Interview with Willie Gallacher, by Edmond Wright, BBC Scotland
TitleInterview with Willie Gallacher, by Edmond Wright, BBC Scotland
ReferenceTAPE/174/1
Date
10-Jan-62
Scope and ContentWillie Gallacher recalls the 1919 George Square riots, Glasgow, meetings and discussions with Lenin. Interviewed by Edmond (or Esmond) Wright, BBC Scotland.
The interviewer sounds quite hostile to Willie, who remains very good-tempered and laughs quite often during the interview.
He states he was in jail four times altogether. He was in the Calton Jail for twelve months in 1916, and returned there in 1919, with Manny Shinwell, after the “Battle” of George Square in Glasgow.
He said they should have staged a workers’ revolution then, but they hadn’t sufficient political understanding, or sufficient political unity for such an undertaking. If the troops in Maryhill Barracks had come out in support there would have been a big difference, but they were confined to barracks and troops brought in from England.
He was scornful of “intellectuals”, meaning those “who didn’t identify themselves with a particular class, but stood aside and above, looking down on the unfortunate creatures down below, and seeking to guide them in different ways”.
He was in Parliament from 1935 to 1950, and been described as being the most popular Member of Parliament, which he found very amusing. He said he had had very many good friends on the Labour benches, and also had some friends on the other side.
He talked more in prison where silence was the rule than he talked outside.
He still spoke at factory gates, in public halls or anywhere where a meeting was organised.
There is a Word document which gives a fuller account of the interview.
The WCML contains many works by Willie Gallacher in its collection.
The interviewer sounds quite hostile to Willie, who remains very good-tempered and laughs quite often during the interview.
He states he was in jail four times altogether. He was in the Calton Jail for twelve months in 1916, and returned there in 1919, with Manny Shinwell, after the “Battle” of George Square in Glasgow.
He said they should have staged a workers’ revolution then, but they hadn’t sufficient political understanding, or sufficient political unity for such an undertaking. If the troops in Maryhill Barracks had come out in support there would have been a big difference, but they were confined to barracks and troops brought in from England.
He was scornful of “intellectuals”, meaning those “who didn’t identify themselves with a particular class, but stood aside and above, looking down on the unfortunate creatures down below, and seeking to guide them in different ways”.
He was in Parliament from 1935 to 1950, and been described as being the most popular Member of Parliament, which he found very amusing. He said he had had very many good friends on the Labour benches, and also had some friends on the other side.
He talked more in prison where silence was the rule than he talked outside.
He still spoke at factory gates, in public halls or anywhere where a meeting was organised.
There is a Word document which gives a fuller account of the interview.
The WCML contains many works by Willie Gallacher in its collection.
Extent1 Cassette tape
Physical descriptionNWA copy
LanguageEnglish
Persons keywordGallacher, Willie, Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich, Wright, Esmond, Communist Party of Great Britain, British Broadcasting Corporation
SubjectOral history, Riots
Conditions governing accessOpen
Levelfile
Normal locationZ (Room 24)