A MEMORIAL dedicated to anti-war campaigners has been unveiled at Glasgow Green.

 

The monument, a black granite tablet set on a boulder bears an inscription on a stainless steel medallion.

It reads: "In memory of those who opposed WW1 in order to challenge the purpose of the war and the waste of lives.

"They also campaigned for social and economic justice and against the exploitation of those who lived in the city during the war."

The memorial is situated directly behind the People's Palace near the International Workers' Memorial.

It was unveiled by Lord Provost Sadie Docherty on the 100th anniversary of the Women's Peace Congress which took place at The Hague in April 1915.

She said: "Our city has commemorated the start of the First World War and the many thousands of people who were killed and injured. We have remembered them and their suffering.

"It is also right that as part of our five year commemoration of World War I, the city remembers those who tried to stop this devastating war.

"They stood honourably against the great pressure of media and public opinion to campaign for an end to the war and the saving of lives. They are a part of our history and we must respect their points of view.

"Some of these anti-war campaigners are well-known names who are written into our history, like Jimmy Maxton, Keir Hardie, John Maclean, John Wheatley - others including the great women campaigners are less known, some only remembered by their families.

"The great Glasgow trio - Helen Crawfurd, Mary Barbour and Agnes Dollan were outstanding leaders and the Women's Peace Crusade which they started spread far beyond Glasgow."

Helen Crawfurd, who was born in the Gorbals and moved to Hyndland, was a political activist who along with her Glasgow born friend Agnes Dollan attempted to actively involve women in the fight against the war.

Last week, former Aberdeen and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was in Glasgow to donate £5000 to a fund for a statue to Mary Barbour.

Barbour was a peace campaigner who roused thousands of women to protest at steep rent increases for living in Glasgow tenements during WWI.

Mrs Docherty said: "The anti-war campaigners also worked to protect the interests of the poor through the rent strikes and the Clyde Workers Committee.

"Had their lead been followed, so much suffering could have been prevented. They deserve our respect and remembrance."