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Mark McManus
Mark McManus

Glasgow District Subway
Glasgow District Subway

Clarion Van

People's Palace, Social History File

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Clarion Van

A man said to be John Maclean (1879-1923) with Clarion van No 1.

The Clarion Movement originated in Manchester in 1891, with the publication of the Clarion, a cheap weekly paper intended to provide a platform for Socialist news and propaganda. In 1894 the Clarion Cycling Club was founded in Birmingham and organisations such as the Clarion Scouts, Drama Clubs, Music Clubs, Camping Clubs and other groups soon followed.

The idea of Clarion Women's Vans was put forward in the newspaper early in 1896. Female volunteers toured the country in them, holding open-air meetings, selling Socialist literature and handed out leaflets.

Van no 1 was named after Caroline Martyn (1867-1896), a well-known Socialist lecturer and the woman said to have founded Glasgow's first Socialist Sunday School.

Reference: TEMP.2039.951

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums

Keywords:
Clarion clubs, Clarion Cycling Clubs, Clarion Movement, Clarion Scouts, Clarion van No 1, Clarion Women's Vans, horse-drawn vans, horses, Socialism, Socialist lecturers, Socialist propaganda, Socialist Sunday Schools, Socialists, women



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