Herbert Morrison (left), wartime Minister of Home Security, discussing air raid precautions with Lord Provost Patrick Dollan during the Second World War. Issues claiming their attention would have included civil defence, blackout regulations and the provision of air raid shelters.
Regarded as a left wing firebrand in his early days in politics, Patrick Dollan joined the Independent Labour Party in 1908 and became a city councillor in 1913. In 1916 he was sentenced to three months hard labour for anti-war activities, and was a leading figure on "Red Clydeside" after the war.
When James Maxton led the ILP out of the Labour Party in 1932, Dollan held on to a section of the membership for the Labour Party. He led the party to its first victory in the council elections in 1933. As City Treasurer he balanced the books, confounding fears of socialist extravagance. Dollan was Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1938 to 1941. After the war, he was the first chairman of the East Kilbride Development Corporation.
Reference: Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection, BA vol.3, p.15a
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
air raid precautions, air raid shelters, air raids, blackout, blitz, bombing, civil defence, councillors, East Kilbride Development Corporation, First World War, ILP, Independent Labour Party, Labour Party, lord provosts, Red Clydeside, Second World War, socialism, socialists, treasurers