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Red Clydeside: 1914-1919
Illustration: The red flag is raised by huge crowds of Scots workers in George Square Glasgow. January 1919. Copyright Herald Newspapers |
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Red Clydeside: Overview The Great War created enormous political and social dislocation throughout Europe. In Scotland, as elsewhere, this widespread disaffection with the political establishment caused many to seek change through radical and even revolutionary action. This manifested itself as a prolonged period of social and industrial unrest mainly in the Glasgow area, an era that has since become known as Red Clydeside. This unrest culminated in George Square, Glasgow on January 31st 1919 when massed crowds of demonstrators clashed with the police, forcing the government to send in troops to restore public order. Might this have been the prelude to the "historically inevitable" revolution that many expected? |
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Historic Voices "We can make Glasgow a revolutionary storm centre." John MacLean, revolutionary political thinker and agitator |
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Background: A World Devoured by War and Revolution The Great War that broke out in 1914 was initially greeted with enthusiasm. Thousands of young men throughout Europe queued to enlist lured by what seemed like a welcome opportunity to escape from the drudgery of everyday life. This idealism did not last long: disillusion and death were all that awaited most of them in the monstrous war of attrition on the battlefields. As the conflict dragged on, sullen disaffection grew in every country with a political and military establishment that often seemed unable either to conduct the war efficiently or bring it to a close. Radical Marxist and left wing groups spoke to these disaffected masses predicting that only united international revolutionary action would end the slaughter. Many listened, some were sceptical. Then came the awesome events in Russia in 1917. Revolution was no longer an abstract theory: it was now a reality. By this time the political, economic and social structures of Europe were buckling under the intolerable stresses of war, mass unrest and political agitation. An enormous, unprecedented international crisis seemed to be engulfing the entire world. Some have argued that it brought Scotland to the very brink of its own revolution.
Illustration taken from an Independent Labour Party Card. 1927. Copyright Glasgow Caledonian University.
Red Clydeside: 1914-1919
Red Clydeside Red Clydeside is the name given to a period of prolonged social and industrial unrest that took place in Scotland around the period of the First World War. The roots of Red Clydeside Many complex factors were brought into play during this episode in Scottish history, but working class grievances about living and working conditions together with growing war-weariness were the broadly important root causes here. Radical campaigners like John MacLean argued that the only solution to these problems was a workers' revolution to end the war and the creation of a new society based on socialist principles.
The main events of Red Clydeside Most of the unrest took place in Glasgow as this was the area where most war-related industry was concentrated. There had been instances of social unrest even before the war, but the first major incident was the “Tuppence an Hour” strike of 1915. Thousands of workers struck demanding a wage increase of two pence per hour before agreeing to a settlement that would pay them half this amount. This was followed by the rent strikes of 1915-16. Unscrupulous landlords were demanding rent increases during a time of acute housing shortage in the munitions manufacturing areas. This provoked a widespread campaign of non-payment initially orchestrated by women. They were soon joined by munitions and shipyard workers who threatened to strike in support. The class conflict The rent strike forced the government to intervene and pass legislation forcing landlords to freeze rent levels at pre-war rates. However their main concern was that this kind of industrial action would interrupt supplies of munitions to the front and jeopardise the war effort. To counter this, legislation was introduced aimed at curbing workers' rights and making strike action illegal. Government and employers also sought to step up production by introducing “dilution”: replacing skilled workers with lower-paid unskilled ones. Further protest and industrial action followed this unpopular legislation, although with limited success. After 1916 the worst unrest appeared to be over. However, the most dramatic events of the Red Clydeside era were still to take place three years later on Bloody Friday.
Bloody Friday The events of Bloody Friday originated in a mass strike by workers demanding a reduction in the working week from 60 to 40 hours. On Friday 31 January 1919, tens of thousands began gathering in central Glasgow to show their support for the strike. As an awesome mass of demonstrators flooded George Square the police grew nervous. Suddenly the red flag was raised amidst the crowd. This seemed to be something more than just another demonstration. Was this the long-predicted workers' rising? Was this the Revolution? Panic erupted. The police charged, struggling to break up the crowd with their batons. The demonstrators retaliated. The skirmish exploded into an all-out riot. Eventually the city centre was cleared; but the streets remained tense. Seen against a background of post-war revolutionary turmoil throughout Europe, and barely a year after the Russian Revolution, scenes like this left ministers in London badly shaken. Determined to reassert their authority and to prevent further outbreaks of public disorder the government poured troops and tanks into Glasgow, placing the city under military occupation. With order restored, a compromise agreement was hammered out over the following few days. The strikes fizzled out. If a revolutionary situation had once existed, it had now been defused. Was Scotland really brought to the brink of a revolution in 1919? This is one of those questions that historians never tire arguing about. Some have asserted that only an absence of organisation and leadership amongst the workers prevented Red Clydeside from escalating into an all out revolution. Others have argued that the significance of the whole episode has been exaggerated. Perhaps only this much can be concluded: Scotland may or may not have been close to revolution in 1919; but the panic-stricken reaction at the time suggests that many of those in power genuinely believed it was.
Illustration: A stone unicorn stands vigil outside the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle. |
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The social phenomenon that came to be known as Red Clydeside did not end on Bloody Friday. Political agitation and campaigning continued for many years afterwards, albeit not as dramatically as it did on January 31st, 1919. Militant mass activism was an important aspect of Red Clydeside but most of those who struggled for the cause of social reform throughout this episode in Scotland's history believed that long-term slog through conventional political channels would prove more effective than short term revolutionary action. After Bloody Friday most of the Red Clydeside leadership channelled their energies into electoral politics. This strategy appeared to pay off at the general election of 1922 when ten of the most prominent workers' leaders were elected to parliament. They were seen off on the train from Glasgow to London by a huge crowd who sang the Red Flag and, echoing a much earlier libertarian struggle in Scottish history, Psalm 124, "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side", the anthem of the Covenanter Revolution. It was an emotive occasion. Never before in Scottish history had ordinary working people been able to send such a large body of representatives from their own class to parliament. The Red Clydeside MPs promised much before they departed and much was expected of them. Inevitably there was disappointment with what they managed to deliver. They did push through legislation, particularly in areas like slum clearance and housing, that improved living conditions for at least some of those whom they represented. Yet the revolutionary socialist Elysium that many hoped for stubbornly refused to materialise. For this reason some historians have tended to be dismissive or even scathing about Red Clydeside, but this is to ignore the extraordinary achievements of those who took the campaign all the way from the cobbled slums of Glasgow to the leather benches of government at Westminster. Nor should Red Clydeside simply be considered as an isolated episode in the history of early twentieth century Scotland. A more accurate perspective can only be gained by placing Red Clydeside within the wider context of the history of social protest. This has a long lineage, stretching back to the radical and Chartist movements of the nineteenth century and the Utopian socialism of Robert Owen and his followers. Elements of it can be found in the Covenanter Revolution and in the Reformation Upheaval. Some find traces of it as far back as the end of the thirteenth century in the popular rising led by William Wallace during the Independence Struggle. Today Red Clydeside is perhaps not as widely remembered as it deserves to be, but its legacy continues in other ways. The most powerful manifestation of this was seen as recently as 2005 when a staggering quarter of a million people gathered in Edinburgh alone as part of a nationwide weekend of rallies and demonstrations for the Make Poverty History campaign. This was the biggest mass demonstration in Scottish history. Clearly the long historical tradition of popular social protest of which Red Clydeside was a part is far from being extinguished in Scotland.
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Red Clydeside
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Heartland Heritage Sites Red Clydeside Find out more about Red Clydeside by visiting the heritage sites featured below. |
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The People's Palace
History too often over-emphasises the lives and times of the powerful leaving everyone else left out of the picture. Glasgow's People's Palace seeks to redress the balance by telling the story of the millions of labouring people whose contribution to the world is too easily overlooked by historians. Highlights include the Scottish artist Ken Currie's stunning series of paintings celebrating the long struggle of the Scottish labour movement, stretching from the massacre of the Calton weavers in 1787 through to the struggles of Red Clydeside and up to the present day. Website: |
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The Scottish National War Memorial
War and conflict have impacted heavily on the Scottish nation, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century. In recognition of this the Scottish National War Memorial was commissioned to commemorate all those Scots who have died in conflicts throughout the world since the Great War. Their names are recorded in the books of remembrance within the monument, which is situated on the highest point of the Castle rock in Edinburgh. Designed by the architect Sir Robert Lorimer and opened on 14 July 1927, the project brought together some of Scotland's most gifted artists and craftsmen to create a dignified memorial dedicated to the fallen. Address Edinburgh Castle, Castle Esplanade, Edinburgh, EH1 2NG Opening Times
Summer:
1 April to 31 October Contact 0131 225 9846 Admission Free. Entry included with admission to Edinburgh Castle. Website www.snwm.org |
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The past is the key to the future