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kalashnikov
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 17 Sep 2005
Posts: 93
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 Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:16 am Post subject: Battle of George Square, Glasgow 1919 |
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The battle of George Square, Glasgow (Bloody Friday) 1919
On Friday 31 January 1919 upwards of 60,000 demonstrators gathered in George Square 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, with the ex-servicemen to the fore, quickly retaliated with fists, iron railings and broken bottles, and forced the police into a retreat.
On hearing the noise from the square the strike leaders, who were meeting with the Lord Provost, rushed outside 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 by the police.
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 also arrested, including Emanuel Shinwell, Harry Hopkins and George Edbury.
Government concerns about industrial militancy and revolutionary political activity in Glasgow reached new heights after the events of 31 January 1919. Fears within government of a workers' revolution in Glasgow led to the deployment of troops and tanks in the city.
An estimated 10000 English troops in total were sent to Glasgow in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of George Square. This was in spite of a full battalion of Scottish soldiers being stationed at Maryhill barracks in Glasgow at the time. No Scottish troops were deployed, with the government fearing that fellow Scots, soldiers or otherwise, would go over to the workers side if a revolutionary situation developed in Glasgow.
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 they were working prior to the strike.
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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Great stuff! Really interesting! |
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azzuri
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 3777
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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Extremely interesting kalashnikov and a side to Scottish/British history we don't often hear.
Some very good pics too.
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Morph
I really have nothing else to do!!!
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:26 am Post subject: |
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did a little bit of Red Clydeside at uni kalashnikov, and it was a great and very interesting topic. Could you give us a link to where theres pics were found please so I can find out more?
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azzuri
'Our Scotland' Fossil
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Morph
I really have nothing else to do!!!
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 1:09 am Post subject: |
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Good site Azzuri, one of the things that struck me was the use of religion to push some socialist points. Maybe Rinty or someone could help me here bu wasnt socialism at odds with religion?
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"An oppressive government is to be more feared than a tiger" |
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BonnieBlueFlag
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 28 May 2006
Posts: 60
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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| Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, very interesting, any further links/referances would be very much appreciated!
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mairead
Jim Baxter is God...........really!!!!
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 3100
Location: Argyll, Alba
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| Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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Kalashnikov,
A brilliant post there mate. Congratulations. We could do with more like this.
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John MacLean
Finding Ma' Way
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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The fact that Red Clydeside, John MacLean etc is not part of the Scottish history curriculum at schol is a shocking omission. Just why is the industrial revolution (essentially the rise of capitalism) covered but nothing is taught about Scotland's genuine working class heroes?
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I am not here, then, as the accused: I am here as the accuser of capitalism dripping with blood from head to foot. |
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SLG
Born Again..........and still Scottish!
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5515
Location: Dùn Eideann
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Perhaps because Scotland is a capitalist country and our teachers are discouraged to act in a way that might promote an alternative ideology. |
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agentmancuso
Getting on a bit!
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 1812
Location: Darkest Lanarkshire
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Morph wrote: | | Good site Azzuri, one of the things that struck me was the use of religion to push some socialist points. Maybe Rinty or someone could help me here bu wasnt socialism at odds with religion? |
Socialism in the UK spread almost entirely in poor Non-Conformist areas in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. South Wales being the classic example.
In any case, despite it's overt hostility to religion, Marxism replicates the mythic structure and soteriology of messianic/revivalist Christianity in exact detail. The most obvious illustration of this is the ludicrous way Marxist/Socialist groups splinter into ever smaller and ever more fundamentalist factions, along lines of theoretical/theological argument as obscure as they are irrelevant to the rest of the planet.
The intensity, conviction and stridence of the True Believer is equally striking in both fundamentalist Christian and Marxist cults. Marxism is basically a materialist Christian heresy, filling the void left by the collapse of traditional religious patterns of belonging and belief.
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agentmancuso
Getting on a bit!
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| John MacLean wrote: | | The fact that Red Clydeside, John MacLean etc is not part of the Scottish history curriculum at schol is a shocking omission. Just why is the industrial revolution (essentially the rise of capitalism) covered but nothing is taught about Scotland's genuine working class heroes? |
Perhaps because MacLean's affect on Scottish history was utterly minute.
Perhaps because there is no such thing as 'a genuine working class hero'. There is no such thing as 'a working class' for that matter.
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Babygael
Collecting my 'Our Scotland' Pension!
Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 2479
Location: Bajan land
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:39 am Post subject: |
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Ahm watchin' yew agentmancuso!!
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John MacLean
Finding Ma' Way
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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| agentmancuso wrote: | | John MacLean wrote: | | The fact that Red Clydeside, John MacLean etc is not part of the Scottish history curriculum at schol is a shocking omission. Just why is the industrial revolution (essentially the rise of capitalism) covered but nothing is taught about Scotland's genuine working class heroes? |
Perhaps because MacLean's affect on Scottish history was utterly minute.
Perhaps because there is no such thing as 'a genuine working class hero'. There is no such thing as 'a working class' for that matter. |
I wouldn’t expect the history curriculum in Scotland to focus exclusively on John MacLean, or any other individual either for that matter, that would be nonsense. I used his name purely as an example.
Unless it has changed dramatically since I left school (what I have read on the subject would suggest that it hasn’t – am happy to be corrected though) the history taught in our schools is an unbalanced if not to say biased one.
While it focuses on the industrialisation of Scotland in the late 18th and early 19th centuries it barely touches on the working class and their contribution to our nation’s history. The Labour movement that spawned what would come to be known as ‘Red Clydeside’ and produced MPs like John Maxton is largely if not totally ignored.
There was no revolution in Scotland in 1919 to mirror what happened in Russia two years previously. To be honest I don’t think Scotland was as close to revolution as sometimes people like to think. That said it is still a subject that merits greater study if only to provide a more rounded history of our country.
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I am not here, then, as the accused: I am here as the accuser of capitalism dripping with blood from head to foot. |
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agentmancuso
Getting on a bit!
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 1812
Location: Darkest Lanarkshire
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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| John MacLean wrote: | | agentmancuso wrote: | | John MacLean wrote: | | The fact that Red Clydeside, John MacLean etc is not part of the Scottish history curriculum at schol is a shocking omission. Just why is the industrial revolution (essentially the rise of capitalism) covered but nothing is taught about Scotland's genuine working class heroes? |
Perhaps because MacLean's affect on Scottish history was utterly minute.
Perhaps because there is no such thing as 'a genuine working class hero'. There is no such thing as 'a working class' for that matter. |
I wouldn’t expect the history curriculum in Scotland to focus exclusively on John MacLean, or any other individual either for that matter, that would be nonsense. I used his name purely as an example.
Unless it has changed dramatically since I left school (what I have read on the subject would suggest that it hasn’t – am happy to be corrected though) the history taught in our schools is an unbalanced if not to say biased one.
While it focuses on the industrialisation of Scotland in the late 18th and early 19th centuries it barely touches on the working class and their contribution to our nation’s history. The Labour movement that spawned what would come to be known as ‘Red Clydeside’ and produced MPs like John Maxton is largely if not totally ignored.
There was no revolution in Scotland in 1919 to mirror what happened in Russia two years previously. To be honest I don’t think Scotland was as close to revolution as sometimes people like to think. That said it is still a subject that merits greater study if only to provide a more rounded history of our country. |
Fair enough. In what sense is history taught in our schools 'biased' though?
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agentmancuso
Getting on a bit!
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Babygael wrote: | | Ahm watchin' yew agentmancuso!! |
I'm flattered, truely.
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Avatar
I need ma own bl**dy forum!
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 1213
Location: Dùn Eideann
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Babygael wrote:
Ahm watchin' yew agentmancuso!!
I'm flattered, truely. |
Aww young love 
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jimtrot
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 16 May 2007
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| Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| John MacLean wrote: | | The fact that Red Clydeside, John MacLean etc is not part of the Scottish history curriculum at schol is a shocking omission. Just why is the industrial revolution (essentially the rise of capitalism) covered but nothing is taught about Scotland's genuine working class heroes? |
Because history is written by the ruling class.
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The cause of Labour is the cause of Scotland and the cause of Scotland is the cause of Labour - apologies to James Connolly |
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Blackleaf
Confirmed TROLL
Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Lancashire
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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A similar thing happened in England a hundred years earlier, an event known as the Peterloo Massacre.
On 16th August 1819, soldiers on horseback charged into a crowd of 80,000 people in St Peter's Field in Manchester who had gathered at a meeting to demand the reform of parliamentary representation.
The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, whch Britain and her allies thankfully won, had resulted in periods of famine and chronic unemployment, exacerbated by the introduction of the first of the Corn Laws.
Shortly after the meeting began (which was led by the well-nown orator Henry Hunt), local magistrates called on the military to arrest Hunt and several others on the hustings with him, and to disperse the crowd.
Cavalry charged into the crowd with sabres drawn, and in the ensuing confusion, 15 people were killed and 400–700 were injured, among them many women and even children. The massacre was given the name Peterloo in ironic comparison to the Battle of Waterloo, which had taken place four years earlier.
Source: wikipedia.org
Peterloo Massacre, Manchester, 1819
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Holebender
I need ma own bl**dy forum!
Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 1270
Location: Here or There
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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Well... if you want to go back to the early 19th Century, try reading about the Radicals Revolt in Scotland, or the United Scotsmen and the United Irishmen.
We're a revolting lot!
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"My instinct is to agree with your opinion of his verse, but I've never so much as glanced at it." - agentmancuso |
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