Gorbals rat massacre brothers are reunited
THEY had been apart for more than 40 years, but a chance glance at an old photograph has led to two brothers finally being reunited.
Childhood memories sparked a conversation about the kind of things Billy McDonald and his siblings got up to in 1950s Glasgow.
He came across a photograph of the “Florence Street massacre” in the Gorbals from 1956 and spotted his brother Michael.
One particular evening led to what was known as the massacre of Florence Street when children armed with wooden poles and pickaxes drove the vermin out of the street. The day- long killing spree in July 1956 saw the boys chase and kill 120 rats.
And that moment was caught by a Herald and Times photographer who took an image of the youngsters just after their famous victory.
However, Mr McDonald and his brother Michael lost touch and the pair had not seen one another for around 40 years. Just days after an appeal ran in the Glasgow Times, someone came forward to say they knew where Michael was. And we are delighted to reveal that they have been put in touch with one another and have finally met.
Mr McDonald, now 82, had been looking through nostalgia site Lost Glasgow’s Facebook page and was telling his daughter- in- law, Lesley Hatrick, what he and his eight siblings used to get up to when the photograph jumped out at him.
He had been reminiscing about the rat run adventures when they found the image which showed Mr McDonald’s younger brother Michael. Also in the picture are Gorbals boys John Kinnaird, William McMann, and Dickie Dawson.
Mr McDonald lived in Florence Street, with eight brothers and sisters and their parents. The picture also stirred a desire to find his family. And, after more than 40 years apart, he asked for help to find his brother. All it took was for one person to come forward and,
thankfully for the McDonalds, they did.
Mr McDonald’s daughter- inlaw Lesley was contacted by a lady in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, who thought she knew a Michael McDonald and that it could be him who they were looking for.
A message was passed to him and he and his brother Billy were finally reunited. Adhering to social distancing guidelines, the pair met up for the first time in decades.
Michael, who is now 78, said: “I couldn’t believe I was going to meet my brother after all these years. It was such a surreal feeling. We talked for hours as we have a lot of catching up to do after all this time, but we will always stay in touch now. I have my big brother back in my life.”
Mr McDonald was over the moon when he heard Michael had been found.
He said: “Needless to say we won’t be losing touch again.”
I have my big brother back in my life