2018/11/01 by Gordon J Barclay · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Scottish History and National Identity #Irish and British Studies #World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact #Battle #Politics #Mythology #Law #George (robot) #Power (physics) #Government (linguistics) #Charge (physics) #Spanish Civil War #Nationalism #Political science #History #Sociology #Ancient history #Art history #Classics
paper · doi:10.3366/jshs.2018.0248
openalex publication_date 2018/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
On 31 January 1919 a demonstration in Glasgow in support of an unofficial strike for a 40-hour working week descended into violence, the ‘Battle of George Square’, probably set off by an ill-judged police baton charge. Troops called by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire began to arrive late that evening, and six tanks arrived on the following Monday. The ‘Battle’ and the subsequent military deployment have entered the mythology of Scottish socialism and, more recently, of Scottish nationalism. The strike had an overtly political aim: to force the Government to step in to regulate industry. Many in government believed that it had a more profoundly political, or even revolutionary aim. No detailed account of the troop deployment has yet been written, and in this gap mythology has flourished. This paper is intended to fill that gap and to challenge the myths.