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But times - and fortunes - change. At the turn of the twentieth century British industry and commerce were losing out to their rivals and in 1908 The Times reported that over 16,000 people in Govan were on the verge of starvation. Various radical and left wing organisations grew in strength during this period and leaders such as John Maclean drew huge crowds to rallies and demonstrations. The First World War eased some problems, exacerbated others and created new ones. There were fights against rent rises and various strikes took place in big engineering factories such as Albion Motors and Beardmore`s and these gave rise to the working-class leaders known as the `Red Clydesiders` and influential organisations such as the Clyde Workers` Committee. Social unrest continued after the war, with one of the most serious events being `Black Friday` (31 January 1919) when troops were brought onto the streets after a huge demonstration.
This article is based on the guidebook "The Glasgow Guide". |
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The Govan Graving Docks are a very obvious reminder of the decline of the shipbuilding industry. When these were built in the late nineteenth century they were state-of-the-art dry dock facilities which could take the world`s largest vessels. Sadly, after a long period of neglect they await some new function. | |
Although the shipyards were busy in the postwar period building much-needed replacements for ships sunk during the hostilities, they were increasingly unable to compete with foreign competitors and the whole Clydeside industry faced a great crisis (see picture). This situation was mirrorred by many other industries in the West of Scotland, due in great measure to the lack of investment over many decades. And so a once-great world-class centre of engineering excellence slowly withered, leaving today only a handful of big factories which are carrying on the proud tradition of first-class workmanship that was so prevalent a century ago. |
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