Bridgeton purple and crown flute band taken in belfast 1935 . Billy Fullerton is in the front row with his arms folded. When he died in 1962 thousands attended his funeral and grown men wept.The Penny Mobs was a name used by the press to describe the early street gangs in Glasgow during the early 1870's, they gave rise to prominent gangs of the early 20th century such as The Tongs,The Tois, The Govans, the Powery Gang, the Soo-Siders, the Billy Boys, the Norman Conks, the Rednecks, the Baltic Fleet, the Black Diamond Gang, the Black Hands, the Nudes, the Ruchill Boys and The Monks.
This was my Penny Mob "The Killamory Brabblers" we were tough and wore big hats cos we were mental.In Northern Ireland there is this song from a couple of generations back called "We are the Billy boys" its always been assumed in Northern Ireland that its about King William of Orange but no, it was from a Protestant Glasgow street gang led by a man called Billy Fullerton.
It has been adapted all over the UK especially during football matches to slag off the other side. Rangers football club in Scotland has taken measures to stop the singing of said song and others on their grounds by so-called 90 minute bigots, these people do not hold sectarian beliefs but nonetheless sing songs at football matches which are sectarian and simply join in with the rest of the crowd.
Hullo, Hullo
We are the Billy Boys
Hullo, Hullo
You'll know us by our noise
We're up to our knees in Fenian blood
Surrender or you'll die
For we are
The (insert yer home place here) Boys
I lived in Glasgow years back when it was known as the " Second City of the Empire" and everything was covered in a thick layer of soot. You can compare some of the people back then and now to the sectarian mongs of Northern Ireland, anti-Catholic or anti-Protestant.
Billy Fullerton was seen by some as a Robin Hood type of character who only wanted to defend his fellow Protestants from the violent attacks from Catholics, he set up his own version of a Welfare state helping families of those in prison and paying the fines of gang members. The police had another version of events and said there was no point in fining gang members as they would just extort money from shopkeepers, publicans and passers-by from the communities they claimed to be protecting .
Billy Fullerton or cunt breath as I would call him, ears like Spock.The truth was most of the Billy Boys just hated Catholics and wanted to fight, beating up Taigs and Rangers football club were the two main joys for many at that time and it wasn't just poor working class folk, members also came from comfortable middle class families too, exchanging comfort for excitement.
The Billy Boys had 800 members at its height during the 1920s and 1930s, then Fullerton went on to join Oswald Mosely’s British Fascists and started a Glasgow branch of the Ku Klux Klan.
Not having had a large black population I just think its interesting the evolution of hate from one group to the next. Sectarianism,racism or Ghey bashing all stems from Xenophobia and resides deep in the tribal DNA of our past. For the good of the tribe you kill the weak or the different , distrust those who are not us, intellect and reasoning is the only thing that over rides prehistoric programming.
The gangs are still around, now populated by Neds, Chavs, Chags, Kevs, Scallies,Spides or White Trash whatever you want to call them.
Now they pick fights in Interweb chatrooms with challenges like this from some Ned's bedroom in the North of Glasgow: "Johnny... Mad Skwad Number Fucker One… Kick tae kill… Stab for fun!." In the South of the city it is answered: Pogo, of the Craigton Goucho, replies: "Ya wee shite, u-r getin bladed… cum when yir ready!"
A very eloquent lot that have their own vernacular that produces some of the finest poetry in the world, "Ode to me Ma" Slashin jaws, kickin baws, puntin jellies, and stabbin bellies. Quite Beautiful in a way.
Other expressions used by the gangs include:
The gangs are still around, now populated by Neds, Chavs, Chags, Kevs, Scallies,Spides or White Trash whatever you want to call them.
Now they pick fights in Interweb chatrooms with challenges like this from some Ned's bedroom in the North of Glasgow: "Johnny... Mad Skwad Number Fucker One… Kick tae kill… Stab for fun!." In the South of the city it is answered: Pogo, of the Craigton Goucho, replies: "Ya wee shite, u-r getin bladed… cum when yir ready!"
A very eloquent lot that have their own vernacular that produces some of the finest poetry in the world, "Ode to me Ma" Slashin jaws, kickin baws, puntin jellies, and stabbin bellies. Quite Beautiful in a way.
Other expressions used by the gangs include:
"plunge" --- stab
"puntin’" --- sell drugs
"sumbuzz" --- excitement
"buckets" --- pipe for smoking cannabis
"heavystunna" --- good looking girl
"ho" --- tart, as the expression applied to women
"M8" --- mate "mukka" --- friend
"shoutoot" --- message to friends and allies
"burdz" --- girlfriends
"skeem" --- a gang turf
"jiggy" --- the dancing
"swatch" --- take a look
"rapid cunt" --- gang members who run from fights.
In 1931 Captain (later Sir) Percy Sillitoe was appointed Chief Constable of Glasgow, he hired the biggest meanest police officers he could to combat the Glasgow gangs, he was very successful and became known as the "Elliot Ness of Scotland." World War II also helped to shatter the gangs too with men being called up to fight for their country.
15 comments:
Fascinated round up of malice.
There are no good guys when it goes sectarian like this and I like to know the history rather than just blindly following.
Ah, Mister Knudsen the history teacher returns.
If only school had been like this.
Please sir, can we have some more?
It was a difficult one to write as there is a lot to it. If this was school you'd be caned everyday by me on yer bare arse and maybe spanked and oiled up.
Ah, Knudsen tis so great to learn history at your knee...and twasn't me that show'd em on the lil dolly where yaz touched me.
Actually, school was a bit like that.
More tits, please. No, history. I meant history.
Amazing that something like the Klan would be exported. Of all the things America could share...
"Billy Boy" is the brand name of condoms here. Come in different colours.
So Billyboy was a kind of early Sonny Barger.
(Sonny is a philospher now:
http://sonnybarger.com/index3.html)
I am not that familiar with the story of Moseley's black shirts and his beliefs, always thought of it as a pretty ephemeral thing.
They must have been very proud on their way to Duenkirchen ...
BoHymen I only touched ya where you asked me to.
Dive I didn't take you to be a Public school boy.
Gimme A man after midnight I'll try for some historical tits.
Robyn well they already hated Catholics and they were into Hitler so you might as well throw in some racism too.
mago Sonny barger American Legend, well thats the first I heard of him, does he not have his own brand of cigarettes? at least Fullerton mugs you honestly.
Mosely was voted 20th centurys worst Briton, all we needed was Hitler's lap dog posioning british minds during the war, just as well they interned him.
The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, thus my love and adoration for history, especially that of the fighting lot. I come from a long line of pugilists. I don't box, I brawl.
Well done, Old Knudsen. This post offers an interesting history of the "social club" or gangland history. I like this kind of stuff, especially learning about the slang.
DBS working class people work hard and play hard but I have no time for the bigots.
medbh A condensed version for the blog, there is so much more to it.
What would these chappies have done to the brave young gangsta that recently offed an eleven year old youngster in Liverpool?
feck me, am I the only blogger to voice an opinion on that?
The kid that shot him is Glasgow gang material.
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