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The Glasgow razor gangs were violent gangs that existed in the East End and South Side of Glasgow, Scotland in the late 1920s and 1930s and were named after their weapon of choice. H. Kingsley Long's novel No Mean City (1935) contains a fictionalised account of these gangs.
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The tradition of gang formation in Glasgow stretched back at least to the 1880s, and gang rivalries appear to have derived a momentum of their own during the late-nineteenth century, irrespective of short-term economic trends, both in Glasgow and in other British municipalities. One of the original gangs to coin the Glasgow smile was the St Mungies Warriors in 1925.
Religious sectarianism had been rife in Scotland for centuries; however, the centre of it all was in Glasgow. Originally, Glasgow had been mainly Protestant, but in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, large numbers of Roman Catholic Irish immigrants came to the west coast of Scotland; drawn by jobs in the local industries.
Protestants became irritated at the increasing unemployment rate and blamed the influx of Catholics. Between November 1930 and May 1935, Glasgow's unemployment rate was between 25 and 33%. While it would be misleading to claim that mass unemployment was the sole cause of gang conflicts in inter-war Glasgow, the advent of mass unemployment does appear to have led to two significant new patterns in gang formation. First, as unemployment peaked locally in the early-1930s and long-term unemployment posed increasing concern, it became more common for young men in their twenties, and even thirties, to remain active members of street gangs, some of which appear to have provided an important focus for jobless men.
In the 1920s, Glasgow became known for its gang violence, particularly in the Gorbals area, leading to the portrayal of Glasgow as one of Britain's most violent cities. Relations between the gangs and the police were violent on both sides, as police officers and local youths contested ownership of the streets. Throughout the 1930s, the police in Glasgow maintained a network of paid informers, including bar staff employed in public houses in the poorer districts of the South Side and the East End, in order to gather information concerning the planned activities of local street gangs.
Confrontations between gangs and police officers frequently followed police attempts to take gang members into custody. For example, in July 1939, a major disturbance erupted in the Gorbals as the Beehive Boys and the South Side Stickers reportedly joined forces to confront police officers who were taking two prisoners to the police station. 'Hundreds' of local people gathered at the main street corners, and police reinforcements were stoned as they arrived in Thistle Street in squad cars and vans. As the disturbance spread, shop windows were smashed, and police officers were forced to stand guard to prevent looting.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, most of Glasgow's street gangs were territorially based in working-class districts. This was reflected in the choice of names such as the Bridgeton Billy Boys, the Calton Entry, and the South Side Stickers. The Beehive Boys took their name from a draper's shop situated at the corner of Thistle Street and Cumberland Street in the Gorbals.
Many gangs were active in the city; however, two of the most infamous were the former Penny Mobs, the Bridgeton Billy Boys and the Norman Conks. By the end of the 1930s, more gangs such as the Beehive Boys, the San Toi, Tongs, the Fleet, Govan Team, Den Toi, Bal Toi, Drummy, Provy, Aggro, Skinheads, Tiny Torran Toi and Bingo Boys had come into existence. [1] [2]
Glasgow gangs were divided between those that were solely territorial and those that combined territorial and sectarian allegiances, such as the Protestant Bridgeton (or Billy) Boys who frequently clashed with the Roman Catholic Norman Conks in the East End of the city. The Billy Boys would meet at Bridgeton Cross, their claimed territory. The Norman Conks would gather in a street that was roughly half a kilometre south. The fact that the two were so close geographically caused many fights.
The Billy Boys were founded and led by Billy Fullerton, a former member of the British Fascists. Fullerton also later became a member of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. The Billy Boys adopted a militaristic style of behaviour, marching on parades, forming their own bands, composing their own songs and music, and all dressed in a similar manner. [3] The Billy Boys also formed a junior group whose members were teenagers called the Derry Boys.
In the early 1930s, gang numbers started to decrease, mainly due to the work of the chief constable of the City of Glasgow Police, Sir Percy Sillitoe. Brought in due to his work with similar gangs in Sheffield, his tactic was to recruit big, strong men from rural areas and the Scottish Highlands. [1] Due also to the start of World War II, the Billy boys went into decline in the late 1930s.
In the late 1960s a moral panic swept Glasgow, with media and police attention focused on new youth gangs that were younger, more violent and more dangerous than the Glasgow razor gangs of the 1920s and 1930s. [4] By the turn of the 21st century, Glasgow had the highest number of street gangs in the UK. In 2006, there were as many 'young teams' in Greater Glasgow as in London, the UK capital, which is geographically six times as large. The numbers of young people involved in gangs and the violence inflicted in statistical terms reduced significantly over the next decade, [5] due to various factors including successful initiatives to engage with gang members by organisations such as the Violence Reduction Unit. [6] However, organised crime groups remained a significant problem in the city. [7]
The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportunities of Glasgow. At its peak, during the 1930s, the wider Gorbals district had swollen in population to an estimated 90,000 residents, giving the area a very high population density of around 40 000/km2. Redevelopment after WWII has taken many turns, and the area's population is substantially smaller today. The Gorbals was also home to 16 high-rise flat blocks; only six are standing as of 2024, and two are planned for demolition around Easter time 2025.
Bridgeton is a district to the east of Glasgow city centre. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is bounded by Glasgow Green to the west, Dalmarnock to the east and south, Calton to the north-west at Abercromby Street/London Road and Broad street to the north-east.
"Billy Boys", also titled "The Billy Boys", is a loyalist song from Glasgow, sung to the tune of "Marching Through Georgia." It originated in the 1920s as the signature song of one of the Glasgow razor gangs led by Billy Fullerton and later became viewed to reflect the long-running sectarian religious hatred directed by some Protestants against Catholics in the city. It is associated in particular with Rangers F.C.
Tongland is a local nickname for the area of Calton, Glasgow controlled in the 1960s by a violent Scottish teenage gang called the Real Calton Tongs. The Tongs financed themselves using a protection racket, levying money on shops within their territory, and they marked that territory out in graffiti with their slogan "Tongs Ya Bass".
Barrowfield is a neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, close to Celtic Park, home of Celtic F.C., which lies immediately to the east. It is bounded by the A89 road (Gallowgate) to the north and the A74 to the south.
A Glasgow smile is a wound caused by making a cut from the corners of a victim's mouth up to the ears, leaving a scar in the shape of a smile.
The City of Glasgow Union Railway – City Union Line, also known as the Tron Line, was a railway company founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1864 to build a line connecting the railway systems north and south of the River Clyde, and to build a central passenger terminus and a general goods depot for the city. The through line, running from south-west to north-east across the city, opened in 1870–71, and the passenger terminal was St Enoch railway station, opened in 1876. The railway bridge across the Clyde was the first in the city.
Gang-related organised crime in the United Kingdom is concentrated around the cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool and regionally across the West Midlands region, south coast and northern England, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. With regard to street gangs the cities identified as having the most serious gang problems, which accounted for 65% of firearm homicides in England and Wales, were London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Glasgow in Scotland also has a historical gang culture with the city having as many teenage gangs as London, which had six times the population, in 2008.
Razor gangs were criminal gangs who dominated the Sydney crime scene in the 1920s. After the passage of the Pistol Licensing Act 1927, the Parliament of New South Wales imposed severe penalties for carrying concealed firearms and handguns. In response, Sydney gangland figures began to use razors as their preferred weapons.
Shawfield Stadium is a venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow.
Peter McDougall is a Scottish television playwright whose major success was in the 1970s.
The Penny Mobs was the names used by the press to describe the early street gang active in Glasgow, Scotland during the early 1870s. As the court system offered heavy fines as an alternative to imprisonment, gang members were often freed after a collection from the gang at a "penny a head" thus earning its name.
Glasgow Corporation Tramways were formerly one of the largest urban tramway systems in Europe. Over 1000 municipally-owned trams served the city of Glasgow, Scotland, with over 100 route miles by 1922. The system closed in 1962 and was the last city tramway in Great Britain.
A ned is a hooligan, lout or petty criminal in Scotland.
The Norman Conks were a large Catholic sectarian street gang active in Glasgow. It was one of the popular Glasgow razor gangs, and was active from the 1880s to the 1960s, with its territory and most of their members based about the Catholic area of Norman Street in Bridgeton. They were initially a penny mob, but evolved into a larger, influential gang. They were often involved in street fighting with the Protestant Billy Boys of Bridgeton, but were on friendlier terms with the Calton Tongs who were also mostly Catholic. The gang included young women.
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racketeering, illegal bookmaking, and control of gambling. Members wore signature outfits that typically included tailored jackets, lapelled overcoats, buttoned waistcoats, silk scarves, bell-bottom trousers, leather boots, and peaked flat caps. Contrary to the television series of the same name, it is unlikely that they had razor blades sewn into these caps, instead gaining their name from the way they wore them with the cap tilted so that the peak covered one eye.
Patrick Carraher was a notorious criminal from Glasgow.
Bridgeton Waverley Football Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Originally founded in 1904, they competed in the Junior grade from 1923 until folding in 1962.
Andrew Mark Davies, FRHistS, FRSA is a British historian. A professor at the University of Liverpool, he specialises in the history of crime, policing and violence in modern Britain.