year would on most occasions be doing the same work as a skilled man but were paid 19/-. An apprentice plater in his last year would be paid 19/10 a week while two labourers working with him would be paid £2:7/- each per week. In some cases a boy could use up to two thirds of his wage in transport just getting to and from his job together with his insurance, the remainder was to go towards his keep and put some money in his pocket.

== Strike ==

The strike started on March 18th 1937 when 70 apprentices at Lobitz engineering factory took strike action. On Wednesday March 31st 500 apprentices walked out at the Fairfield Shipyard, at Govan in Glasgow. The involvement of Fairfields apprentices proved to be a catalyst for the strike as they were able to form mass pickets and encourage other apprentices to get involved. By Saturday 5,000 apprentices from over 60 firms had joined the strike. By the end of the following week 90% of the 14,000 apprentices from 130 firms in the Clydeside area were out on strike. The newspapers attempted to portray the strike as some sort of childish juvenile prank which would soon blow over. By the end of April the Govan apprentices had taken over an abandoned shop as their headquarters. The boys were aware of the fact that inactivity would erode support for the strike. An extensive communication system kept hundreds of apprentices involved in maintaining the strike. They organised the "Apprentices Olympics" and there was also a daily football league with 48 factory teams to help maintain enthusiasm for the strike. The original view that the boys' strike would collapse because of lack of organisation was no longer held with any certainty. One union official stated that, "organisation among the boys was something wonderful". Employers started to send letters to the parents of the boys worded in a similar manner to:

<blockquote >Dear Madam, Your son John ceased work last week. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that unless he returns his action may endanger his future career." They also stated that the boys indentures made it unlawful for them to strike.</blockquote>

The apprentices stated their demands in a Charter:

A standard rate of wages and an increase in wage each year; 1st year, 15/- a week, 2nd year, 17/6 a week, 3rd year, 20/- a week, 4th year, 25/- a week, 5th year, 30/- a week.

A reasonable ratio of apprentices to journeymen. In addition, they demanded a proper trade training, and no sacking at 21.

By April the 7th many firms were in difficulties because of shortages of components normally produced by older apprentices. The situation was made worse by many journeymen refusing to do apprentices' work. The engineers in Govan threatened to join the apprentices on the street if any adult was suspended because of hold-ups caused by the strike.

== Edinburgh, Middlesburgh & Newcastle ==

The strike was now spreading out from Clydeside. In Edinburgh apprentices with support of the unions, having endorsed the Clydeside Apprentices' Charter, sent their demands to the employers and joined the strike; apprentices in Middlesburgh and Newcastle followed. On April 12th the Clydeside District Committee of the AEU, and the Confederation of Shipbuilding & Engineering Unions offered support and strike pay to the apprentices. On Friday April 16th they added to that support by calling a one day general strike, and on the Clyde 100,000 men stopped work in support of the apprentices. The Glasgow Trades Council printed a special bulletin for sale to the public allowing the apprentices to put forward their case and counter the misrepresentation in the capitalist press. Glasgow City Council granted permission for the apprentices to organise street collections. £320 was raised on the first collection, and the sale of the "Bulletin" raised a further £120.

== Official Recognition ==

The Confederation of Shipbuilding & Engineering Unions together with representatives from the Apprentices' Strike Committee asked to meet the employers to discuss the apprentices' demands. The employers refused, insisting on negotiating with each shipyard and each workshop separately. The unions decided to ban all overtime until the apprentices returned to work in victory. This put at risk the completion of £20 million of armaments under production on the Clyde. The strike's aims gained considerably in strength when the AEU and other unions gave the strike official recognition. In the May 1st issue of the "Challenge" the Apprentices Strike Committee stressed that the apprentices would not return until their wage demands had been met and the right of the unions to negotiate for the apprentices had been won. The employers refusal to negotiate with the apprentices' leadership more or less changed the strike into a lock-out.

== Agreement ==

On the 30th of April local union officials urged a mass meeting of strikers to resume work so that their grievances could be pursued through established channels. Failing this the officials predicted a gradual disorganised return to work, in which case the boys' spokesmen would be victimised. In these circumstances the apprentices had no option but to reluctantly return to work. They agreed to re-start work on May 5th 1937. The employers responded by introducing a new minimum apprentice wage scale ranging from 12/6 to 27/-. While the employers conceded wage rises, the apprentices' strike had confirmed their aversion to trade union representation for apprentices.

== Second Strike Wave ==

In spite of hostility from the AEU leadership, the Clydeside Apprentices' Strike Committee remained active through the summer of 1937, maintaining a skeletal organisation ready for any event. In September 1937 apprentices' frustration at the failure of industrial relations procedures to resolve the issues raised by the Clydeside apprentices sparked a second wave of strikes, which swept through many main English engineering centres. The English apprentices failed to generate the cohesive organisation shown during the Clydeside strike. English apprentices were more willing to settle at a factory level thereby abandoning the "Apprentices Charter". The 1937 apprentices strike transformed the status of apprentices from separate individuals with practically no employment rights, to unionised workers. The apprentices were not forced back to work on the employers' terms; they succeeded in forcing major concessions on earnings and trade union rights from the employers.

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]

The General strike

2018-02-26T16:10:38Z

Annarky: Created page with "'''General Strike, 1926''' == Origins of the Strike == The roots of the 1926 General Strike go back to before the 1914 - 1918 war. Over the years a struggle had been develop..."

'''General Strike, 1926'''

== Origins of the Strike ==

The roots of the 1926 General Strike go back to before the 1914 - 1918 war. Over the years a struggle had been developing between; on the one hand a growing militant working class and on the other the employers and the state. The strike was initiated to defend the living conditions of the miners. There was now a realisation by the mass of the workers that joint action by the whole trade union movement was needed to defend the wages and conditions of the working class. The miners in 1919 won the 7 hour day with a pay increase, while the shipbuilding and engineering industry succeeded in getting their working week reduced from 54 hours to 47. Any concessions won directly after the war were made in an attempt to halt rising working class militancy. In 1922 the mines had been under government control, in early 1922 the mine owners once more took control of the mines and immediately announced savage wage cuts; lock-out notices were posted on all pits coming into force on March 31st. The Triple Industrial Alliance, an alliance formed in 1914 by miners, transport workers and railwaymen, called for a rail and transport strike to begin on April 12th 1922. The government called up the reservists and declared a state of emergency. A proposed scheme for a temporary settlement of the wages issue on a district basis was rejected by the miners Executive Council. The other parties of the alliance called off the strike, declaring that the miners had rejected a chance of a settlement. The miners resumed work on the mine owners terms. After this defeat of the miners employers imposed wage cuts throughout most industries: heavy and light engineering, building, transport, the cotton industry and others. The 1924 Labour government returned to the Gold Standard, which in turn increased prices of British goods on the export market. With the drop in coal exports the mine owners proposed a new wage structure that would cut miners wages by between 10% and 25%. The mine owners, without further discussion, imposed the new wage structure as from July 31st 1925. The TUC in agreement with the rail and transport unions decided to operate an embargo on the movement of coal. The government agreed to pay the mine owners a subsidy until 1st of May 1926, and the mine owners withdrew their notices. On the 31st of July 1925 the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, stated "All the workers of this country have got to take reductions in wages to help to put industry on its feet". During the next nine months the government prepared for a showdown with the unions. On the other hand, in spite of continual warnings from activist and from some left wing groups, the TUC leadership made no preparations for the showdown that would inevitably follow the end of the mining subsidy.

== Special Conference ==

On Thursday April 29th 1926 a special conference of the Executive Councils of the 200 unions affiliated to the British TUC was called to consider the mining dispute. It unanimously accepted the following resolution, "This conference of Executives of Trade Unions affiliated to the Trades Union Congress endorse the efforts of the General Council to secure an honourable settlement of the differences in the coal mining industry. It further instructs the Industrial Committee of the General Council to continue its efforts and declares its readiness to continue provided that the impending lock-out notices of the mine workers are not enforced. That this conference hereby adjourns until tomorrow (Friday) and agrees to remain in London to enable the General Council to consult, report and take instructions".

The conference was not a fire and thunder affair but rather timid. Whether they were either afraid of or had tried to ignore the prospects of a general strike. Hoping that their declared support for the miners would somehow produce a settlement without further action, the special conference was adjourned until Friday; it resumed in the morning and then continued to adjourn and resume until 11:30 PM when it received the Negotiating Committee's report - it had achieved nothing. No proposals had been made by the Prime Minister, the cabinet or the mine owners that meant anything less than complete surrender by the miners. It was now very clear, the mine owners and the miners were ready for a struggle. The attitude of the Industrial Committee of the TUC was not at all clear.

On Friday April 30th 1926 the mine owners put forward their final demands to the miners, "A uniform national minimum of 20% over 1914 standard wage on a uniform 8 hour day". For miners in Scotland that meant a wage cut from a wage of 9/4 a day, to 7/6 a day for skilled coalface workers and a wage cut from a wage of 6/8 a day to 6/- a day for labourers, plus an extra hour on each daily shift. A special miner's conference rejected the mine owners new terms.

== General Council ==

On May 1st 1926 the cabinet had refused to ask the mine owners to suspend the lock-out. The previous day the King had signed a proclamation declaring a state of emergency. Local authorities were informed by a Ministry of Health circular that the measures previously arranged should be taken to cope with a national stoppage. Civil Commissioners and their staff's names were published. The Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS), set up to keep supplies moving in the event of a strike, put up notices asking for more volunteers. Troops were moved to all industrial sites. All this was in place before any official call by the General Council of the TUC for strike action. The Conference of Executives decided to accept the General Council's recommendation to strike by 3,655,527 votes for and 49,911 against. The strike was to begin on Monday May 3rd 1926 at 11:59PM.

== Glasgow ==

On the eve of the strike a May Day demonstration marched through Bridgeton to Glasgow Green; there was a tremendous feeling of solidarity, also a wide spread class consciousness which in some degree was due to the selfless effort of the great propagandist and political activist John MacLean, who died in November 1923. It was obvious from the mood of the demonstration that the people were ready with the miners to face a showdown with the employers and the government. The mass support for the miners was more a class instinct than a political development. Glasgow, the industrial heartland of Scotland, was also the centre of the strike in Scotland. Most militant areas formed Councils of Action, and industrial areas were organised by strike committees. Throughout North Lanarkshire and the Vale of Leven, two of the most militant areas in the West of Scotland, Councils of Action were formed. Strike committees were formed throughout North Ayrshire, the Stirlingshire Coalfields and East Renfrewshire. In Glasgow it was the Central Strike Co-ordinating Committee of the Trades and Labour Council that took control, this was set up at the last minute. There was an overwhelming response to the first line call-out which included workers from railways, transport, building, chemical, gas, print and steel.

== Rutherglen Tram ==

One of the problems facing the Glasgow Central Strike Committee was having to deal with a Tory City Council. The City Council was very active in promoting the OMS. Also, the City Council ran the City's tram service, and tried to keep it running with OMS volunteers, this caused frequent and violent clashes between the police and strikers. Hundreds were arrested in these clashes. The government was worried about what might happen in the great industrial cities like Glasgow and sent 7 naval vessels to the Clyde in an attempt to overawe the strikers. Naval ratings were used to protect OMS volunteers unloading goods at the Glasgow docks. The police and OMS volunteers tried to run a tram service through Rutherglen. The first tram driven by university students protected by police got as far as Rutherglen High Street where it was surrounded by hundreds of strikers. The trolley was taken off the overhead wires, the students were manhandled, and the police beat a hasty retreat. The tram stood in the High Street silent and still for the rest of the strike. The tram service was the weakest link in the solidarity of the strike in Glasgow. Crowds were inclined to gather in the streets, they were unorganised crowds who resented the activities of blacklegs and tended to show their anger. Spontaneous mass picketing frequently occurred throughout the strike, large numbers of men and women from a district would go out to try and stop any strike breaking activity, putting themselves at risk to arrest and imprisonment. The usual targets were buses, trams and lorries. On Tuesday the 4th of May, in the Eastend of the City three buses were attacked and overturned. On Thursday the 6th of May a miners' picket marched to Ruby Street tram depot, Ruby Street was a cul-de-sac with the tram depot gates at the top; as the miners reached the tram depot gates the gates swung open and an army of police charged out with batons drawn, a violent scene ensued with many arrests. On the same day in the Central District of Glasgow attempts were made to stop buses, one being overturned and ten people arrested. There were other violent clashes at Bridgeton with 64 arrests. There were riots on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with 120 arrests. In Glasgow the solidarity of the strike and the spontaneous mass picketing was an indication of the strength of feeling in support of the strike.

== Hard labour ++

On Monday May the 10th 100 people appeared before the Glasgow Sheriff Court, 22 were given from 1 -3 months hard labour. On the same day at the Glasgow Police Courts a further 100 cases were dealt with for minor offences. here was widespread anger at the conduct of the police, more so the Specials and at the severity of the sentences. Parliament passed regulations giving power to the police to prohibit public meetings. Courts were being seen as instruments of class hatred and vengeance. In one hearing a well dressed young man was charged with stone throwing in a disturbance and given 3 months on the evidence of two policemen, contrary to several independent witnesses. A woman charged with mobbing and rioting was arrested on Friday the 7th of May she was refused bail and held in remand for two weeks in spite of the fact that she was the mother of 5 young children. On May the 14th the Labour group on the City Council called for a full inquiry into the conduct of the police after receiving several complaints from uninvolved citizens about unwarranted attacks on them, in particularly by the Specials. Tales of police and strikers playing football together never happened in Glasgow. There were calls for workers to carry "walking sticks" as a means of defending themselves, however instructions from the higher echelons instructed the workers to be peaceful and law abiding even though this was proving almost impossible due to the attitude of the police.

== The Scottish Worker ==

The Minority Movement issued a daily "Worker's Press" until raided and closed down by the police. The police prevented strikers from holding meetings, this was a serious barrier to attempts to discuss and share news of the strike. There were instances of the police forcibly breaking up strikers' meetings. The "Scottish Worker" was published on May the 10th and for the next six days. On the first day of issue 25,000 copies sold in the first hour. The lack of published material during the strike had been a difficulty, information being carried by word of mouth round the area by walking, cycling, motorcycle or what ever was available. Political divisions of the left that had been fiercely debated over the years had all been forgotten, the main theme of all debate was to make the strike solid.

== Widespread Support ==

How solid the strike was can be seen from the these figures: of the 2400 railway clerks in Glasgow only less than 300 turn up for work, Glasgow Corporation had 1087 tramcars but less than 200 were able to run, none of them were running on the Eastend routes, but only on central routes. A few buses were running between Glasgow and some places south and west of the city. The number of trains that normally ran to and from Glasgow on a daily bases numbered about 14000, only 28 trains ran from Glasgow Central Station on Saturday. There were almost no blacklegs from the great mass of unemployed in spite of their poverty and suffering.

== Arrests ==

There were a large number of arrests in Glasgow during the nine days. By Monday morning about 300 had been arrested, of which 120 had been arrested in the Eastend of the City between Wednesday and Friday. The police violence and high number of arrests seemed to have no effect on the morale of the strikers. Towards the end of the first week of the strike there seems to have been unprovoked police violence. This may have been an attempt to intimidate the people in the hope that they would abandon outdoor meetings and mass picketing. Bridgeton seems to have seen some of the worst of this, following the mass picket of the Ruby Street tram depot. During the day of Friday 7th the police attacked the Bridgeton area, a busy, densely populated working class district, making 44 arrests. The reason given was that youths were holding up bread vans and coal lorries. In the evening crowds gathered in the streets around Bridgeton Cross, the police and mounted police attacked the crowds with batons. The following day the Bridgeton Parish and Town Councillors complained to the Superintendent of the Eastern Police Division of, "The molestation of unoffending citizens by agitated policemen who were accused of unwarranted interference with a number of persons."

== Sir Herbert Samuel ==

As the strikers all over the country were improving their organisational skills and over coming the lack of preparation for the strike by the leaders of the TUC, events in London were taking place that neither the strikers nor the miners leaders were aware of. Chairman of the Coal Commission, Sir Herbert Samuel, whose proposals had been turned down by the miners, returned to London from holidaying abroad and offered his services as mediator. The government informed him that abandonment of the strike must precede any official negotiations. On the 7th, 8th and 9th of May the BTUC negotiating committee without the miners met Sir Samuel. He drafted a memorandum in which it was proposed that no wage cuts should be made without some assurances that the reorganisation measures proposed in the Samuel Commission Report would be effectively adopted. It was also proposed that a Miners National Board should be set up to seek a final settlement. The Miners National Board would prepare a simplified wage agreement which should not affect the wages of the lower paid men and would fix reasonable figures below which the wage of no class of labour should be reduced. These were a revamp of the Samuel Commission Report that the miners had already rejected. The mine owners raised no functional objections to these proposals.

== Strike Called Off ==

Against the wishes of the miners, the General Council called off the strike on the basis of the Samuel Memorandum and on May 12th they informed Baldwin that the strike was over. This was done without any guarantees, with no terms, no written statement, it was unconditional surrender. The militant shipyard and engineering second line of workers had just joined the strike in force. It was obvious the workers were taking control of the strike, when the surprised call-off was announced.

== Glaswegian Anger ==

The reaction by the vast majority of the Glasgow strikers to the end of the strike was of: surprise, anger, betrayal and disgust. Tom Scollan stated "the reaction was disgust, absolute disgust all over Glasgow, . the rank and file movement were still loyal, would have carried on". Kerrigan wrote, "The overwhelming feeling was of anger, disgust and a feeling of having been betrayed, . the rank and file would not only have carried on but would have sharpened the struggle". The Partick Strike Committee held a mass meeting in a cinema with an overflow meeting outside which resolved that, "We protest against and deplore the calling off of the general strike and, furthermore, we call upon the Scottish TUC to issue an immediate call for the resumption of the strike until such time as a definite basis for a settlement is forthcoming and an assurance given that there will be no victimisation as a result of the general strike." The Glasgow Trades and Labour Council on the 14th of May passed the following motion moved by Kerrigan by 149 votes for and 36 against, "That the Trades and Labour Council express to the TUC strong disapproval of the manner in which the general strike was terminated." One strike official stated, "A victorious army disarmed and handed over to its enemy" . In spite of the depth of feeling, they made no attempt to continue the strike locally. Most commentators agree that the strength of the strike came from the solidarity of the grass roots mass support and the weakness from above by the limp hand of indecisive bureaucracy. The strikers shock and disgust at the call off was only matched by the employers' and government's shock and surprise at their victory. At the BTUC Bournemouth Congress, September 1926 Jack Tanner of the AEU asserted "The rank and file of all unions affiliated to congress want to know the whole truth regarding the national strike".

== Return To Work ==

It would appear that in Glasgow none of the strikers disobeyed the TUC's orders by continuing the strike in support of the miners. However, victimisation of strikers was rife. On the railways, tramways, at the Clyde Trust, at Singer's works in Clydebank and in the newspaper industry strikes continued on terms of reinstatement, strikers eventually having to make concessions to the employers. On the railways new conditions were inferior to those in place before the strike. On the Glasgow tramways 188 T.& G.W.U. members lost their jobs. In the newspaper industry in Glasgow the three main publishers, taking in the Glasgow Herald, the Evening Times, the Bulletin, and the Evening Citizen, refused to negotiate with the unions and refused to employ union labour. In many industries throughout Glasgow leading strike activists were never reinstated to their jobs.

== Aftermath ==

The miners' struggle continued. The Glasgow Trades and Labour Council called upon the General Council of the TUC to immediately reimpose a 5% levy on all organised workers in employment in order to carry out its promise to support the miners in their struggle and to ensure their final victory. The calling off of the general strike had been a betrayal of the working class and a particularly brutal betrayal of the miners. The miners struggled on until deprivation, poverty, starvation and shear desperation drove them back in November 1926 to lower wages and worse conditions. In some coalfields wages were less than the 1926 unemployment benefit. The historian A. J. P. Taylor commented on the general strike with these words, "The response of the trade union members was fantastic, all stopped work when called upon, and practically none returned to work until the strike was over. These were the very men who had rallied to the defence of Belgium in 1914, The voluntary recruitment of the first world war and the general strike of 1926 were acts of spontaneous generosity, without parallel in any country. The first was whipped on by almost every organ of public opinion, the second was undertaken despite their disapproval. Such nobility deserves more than passing tribute. The strikers asked nothing for themselves. They did not seek to challenge the government, still less to overthrow the constitution. They merely wanted the miners to have a living wage."

----

Posted by John Couzin

[https://web.archive.org/web/20140722114306/http://www.gcu.ac.uk:80/radicalglasgow/ The book Radical Glasgow]

[http://radicalglasgow.me.uk Radical Glasgow website]