This weeks Blantyre “decades” video is the roaring 1920’s. A big decade for Blantyre saving Shuttle Row and honouring David Livingstone. Many homes were built that decade, including the “Crescents” and following Lanarkshire’s slum clearances.
We were still very much a mining and farming community and with an economic depression, life was tough for most people. Strikes were common, so sadly was unemployment. Some of our streets were lit by electrcity for the first time, although most lighting remained gaslit. Whilst those times were hard, we still took great pride in our beautiful surroundings, finding time for recreation and community events.
This is also the earliest I can screen local movie footage. So let’s go back, to a time when many children still ran barefoot, when several bings dominated our skyline, a final decade for Blantyre’s trams. Please share. Enjoy.
Great 1920’s photos. My grandfather Tom Dolan’ s passport is from 1928. It represents the sad times when so many people emigrated from Blantyre to other lands.