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

Literature

The Peril of Conscription, 1915

by J. Bruce Glasier

John Bruce Glasier was a pioneer of the British socialist movement and a founding member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). This pamphlet, written in 1915, is a strong condemnation of the government's introduction of conscription.

In 1882 Glasier joined the SDF and became one of their leading activists in Scotland. In January 1885, Glasier left the Social Democratic Federation and joined the Socialist League. After the Socialist League failed to become a successful working-class party, Glasier and his wife Katherine, joined the recently formed ILP in 1893, becoming ILP chairman in 1900.

Glasier was a strong opponent of British involvement in the first world war and was very critical of socialists who took part in recruitment meetings or encouraged hatred of the German people. John Bruce Glasier died on 4 July, 1920.

Source: Gallacher Memorial Library, Glasgow Caledonian University Special Collections and Archives