Our Stories

Louise – If I Could Go Back

If I had the power to go back home and back to that house at the end of the block ….

The house that was home when I was a kid, I know that I would love it more than I did.

If I could be back there at my mum’s knee and hear her once again all the things she told me.

I’d listen as I never listened before for she knew so well what life had in store for me and all the advice she used her voice to give me

I’ll remember her as long as I live but it didn’t seem important then…. What I’d give just to live it over again.

What I’d give for the chance I once had to do so much more for my mother – to give her more joy a little less pain, more sunshine and a little less rain.

As the years roll on we cannot go back whether we were born in a mansion or a flat

But we can start right now …… in the hour that’s here to do something more for ones we hold dear.

Anne Blind Panic 1929 Great Glen Disaster

Have you heard the saying there’s no smoke without fire? Wrong!

James Hattrick was a lovely boy of 7 with brown hair and brown eyes. He was delighted to get a football from Santa on Xmas day 1911 as he was like every other boy football daft. As he was an only child he would go out and play with his school friends and neighbours whenever possible.

A week later it was Hogmanay and James’s mum was doing the cleaning of the two room and kitchen tenement house in Caledonia Street where they stayed, just the 3 of them. All housewives in those days cleaned on Hogmanay from top to bottom of the house as it was bad luck to bring in the New Year with a speck of dust and everything had to be shinning bright as a new pin. To keep James from under her feet Mrs H had given James 6d to go to the cinema or pictures as it was called then with some of his friends because it was so cold outside. Charlie Chaplin was showing in the Glen Cinema that day but the new football was still the favourite thing to play with as the race course was so near and therefore James went to play football with 3 of his pals. You didn’t feel the cold when you played football and you imagined you were a St. Mirren star player. Oh how James loved playing the game.

At around 5 o’clock which was later than the boys had ever stayed out in the cold weather they all made for home. James saw his mother standing at the mouth of the close with 2 other mums wiping their eyes. On seeing young James she rushed up to him saying softly “Oh my baby boy I can’t believe you are safe and didn’t go to the pictures then.” “No mum I wanted to play football” James said. His mother clasped him tightly to her as if she would never let him go, tears of happiness running down her face. James was not sure what all the fuss was about and couldn’t understand this strange reaction.

It had not taken long for the people of Paisley to find out about the Glen Cinema Disaster where 69 children had perished and 40 more badly injured. Yes word had spread like wildfire about the tragedy. The projector in the cinema had started to smoke and somebody had seen it and shouted fire. Everyone panicked and made for the door and all the small children were either crushed underfoot or through smoke inhalation collapsed and been trampled to death. Men outside had climbed up the one story building and smashed and opened the windows pulling out some lucky ones to safety. However unfortunately not enough children made it to safety.

Years later many parents would tell their children about the tragedy and warn them never to panic in a fire. James went on to meet a lovely girl Helen and got married and had a lovely daughter Janette Elspeth. He always thanked the good Lord that he had played football at the race course that Hogmanay afternoon. It’s a pity the Council took 80 years to build a memorial stone at Dunn Square with all the children’s names that perished in the Glen cinema.