Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

Events

Soldiers guarding entrance to Princes Docks, Glasgow in the days following 'Bloody Friday', Feb 1919

Photograph showing armed English soldiers on sentry duty at Glasgow's Princes Docks in the days following the Battle of George Square on 31 January 1919. The English troops deployed in Glasgow were mainly young conscripts aged between 17 and 19, as can be clearly seen from the photograph.

An estimated 10,000 English troops 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.

The Scottish troops were confined to their barracks during this period, with the government unwilling to deploy them against any attempted revolutionary action by their fellow countrymen, fearing that they could be won over to the cause of the workers.