the world of gayeIF THESE WALLS COULD SPEAK
April 29th 2008 05:51
I have a friend in scotland on My Space who sent me a fascinating bit of history that many people are unaware of. I read it with much interest and thought to myself, what tales old buildings could tell us all. It is the story of an old cinema in a place called Paisley, and The Glen Cinema, and this is the tale:
Seventy-five years ago Scotland witnessed one of its worst human disasters.
On the afternoon of Hogmanay 1929, during a children’s matinee at the Glen Cinema in Paisley, a film reel began to issue thick black smoke from the projection room. The auditorium - packed with 1000 children - filled with smoke.
The panicked youngsters piled up behind the fire exit but couldn’t get out – the collapsible metal gate was locked. The next day, Paisley was stunned by the news that 71 children had been crushed to death in the worst cinema disaster in British history.
Unable to deal with the horror of the accident, the Glen and the memories of those who died there were locked away.
In 2005 a team of archaeologists rediscovered the cinema buried behind the walls of a furniture shop in Paisley’s town centre. The town once again remembers the tragic story. As eyewitnesses recall the horror they were told to forget the people of Paisley commemorate the 75th anniversary of the disaster.
Imagine what a tragedy it must have been to loose so many children from one place, it must have been horrendous. There is even a song about it I found.
The Glen Cinema
* (Danny Kyle)
The men and women frae Paisley toon
And the lassies frae the mill
On Hogmanay nineteen twenty nine
They joked and laughed until
That mournful morn when woe was born
They cry and weep of it still
... ?
... ?
The bairnies played aboot the hoose
Till their mothers cried them ben
Now here, my lamb, 's a piece and jam
And your money for the Glen
The bairnies clapped and cheered aloud
Then ran up to the Glen
And little did their mothers know
They'd ne'er see them again
When the Glen was packed and filled wi' weans
Somebody shouted, Fire!
And in the panic tae get oot
Oh many young lives expired
When the rescuers came tae get them oot
Too late was their call, False alarm!
For the first cry that the bairnies had heard
Had already done its harm
That New Year's night at the Paisley Cross
The town hall bells rang out
No cries of Happy New Year were heard
Just the sound of tears all about
A memory was carved in Paisley that night
You'll hear of it now and again
For men still bow their heads and talk
Of the horror of the Glen
It would be interesting to know if anybody else has some stories about old buildings that are not common knowledge.
Seventy-five years ago Scotland witnessed one of its worst human disasters.
On the afternoon of Hogmanay 1929, during a children’s matinee at the Glen Cinema in Paisley, a film reel began to issue thick black smoke from the projection room. The auditorium - packed with 1000 children - filled with smoke.
The panicked youngsters piled up behind the fire exit but couldn’t get out – the collapsible metal gate was locked. The next day, Paisley was stunned by the news that 71 children had been crushed to death in the worst cinema disaster in British history.
Unable to deal with the horror of the accident, the Glen and the memories of those who died there were locked away.
In 2005 a team of archaeologists rediscovered the cinema buried behind the walls of a furniture shop in Paisley’s town centre. The town once again remembers the tragic story. As eyewitnesses recall the horror they were told to forget the people of Paisley commemorate the 75th anniversary of the disaster.
Imagine what a tragedy it must have been to loose so many children from one place, it must have been horrendous. There is even a song about it I found.
The Glen Cinema
* (Danny Kyle)
The men and women frae Paisley toon
And the lassies frae the mill
On Hogmanay nineteen twenty nine
They joked and laughed until
That mournful morn when woe was born
They cry and weep of it still
... ?
... ?
The bairnies played aboot the hoose
Till their mothers cried them ben
Now here, my lamb, 's a piece and jam
And your money for the Glen
The bairnies clapped and cheered aloud
Then ran up to the Glen
And little did their mothers know
They'd ne'er see them again
When the Glen was packed and filled wi' weans
Somebody shouted, Fire!
And in the panic tae get oot
Oh many young lives expired
When the rescuers came tae get them oot
Too late was their call, False alarm!
For the first cry that the bairnies had heard
Had already done its harm
That New Year's night at the Paisley Cross
The town hall bells rang out
No cries of Happy New Year were heard
Just the sound of tears all about
A memory was carved in Paisley that night
You'll hear of it now and again
For men still bow their heads and talk
Of the horror of the Glen
It would be interesting to know if anybody else has some stories about old buildings that are not common knowledge.
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