Revolt on the Clyde

by William Gallacher

Tanks on the streets, local regiments confined to barracks and the imposition of martial law. This was not Petrograd, but Glasgow in 1919.

Revolt on the Clyde is William Gallacher's eye witness account of these tumultuous events - and more - in an era that helped put the 'Red' into 'Red Clydeside': as the bastion of Scottish socialism. It is the story of establishing works councils, of rent strikes and of the opposition to the First World War, an opposition that seemed poised to usher in a socialist revolution in Scotland.It is also the story of the extraordinary individuals who fashioned those times: of John Maclean and V.I. Lenin - and of Gallacher himself, a working class leader, temperance campaigner, Communist MP, and central force, driving events on the Clyde from 1913-19.

This story continues to inspire, and it maintains its relevance for the present day, as an unsurpassed account of struggle, sacrifice, idealism and industrial militancy. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the twentieth-century history of the left in Britain, and especially Scotland.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Scotland

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1978

About the author

William Gallacher was a Scottish trade unionist, activist and communist. Born in the Irish ghetto of Sneddon in Paisley, he was one of the leading figures of the Shop Stewards' Movement in wartime Glasgow (the 'Red Clydeside' period) and a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He served two terms in the House of Commons as the last Communist Member of Parliament (MP).

Reviews

[Jamie Bookboy Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mandatory reading for any Scottish communist. Fascinating

[Symon Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was both delightful and instructive to read Gallacher's first-hand account of events on Red Clydeside. He writes well. Most of the time, the book is fast-paced and absorbing. At times the story becomes a bit slow, and at times Gallacher seems more interested in addressing conflicts that are going on at the time he was writing rather than the time he was describing. But this doesn't spoil the book. Especially if read in conjunction with other accounts of the time (some of which take very different perspectives), this is a very useful read, as well as an entertaining one.