The Glen Cinema - Renfrewshire Heritage by the Urban Historian

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Paisley’s Black Hogmanay

On the 31st December 1929 everything was as it should have been in Paisley until the afternoon matinee at the Glen Cinema on the corner of High Street and Gilmour Street.

It is estimated that around 700 children had paid to see the aftertnoon matinee “The Crowd”. Each film then was projected using several film spools, and when one was changed and taken to a seperate room for rewinding, something happened. sone reqound it was placed in its tin canister and began to to emit smoke. The projection assitant attempted to get it out of the building, but found his closest exit locked shut. He left the canister to seek help and by the time he returned the passway was filling with the smoke and fumes. It began to make its way into the cinema itself and someone cried out “Fire”.

A panick led to the children scrambling to find exits, to find all of the exits closed, some jumped from the balcony landing on other below, while those who had reached the exits found themselces at the front a large crowd and were being crushed against the doors.

In all 71 children from the age of 18 months old up to 16 died in the cinema that afternoon, or just afterwards in hospital.

Many of the children were buried at Hawkhead cemtery in a mass burial while others were buried in family lairs elsewhere.

The list below, compiled from lists published in newspapers in Wales and Dublin along with the names on the Hawkehad memorial shows how the Tragedy affected the whole town. Of the 71, only 1 child came from outwith the area: Hugh Blue of Boghead in Beith Ayrshire.

1	ROBERT	ADAMS	10	42 Thread Street
2	ROBERT	ALEXANDER	6½	98 Abercorn Street, Paisley
3	JOHN	BELL		26 Kilnside Rd
4	WILLIAM	BLACK
5	HUGH	BLUE		Boghead, Beith
6	JOHN	BOWES	10	11 Camphill, Paisley
7	DAVID	BOYD	8	61 Camphill, Paisley
8	CAROLINE	BRAIN		6 Moncrief Street, Paisley
9	LILY	BUCHANAN	5	10 Oakshaw Brae, Paisley
10	JOHN	CAIRNS	10	38 Gordon Street, Paisley
11	DANIEL	CORBETT		53 Canal Street, Paisley
12	ELIZABETH	CORRICAN		15 Maxwelton Rd, Paisley
13	ACNES	COYLE		9 Shortroods, Paisley
14	ROBERT	CRAIG		10 Underwood Rd, Paisley
15	FRANCIS	CURRAN		2 Glasgow Rd, Paisley
16	ELIZABETH	DEMPSTER		8 Anchor Buildings, Paisley
17	LEAH	DIXON	11	34 New Street, Paisley
18	MARY	DOLAN	8	6 Moncrief Street, Paisley
19	GEORGE	ELLIOTT	8½	11 Neilston Rd, Paisley
20	HENRY	ELLIOTT	9½	60 Causeyside Street, Paisley
21	ELIZABETH	FINLAY	9	6 Glen Street, Paisley
22	ENSO	FIORI	6	8 Silk Street, Paisley
23	WILLIAM	FITCH	7	11 Storie Street, Paisley
24	JANET	FITCH	10	11 Storie Street, Paisley
25	JAMES	GATHERER	6	84 Abercorn Street, Paisley
26	MARGARET	GIBSON	8	34 Underwood Rd, Paisley
27	JOHN	GIELTY	8	13 Barclay Street, Paisley
28	JAMES	GIELTY	6	13 Barclay Street, Paisley
29	NORMAN	GILLIES		158 George Street, Paisley
30	JOHN	GOODWIN	9	10 Underwood Rd, Paisley
31	HENRY	GREEN	4½	7 West Street, Paisley
32	MARY	GREEN		19 Cochran Street, Paisley
33	ARCHIBALD	GROGAN	6½	84 Abercorn Street, Paisley
34	ANNIE	HAMILTON	7	22 Incle Street, Paisley
35	GEORCE	HAMMOND	6	17 Smithhill Street, Paisley
36	ELIZABETH	HART		15 Smithhill Street, Paisley
37	PETER	HOUSTON	9	24 Mill Street, Paisley
38	THOMAS	HOWARD	9	3 Garthland Lane, Paisley
39	JULIA	IRVINE	8	6 Hunter Street, Paisley
40	WILLIAM	IRVINE	6	10 Glen Street, Paisley
41	THOMAS	JACKSON	9	10 New Street, Paisley
42	JAMES	JOHNSTON	12	6 Glen Street, Paisley
43	GEORGE	KENNEDY	13	28 Canal street, Paisley
44	THOMAS	KILKIE	5	4 Shortroods Rd, Paisley
45	HELEN	KILKIE	10	4 Shortroods Rd, Paisley
46	ELIZABETH	LEONARD	11	7 Moncrief Street, Paisley
47	SAMUEL	McBLANE	7	10 Incle Street, Paisley
48	SARAH	McCAFFERTY	9	23 Thread Street, Paisley
49	ROBERT	McCONNELL	11	34 Abercorn Street, Paisley
50	MARGARET	McENHILL	3	11 Wallace Street, Paisley
51	EDWARD	McENHILL	10	11 Wallace Street, Paisley
52	JAMES	McENHILL	12	11 Wallace Street, Paisley
53	DENIS	McGARRITY	7	29 Causeyside Street, Paisley
54	ROBERT	McGIRR	9	39 Underwood Rd, Paisley
55	HELEN	McGRAN	8	11 Storie Street, Paisley
56	WILLIAMINA	McGRAN	18 Months	11 Storie Street, Paisley
57	JEAN M	McGRATTAN		158 George Street, Paisley
58	MARY	McWATTIE	10	4 Millar Street, Paisley
59	MARGARET	MORROW	10	14 Galloway Street, Paisley
60	ROBERT	NIVEN		141 George Street, Paisley
61	GEORGINA	PEACOCK		9 Anchor Buildings, Paisley
62	THOMAS	PERKINS	8	113 George Street, Paisley
63	JOHN	PINKERTON		7 Andrews Street, Paisley
64	WILLIAM	PINKERTON		7 Andrews Street, Paisley
65	WILLIAM	RAE	16	17 Abercorn Street, Paisley
66	THOMAS	RENFREW	11	16 Cotton Street, Paisley
67	GEORCE	SCOTT	8	7 Forbes Place, Paisley
68	WILLIAM	SPEIRS		23 Back Sneddon, Paisley
69	JANE	STEVENSON	10	21 Greenhill Rd, Paisley
70	ALEXANDER	TELFER	5	37 Lady Lane, Paisley
71	ROBERT	WINGATE	12	9 Lawn Street, Paisley