Glasgow Razor Gangs - Gang Rivalry

Gang Rivalry

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, most of Glasgow's street gangs were territorially based in working-class districts. This was reflected in the choice of names such as the Bridgeton Billy Boys, the Calton Entry and the South Side Stickers. The Beehive Boys took their name from a draper's shop situated at the corner of Thistle Street and Cumberland Street in the Gorbals.

Many gangs were active in the city; however, two of the most infamous were the Protestant Bridgeton Boys and the Roman Catholic Norman Conks. By the end of the 1930s, more gangs such as the Beehive Boys, the San Toi, Tongs, the Fleet, Govan Team, and Bingo Boys had come into existence.

Glasgow gangs were divided between those that were solely territorial and those that combined territorial and sectarian allegiances. The Bridgeton (or Billy) Boys in the West frequently clashed with the Norman Conks in the East end of the city. The Billy Boys would meet in Bridgeton Cross, their claimed territory. The Norman Conks would gather in a street which was roughly half a kilometre south. The fact that the two were so close geographically caused many fights. The Billy boys would often conduct an Orange walk through these streets and also through heavily Catholic towns such as Calton, Gorbals and Garngad. They did this for pure pleasure and payback.

The Bridgeton Boys were founded and led by Billy Fullerton, a former member of the British Fascists. The Billy Boys adopted a militaristic style of behaviour, marching on parades, forming their own bands, composing their own songs and music; all dressed in a similar manner. The Billy boys also formed a group whose members were teenagers called the Derry boys, which was their junior section.

In the early 1930s, gang numbers started to decrease, mainly due to the work of the chief constable of Glasgow Police, Sir Percy Sillitoe. Brought in due to his work with similar gangs in Sheffield, his tactic was to recruit big, strong men from rural areas and the Scottish highlands. Due also to the start of World War II, the Billy boys went into decline in the late 1930s.

Billy Fullerton however continued his public hatred of Catholics and created his own Glasgow branch of the Ku Klux Klan and also joined the British Union of Fascists. He died in 1962 in poverty in a flat near Bridgeton Cross. 1,000 people marched in his funeral cortege which included flute bands.