Historian
Gang members prided themselves on appearance, wearing suits and looking dapper
“There was a big problem with unemployment in Glasgow. In places like Calton and Bridgeton, thousands of young men were left with no job, no money and lots of spare time. This led to them hanging about on corners, getting drunk, stealing and resorting to violence. There was nothing else for them to do.
“I think the gang culture was worse in Glasgow in this era due to overcrowding in the tenements. In cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, they lived in Coronation Street-type terraces so, when they congregated at the end of the road, there wasn’t that many of them. When gangs got together in Glasgow to protect their areas, there were dozens of them.”
Davies, who wrote City Of Gangs: Glasgow And The Rise Of The British Gangster, said it’s not surprising some mugshots show the men quite smartly dressed. He added: “Being in a gang, you wanted to be noticed and fashion played a big part in standing out. Gang members prided themselves on appearance, wearing suits and looking dapper. It was all part of their craving for recognition and status. “The cult novel No Mean City by H Kingsley Long and Alexander McArthur made the notion of Glasgow having razor gangs popular. “Gangs tended to favour knives, kn bayonets and small sm daggers they would wo fashion in the shipyards. shi Accounts of trialst and police records reco from the time revealed reve they’d have additional add pockets s ewewn into thei r trousers trou to conceal such weapons.”