A-Z Of Great Scots
Socialist Mary Barbour, who took on greedy landlords during the First World War
LOOK at any old photo of Glasgow tenement life in years gone by, and you’ll spot She Who Must Be Obeyed.
Every row of flats had at least one – the rolling-pin-wielding woman with that unmistakable “don’t mess with me” glint in her eye. The most inimitable of them all was Mary Barbour.
During the First World War, Mary lived in
Govan. As thousands flocked to the city for jobs, greedy landlords dramatically increased rents, leaving many tenants destitute.
But Mary, a staunch socialist and a member of Kinning Park Co-operative Women’s Guild, knew the power of community spirit.
She established the South Govan branch of the Glasgow Women’s Housing Association and, in May 1915, led Govan on a rent strike.
The bailiffs came knocking, but they were no match for Mary and her furious band of broads, soon nicknamed Mrs Barbour’s Army.
Each tenement close had a designated watchwoman who sat with a bell, waiting for officers to appear to evict non-paying tenants.
At a ring of the bell, others would rush to her side armed with flour bombs, ready to throw the officers into the rubbish bins, or pull down their trousers – an embarrassment that prompted a hasty retreat.
The strikes were so effective, they spread to other parts of the city and to towns across the UK. By October 1915, 15,000 tenants across Glasgow were refusing to pay their rent. The turning point came the following month, when 18 people were summoned to Glasgow Sheriff Court to be forcefully evicted
– so Mary led 20,000 tenants on a march to the courthouse. The sheriff called David Lloyd George, at that time the
“Pulling down their trousers prompted a hasty retreat
minister of munitions, who promised the government would put a stop to opportunistic landlords.
The 1915 Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (War Restrictions) Act was passed within weeks, freezing all rents at their pre-war rate, and Mary became a local hero.