Tearing Down Statues - Glasgow Next?

Is It Time To Remove These Glasgow Statues?

While American cities have recently been taking down Confederate statues, it has been greeted with both protests and with cheers. Some people have been looking a how public sculpture in Glasgow tells one version of our history, and questioning whether some of our statues showed be condemned to the scrap heap. This left me wondering who the men are (they are pretty much all men, except for the odd horse) that stand on the plinths of Glasgow, and do we still want them in our public spaces? Do they represent a manipulated version of history that omits the victims? Are these the people we should be proud of?

"Their effigies should no longer be allowed to thrust themselves upon public attention"

When I was growing up "General Lee" was just the car from Dukes of Hazard. Those "good ol' boys, never meaning no harm" drove about with their car decorated in the Confederate flag. For many this flag represents the ideas of slavery and of white supremacy which the southern states fought for in the American Civil War. General Robert E. Lee was a slave owner, and a commander of the defeated Confederate Army in the Civil War. He has been revered by some in the South ever since the defeat of their armies, an embodiment of their cause, and he has become a totemic figure for many white supremacists.

However the crux of the matter is that the war was fought by the southern states to defend their right to enslave black people, attitudes that continued long after the end of the American Civil War in 1865. It wasn't until 1964 that America repealed racist laws which allowed segregation in schools, public places, and jobs. Not until The Voting Rights Act of 1965 were black people given the right to vote in some American states. America clearly still remains a deeply divided country, with economic equality still a long way off. Now under the presidency of Donald Trump, newly emboldened racists are openly chanting Fascist slogans on the streets of America. For many the statues no longer represent historical figures, but represent an entrenched racism from the past that has never been expunged. Like many other cities, Charlottesville's city council voted to remove their Confederate statues, and in the backlash an anti-fascist protester was murdered.

Statue of General Lee in Charlottesville erected in 1924,
which recently triggered violence in the city with it's planned removal

Statues represent more than the individual portrayed. They can display the craftsmanship and skill of the artist that created the work. They can provide a rallying point, a lesson from the past or recall a painful collective memory. They can be designed to provide humour, pride or fear and a statue can sell an image or an idea to a local population, or to the wider world. But ideas are fluid things, and when your time has passed, there is literally no more iconoclastic an image than that of a statue of a once mighty leader being torn down. 

US Marines tear down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, 2003

1500 year old Buddha of Bamiyanin Afghanistan, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 

In a rather prophetic speech (1) given in 1913 at the unveiling of a statue to scientist and inventor Lord Kelvin in Glasgow, then Lord Rector of Glasgow University, Augustine Birrell MP, described statues as "often doubtful joys" and said 

"...some day orators might be employed to go about the country, not unveiling but veiling old statues, and delivering speeches not in appreciation but in depreciation of their subjects, and showing cause why their effigies should no longer be allowed to thrust themselves upon public attention."

Once he had got that rather unorthodox unveiling speech off his chest he asserted that "...no such unkind fate will ever befall the statue which it is my honour to unveil." before revealing the statue that still stands, or actually sits, in Kelvingrove Park to this day. 

One of over 1,000 Lenin statues removed in Ukraine 

A flaccid Confederate statue in North Carolina, 2017

In recent times statues around the world are being re-evaluated. Often this is in the context of looking at the history of empire from a more reflective perspective. In South Africa a statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes was removed from the University of Cape Town in front of cheering crowds, and in Australia there are some calling for statues of Captain Cook to be removed, as the place was actually there before he "discovered" it.

In Edinburgh a new plaque is to be placed on the statue of Henry Dundas in St Andrew's Square, more accurately reflecting his role in delaying the abolition of slavery. However even though this is referencing actions he took in the 1790s it has caused complaints from his descendants, including "professional polo player and aristocrat", the current Viscount Melville.

Who do we remember in Glasgow's statues?

Off the top of my head I was not able to name any great tyrants among the statuary in Glasgow city centre, I more thought of them as a collection of anonymous merchants and non-specific colonialists. I walk past many of the statues in Glasgow without paying the slightest attention to who we have raised on a pedestal above the common man in this city. So I have tried to get a handle on who we have memorialised.

When a proposal to move the statues in George Square was made five years ago I spent a morning trying to look a bit more closely at who the statues were (for more information read here).

The people who got to choose which individuals were commemorated were, by and large, those who had influence in the 19th century administration. The statues show us the image that the city burghers were trying to portray of Glasgow's place in the Empire, respecting the imperialists of the day, and the scientists and artists that contributed to their worldview.

I have previously written about the links between Glasgow's wealth founded on slavery, and its industrial growth. It is not a history that the city tells very well yet, but steps are being taken to address this. Scottish artists are also looking at this history, such as Douglas Gordon's Black Burns installation in Edinburgh or with the "Empire Cafe" during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

So are the statues in Glasgow tributes to oppressors, thieves and slave traders?

 

Field Marshal Lord Clyde, with Sir Walter Scott in the background, George Square

• George Square

In George Square, at the heart of out city, there stands a real hotchpotch of unconnected individuals. 

The statues here were erected between 1819 and 1902. They represent two poets (Robert Burns and Thomas Campbell), novelist Sir Walter Scott in the centre, two scientists (James Watt and Thomas Graham), two monarchs (Victoria and Albert), three politicians (William Gladstone, Sir Robert Peel and James Oswald), two soldiers (Field Marshall Lord Clyde and Sir John Moore) and the Cenotaph war memorial (added in 1924). 

Robert Burns is now remembered for his liberal views, and his poetry espousing the common man. However, before his poetry brought him fame he was on the verge of travelling to Jamaica in 1786, to take up the post as bookkeeper on an estate there. At the time these estates were powered by slave labour, and in the end he did not travel. Burns's only recorded comment on slavery comes in the poem he wrote six years later, The Slave's Lament which shows a more critical view of slavery at a time when abolitionists were beginning to speaking out about it in the British Empire.

Thomas Campbell was a poet of some renown in the early 19th century, but is a rather forgotten figure now. Moving to Virginia in about 1737, his father made his fortune as a tobacco merchant, trading between the colonies, where slave labour was used, and Glasgow. With the American War of Independence he lost his business and returned to Glasgow, where his son was born in 1777.

In 1819 Sir John Moore's was the first statue placed in George Square, 10 years after the Glasgow born soldier died in the Peninsular War whilst securing a famous victory against Napoleon's army. He had also served in Ireland, Egypt, the American Wars and in India. In 1796 he helped retake St Lucia from rebel slaves. You may only known him as the name of an anonymous Wetherspoons pub in Argyle Street, but no plaque or information in Gerorge Square gives you any context to his military career. His fellow soldier in George Square is Colin Cambell, First Baron Clyde, whose list of  actions on behalf of the British Empire includes fighting in the war against the United States in 1812, suppressing a slave rebellion in Demerara, Guyana in 1823, fighting in the First Opium War against China in 1842, the Sikh Wars in India in 1848-9, in 1854 he commanded the Highland Brigade in the Crimean War and  he relieved the siege of Lucknow in the Indian Mutiny in 1857. It is estimated that up to 800,000 Indians died during the uprising, including many from subsequent famine.

Sir Robert Peel was the most prominent Tory politician of his day. The son of a wealthy industrialist and a hereditary baron he held posts in government as under-secretary for war and the colonies, secretary for Ireland, Home Secretary and twice Prime Minister. After initially opposing The Reform Act and laws allowing Catholics the right to vote, he later supported these legislations and led the repeal of The Corn Laws. His only real Glasgow connection is his election in 1836 as Rector of Glasgow University.

Liverpool born politician William Gladstone was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom four times and is depicted in George Square in his robes as rector of Glasgow University. His father, a corn merchant from Leith, moved to Liverpool and increased his wealth via the sugar trade. He was a slave owner who received a fortune at the time of emancipation. His father's money gave William Gladstone access to an education in Eton and Christ Church, and he spent 60 years as a member of parliament. Though Gladstone became known a the archetypal "liberal" politician in his later years, his first speech in parliament was in opposition to a slavery-abolition bill.

James Oswald is immortalised in George Square holding his hat by his side, which was at one time used as a common challenge among locals, trying to toss a stone into it. He was a Whig MP for Glasgow in the the 1832-1847. His statue was initially in Sandyford Place but friends and family campaigned for it to be given the same prominence as his parliamentary colleague, Robert Peel. He inherited a fortune from his great-uncle Richard Oswald of Auchincruive a prominent Glasgow slave owner with interests in the West Indes, Virginia and Madeira, but James Oswald himself was a signatory to a petition in 1836 calling for the abolition of the Apprenticeship Scheme. After 1847 he retired to the family estate.

• Cathedral Square

King William of Orange in Glasgow, a copy of a Roman statue

If you were asked what is the oldest sculptural landmark in Glasgow, would you have guessed that it is King Billy? King William III, Prince of Orange died in 1702 from pneumonia after being injured in a fall from his horse. Thirty-three years later he was memorialised atop a horse, in a statue in Glasgow commissioned by James Macrae, who had made his money as "Governor of the Presidency of Madras". On his return to Scotland, Macrae purchased an estate in Ayrshire, and renamed it Orangefield. From 1735 the statue stood prominently outside the Tontine building at the Trongate, initially with four canons allegedly from the Battle of the Boyne protecting its base. Here it stood for many years until the re-development in the area required its removal, and from 1926 it has stood rather more discreetly in the gardens at Cathedral Square. Renovations at this time added the curious articulation to the tail to let if blow in the wind.

Thomas Annan photograph from 1868 showing the statue of King William of Orange outside the Tontine Building

As a piece or art it isn't the greatest sculpture in town, modeled on the ancient statue of Marcus Aurelius that sits atop the Capitoline Hill in Rome, with King Billy dressed as the Emperor of Rome. This statue is a good example of a diplomatic compromise. Those who commissioned this work want to promote their hero and their perspective on the world, whereas there are many other people in the same city, who would have a diametrically opposite view of this person. The compromise here is a less prominent position where those who hold him high can gather on the 12th of July, whilst others can ignore him if they chose.

The other statues in and around Cathedral Square include a statue of he one-time minister of the nearby Barony Church, Reverend Dr Norman Macleod, the first statue erected in the square, in 1881.

James White of Overtoun, lawyer, businessman and chemical manufacturer whose Shawfield business, J&J White, employed 500 people and at one time produced 70% of the UK's chromate products. Today there is a significant legacy of soluble chromium waste in the area as a result.

James Arthur, clothing manufacturer and wholesaler who went into business with Hugh Fraser to create a business on Buchanan Street that later became Fraser's when they went their own way. His wife, Jane Glen, was related to the Coat's family of thread manufacturers and was a prominent supporter of women's suffrage. She became the first woman to stand for and be elected to a school board, in Paisley in 1873. After her husband's death she established the Arthur Bursary to promote the medical education of women. Their son, Matthew Arthur, 1st Baron Glenarthur, ran the Lochgelly Iron and Coal Company, so was boss to my wife's grandfather who worked in the mines of Fife.

Statue of James Lumsden in Cathedral Square, Glasgow

James Lumsden, one time stationery manufacturer, chairman of the Clydesdale Bank and Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1843-1846. He is praised for his promotion of  "the public interests and benevolent enterprises of his native city" on the plinth of his statue. As honorary treasurer for the Royal Infirmary he was placed nearby after his death for the money he raised for Royal Infirmary over 19 years. He also as lord provost laid the foundation stone for the University of Glasgow's new Gilmorehill building. However, he is also known to have been investing illegally in blockade runner ships. These profitable enterprises ran ships through the Union blockade to supply the Confederate army with guns and ammunition, therefore prolonging the American Civil War (2).

David Livingstone statue, Cathedral Square, Glasgow

Last but not least, in Cathedral Square, stands David Livingston, I presume. He is a complex character who sums up much of the rights and wrongs of the Victorian era. He started work at the age of 10 in the local cotton mill at Blantyre where he worked for 16 years to support his family. He saved money to enter Anderson College and trained as a doctor, whilst also studying divinity, with the aim of becoming a medical missionary. His divinity lectures from Ralph Wardlaw, a prominent anti-slavery campaigner, had a strong influence upon his views. He became a missionary in Africa and his expeditions led to commercial and imperial expansion. He believed that "legitimate trade" in Africa would push out slavery in the continent and he tried to create Christian, commercial highways into Africa. He spent time reporting on the horrors of slavery on his returns from African expeditions. His travels later inspired colonial rule in Africa and white settlement in the African interior. His statue in front of Glasgow Cathedral was moved here from its original position in George Square in 1960 (see, they don't need to stay in the same place forever).

A more dramatic statue of David Livingstone, created by Ray Harryhaussen for the David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre

• Kelvingrove Park

Statue of Lord Kelvin, in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow

The other place in Glasgow where a collection of figurative sculptures is to be found is Kelvingrove Park. This includes one sculpture, that of Field Marshal Earl Roberts, for which a change.org petition has been started to call for its removal.

Sculpture of a Bengal Tigress, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow

The first sculpture to be put in Kelvingrove Park was much less controversial though, a handsome sculpture of a Bengal tigress bringing a dead peacock to its cubs, unveiled in 1867. It was a gift to the city from an expatriate son of a Glasgow merchant, a John S. Kennedy. He ordered this cast of a sculpture produced from the original he had seen at the Paris Exhibition that year. Another copy of this tiger stands in Central Park Zoo in New York.

War Memorials in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow

Two dramatic war memorials can be found in the park. The Highland Light Infantry Memorial records the names of the locals who died in the South African wars of 1899-1902. The pith-helmeted soldier on scouting duty perches atop a rocky outcrop, looking as if he is ready to fall off, a veritable embodiment of British Empire soldiery. The other war memorial is equally dramatic, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) War Memorial, unveiled in 1924 to the memory of those who lost their lies in the First World War, with a soldier dramatically going over the top, with his fallen colleague lying beside him. This memorial was unveiled by Earl Haig, a man whose name has now become synonymous with the futile carnage of the First World War.

Two scientists can be found just off Kelvin Way, the seated figures of Lord Kelvin, renowned phsyicist and inventor and of Joseph Lister, the pioneer of antiseptic surgery. Both these men had close Glasgow connections in their lifetimes and I have written about them elsewhere.

Statue of Thomas Carlyle in Kelvingrove Park

A 1916 addition the the sculptures in the park is that of Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish philosopher and social commentator, who was born in Ecclefechan. He wrote essays and histories on many topics. His controversial views on slavery, expressed in his essay "Occaisional Discourse on the Negro Question" tarnished his reputation and expressed racist attitudes that were obviously common in te circles he was keeping. His statue appears to be forcing its way out of a rough lump of granite and I don't think it is entirely successful as a sculpture. Unfortunately his nose has repeatedly fallen off (although when I went to have a look today, it has actually been repaired again), which gives his face an unfortunate similarity to Dr Zaius from the original Planet of the Apes film.

Dr Zaius

Given the most prominent position in Kelvingrove Park, is Field Marshal Earl Roberts. Riding his Arab charger "Volonel" he stands on top of an impressive plinth, looking out over Glasgow University and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery from his lofty position. As a work of sculpture it is designed to impress, and it does. The horse is skillfully portrayed and Earl Roberts stares steadfastly ahead of his tense beast. He was the type of 'hero soldier' that appealed to Rudyard Kipling, who wrote three poems in his honour. 

Field Marshal Earl Roberts statue looks out over Glasgow

Figures representing "War" and "Victory" are found front and back of the plinth, and the frieze around the sides shows Roberts leading infantry and cavalry divisions of Sikh, Gurkha and Highland regiments marching from Kabul to Kandahar. Below is a silent film of the Glasgow unveiling in 1916, shortly after his death. It is incorrectly labelled that his wife performed the unveiling, but it was actually performed by his daughter, Lady Roberts and the Earl of Derby.

The statue is a replica of the original which was erected in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1894, on a parade ground there. After independence the statue was removed, and now stands in an Artillary Centre in Nashik, in Maharashtra. Another copy of the statue was made in 1924 and stands on Horseguards' Parade in London. 

The original of the Earl Roberts statue, still in India (photo from TripAdvisor)

As you come and look around the plinth, the list of all his great achievements as commander of the British forces greets you. Eyebrows begin to be raised. Listed here are British Imperial campaigns to demonstrate his valour, but now looking at those place names it seems you can recognise too many of the world's ongoing, festering conflicts, ignited by British Imperial rule.

How to remember the past?

To tell the story of any of the Victorian worthies above is to tell the story of the British Empire. Even those not directly connected to for example, the slave trade, often earned their family wealth and position in society from the exploitation of others in the preceding generations. Whilst the Empire brought wealth and trade for some in Britain, it brought terror, oppression, exploitation and indentured servitude for many people, long after slavery had been nominally abolished. A quick search of "British Empire atrocities" brings up stories of Boer concentration camps, the Armritsar massacre, the crushing of the Iraqi revolution in the 1920s, the 10 million people displaced by the partitioning of India and exacerbation of the Irish famine to pick a few at random. None of these stories are remembered on our statues.

Looking at these Imperial statues today it is hard not to think of the sonnet by Percy Shelley, Ozymandias, where a crumbling statue tells you to gaze at the might of the ancient king. But as you look around, there is only hubris. Nothing remains of the mighty kingdom, and all the traveller can admire and be impressed by is the skill and craftsmanship of the sculptor who created the king's memorial.

Ozymandias 

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert... near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command. 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

I am not convinced that we benefit from crushing these statues to dust. Many of them seem to have lost any relevance to the modern city, and they portray a world that no longer exists. However our current world grew from our collective past and unless we study how we got here, it will be hard to see where we should go next. I would prefer that the statues remain, but are used to tell the stories of the past properly. I can think of many more deserving people who should be in that place of prominence above Glasgow occupied by Earl Roberts. However I would still like this fine statue to be placed somewhere that it can be used to tell the story of the people oppressed by those men that former generations placed upon these lofty pedestals. If we know them, we can look out for them in the present. Raise new statues to the great men and women of our cities that we don't learn about in school - the Mary Barbours, John MacLeans, the Calton Weavers who died in Scotland's first industrial strike, Helen Crawfurd, Robert Owen, Thomas Muir. Have a change from the usual Old Firm footballing statues with  Emma Clarke, the first black woman to play football for Scotland in 1881 or Scotland's first boxing world champion, Benny Lynch. The last of the literary figures immortalised in George Square died in 1844, I am sure we could update that. Perhaps with poet Marion Bernstein, or living legend, Tom Leonard.

This would be a better story to tell.



(1) - Glasgow Weekly Herald, 11 Oct 1913
(2) - Sunday Herald, Sept 9, 2017
Many of the details included here were taken from the fantastic book "Public Sculptures of Glasgow" by Ray McKenzie 2002.

Sporting Statues of Glasgow and the West of Scotland

Sporting Statues of Glasgow and the West of Scotland

I am a big fan of public art and I've written previously about the murals displayed on the walls of many Glasgow buildings and Partick Thistle giving away objects created by contemporary artists last season.


I would argue though, that sport and sports venues are now providing sculptors with their most reliable source of employment. Although it can be easy to sneer at many of these as dead-eyed simulacra, I have a bit of a soft spot for them. A 2014 study found that in Scotland, it was Glasgow which had the highest density of sports-related statues. I tried to have a quick look around all the sporting statues that I could think of in Glasgow and nearby towns, and have listed them below, but first a few quick thoughts on the whole notion of sporting effigies.

Some of the statues outside Celtic Park, Glasgow

Public art has been with us since the first caveman decided to celebrate catching a mammoth by daubing its image on the walls of his house. Early art works for public consumption could be regarded as PR exercises. Whether you are a Roman emperor showing the public your square jaw, chiseled in marble, or the church, the Kings and the Queens of yore able to pay the top artists of the day to reveal to the world all of your glory.

Royal art, for art's sake

Statuary of the rich and famous adorned many Victorian streets, including Glasgow's George Square. But by then, standing alongside royalty and the landed gentry you had other heroes of the age. In George Square we have Queen Victoria, but also Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, inventor and engineer James Watt and chemist Thomas Graham. Glasgow has very few sculptures of real women (Queen Victoria, Lady Elder in Govan and Dolores Ibarurri/ La Pasionaria is it). There is currently a campaign to add to that number by funding a statue of Scottish political activist Mary Barbour. However since the last of Glasgow's female statues was erected in 1977, by comparison, there have been five football related statues of men put up in the city.

My holiday snaps of Ken Dodd in Liverpool...

...and Tommy Cooper in Caerphilly

Our modern day heroes being set in stone (or cast in bronze) are more likely to be entertainers and sportsmen (sorry, there are far fewer statues of sportswomen being built). Famous sons of Morecambe (Eric Morecambe), Liverpool (John Lennon, Ken Dodd) and Caerphilly (Tommy Cooper) are now becoming visitor attractions. In particular, creating sporting statues seems to be a growth industry, and on the whole, it is football leading the charge. 

Scotland's greatest footballing work of art - Kingsley,
the Partick Thistle mascot designed by artist David Shrigley

Sporting statues - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Many sporting statues seem to be not dissimilar in their general appearance. They are most commonly bronze, life-sized, and life-like in appearance. Intentionally expressionist or abstract renditions are rare. Unimaginative, safe, bronze zombies are common.

The commonest option appears to be immortalising the sporting hero in a formal pose, usually standing with a bit of sports equipment handy to give you a clue to who it is. Alternatively they can be rendered in an action shot - running, jumping or sliding. If poorly executed however, this runs the risk of making someone remembered for being fluid, fast and elegant, instead look accidentally leaden and heavy. Thirdly, a famous image can be recreated in statue form - holding a trophy aloft, aping a famous celebration or a classic photographic image.

Many sporting statues are famous for bearing no resemblance to the intended subject; for being weird, for looking more like the bust at the end of that Lionel Richie video than the intended sporting hero. The recently unveiled bronze bust of Ronaldo at Madeira airport maybe wasn't what they had envisaged when they ordered it, but I'm sure that their airport is now better known throughout the world than it ever was before.

Christiano Ronaldo at Madeira Airport. So bad it's good.

You do not get any weirder in the world of sporting statues than Mohamed Al-Fayed's decision to put a statue of Michael Jackson outside Craven Cottage. Once Al-Fayed lost control of the club it was removed from there and transferred to the National Football Museum in Manchester, a move Al-Fayed blamed for Fulham's subsequent relegation.

Michael Jackson statue at Craven Cottage

One statue that managed to stumble into all the available pitfalls in undertaking such an enterprise was Southampton Football Club's attempts to render former player, manager and director Ted Bates in bronze. The first effort was so embarrassingly bad that it was rapidly removed, and at great expense replaced with a less imaginative version.

Ted Bates version 1.0 and version 2.0

Some statues can be divisive. On attending a game in Sunderland a couple of years ago I came across the exuberant statue of Bob Stokoe outside the ground. He was the Sunderland manager who in 1973 led the club to their fist FA Cup victory in 46 years, the first time a second division team had won the trophy. His spontaneous run down the pitch, in trilby and mac, is captured in this statue outside the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Some people are not keen on it, but it made me raise a smile when I saw it, and I think it is great.

Bob Stokoe statue outside Sunderland's stadium

Whilst Bob Stokoe looks full of energy the statue below, which I came across outside Twickenham rugby stadium in London I found just odd looking. Nine metres high and costing £455,000 to complete it shows a rugby line-out in full flow. It may well be an accurate representation of a moment in the heat of a match, but static, frozen, stationary, with best will in the world I could only see that the guy at the bottom was parting his colleague's buttock cheeks to look for his lost keys or something.

The point that I am clumsily trying to make is that a statue that makes a connection with you does not need to be the greatest work of art in the world, and if it is alien to you (like me and rugby), you just might not get it.

Rugby line-out statue at Twickenham Stadium, London

Sport statues in Glasgow and the West of Scotland - Football

When it comes to representations of real sports stars, it is the Old Firm that lead the way in the west of Scotland, and in particular Celtic FC. They have now redesigned the approach to Celtic Park from London Road, creating a path where fans can pay to have their name on a paving stone, alongside statues of several of the clubs heroes. The latest addition to their collection of statues is Billy McNeill. 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of McNeill captaining Celtic to European Cup victory in 1967, and there he is, looking down London Road with the cup held aloft.

Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park

Nearby stand three other prominent figures in Celtic's history (or one sits and two stand, to be completely accurate). Sculptor John McKenna, who created the Billy McNeil statue, is also the man responsible for the statue of Jock Stein up near the main entrance to Celtic Park, again holding the European Cup. John McKenna also created the bagpipe carrying statue of AC/DC's Bon Scott, which now stands in Kirriemuir.

To confirm a slight "Lisbon Lions" tendency among Celtic statues, standing on Jock Stein's left is Jimmy Johnstone who played in the 1967 final. The Jimmy Johnstone statue has been here three years longer than his manager, being completed in 2008. It was created by Kate Robinson. She is also responsible for the statue of two figures which overlooks the M8 motorway in North Lanarkshire - Woman Man Sun Moon and for another statue here at Celtic Park. In 2005 she completed Celtic's first statue, the seated figure of "Brother Walfrid". Brother Walfrid was the Marist priest who founded Celtic Football Club. Originally from Ireland, but working in the 1880s at the Sacred Heart School in Glasgow, he proposed setting up a football club in order to raise money for the impoverished residents of the east end of Glasgow. In the overcrowded housing of the area many lacked food and employment, both the longstanding residents of the area and the new immigrants from Ireland, who also had to deal with discrimination. The new club played its first game in 1888, funnily enough, against Rangers.


Statues of Brother Walfrid, Jock Stein and Jimmy Johnstone outside Celtic Park

Jimmy Johnstone has previously been voted as Celtic's most popular ever player, and that maybe explains why there is another statue of him nearby. Six or seven miles east of Celtic Park, in his home village of Viewpark, Uddingston, Jimmy Johnstone stands with fist raised aloft. This is another John McKenna statue and it is clear that neither sculptor depicting him could represent someone known as "Jinky" in a stationary pose, as both statues try to get a bit of his movement into them.

Jimmy Johnstone statue, Viewpark, Uddingston

Just five miles away from Jimmy Johnstone's plinth in Uddingston, in the grounds of Hamilton Palace Sports Ground stands Davie Cooper. Born in Hamilton, Davie Cooper started his playing career at Clydebank, but found fame as a winger with Rangers FC in the 1980s. In 1995 he died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage at the age of 39. I have to say I don't think the statue really does him justice. Although the face is a good likeness, the proportions look a wee bit off. At least he is staring out over the football pitches at the nearby sports centre, ready to lay on a pass. The sculptor for this one, Kenny MacKay, has several other familiar sculptures that you might know. These include Donald Dewar at the top of Buchanan Street, the golden "Light and Life" figure atop the old Co-op warehouse beside the Kingston Bridge, and he moulded the leafy metalwork on the outside of Princes Square (designed by Timorous Beasties). 



Davie Cooper in Hamilton

The former Rangers captain John Greig is the other Rangers player who has a sculpture in the west of Scotland, although his is a far more sombre affair. Unveiled in 2001 as a memorial to the Ibrox disaster of 1971, he is depicted in a contemplative stance, with his left hand holding a football against his hip, and his head turned towards the direction of the entrance where many spectators died. A crush on the stairs here in the final minutes of a Rangers v Celtic match on January 2nd 1971 led to 66 people losing their lives, the youngest aged 9 years old, and 145 people being seriously injured. My uncle Ronnie and my uncle John were at the game together, each supporting different teams. They had left the match a few minutes before the end, and unaware of the later events they had headed off for a drink after the game. In the days before mobile phones let you track people down, their respective families were going crazy with worry until they rolled in later that night, oblivious to the disaster that had occurred at the match. Many other families did not have a similarly happy ending that night. Plaques on the plinth of the statue also commemorate those who lost their life in two other episodes at the stadium. Two people died on the same stairwell in 1961, and much earlier, twenty-five fans died during a Scotland v England game in 1902.

John Greig statue at Ibrox, commemorating the Ibrox disaster of 1971

Created by Andy Scott, it is a properly iconic statue. As a sculptor he has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to create great public art. Among his other popular works are the Heavy Horse beside the M8 near Easterhouse, and the fantastic Kelpies in Falkirk.

Despite Glasgow being the home of the Scotland national team, Partick Thistle, and Queens Park, that is it as far as footballing statues go in the city. Across Scotland there are a few other notable statues of footballers, such as a statue of Denis Law in Aberdeen and of a young, slim Jim Baxter in his home village of Hill O' Beath in Fife. Another destination oft visited by footballing tourists, particularly from Liverpool, is the village of Glenbuck in East Ayrshire, where a plaque marks it as the village that Bill Shankley came from.

Sport statues in Glasgow and the West of Scotland - Other Sports

There are not that many other commemorations of real athletes in this part of the world. Around Scotland we have boxer Dick McTaggart's statue in Dundee and racing driver Jim Clark in Kilmany, Fife. Golfers are represented by Ben Sayers in North Berwick, James Braid in Dalmahoy and Old Tom Morris at the Golf Museum in St Andrews. Runner Eric Liddell can be found in Edinburgh Old College and Hawick has motor cyclist Steve Hislop. However I was struggling to come up with many more in the west of Scotland, so I have been a bit loose with the definition of a sporty statue from hereon.

Clyde, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games mascot, in Partick library

The Commonwealth Games of 2014 which took place in Glasgow included a varied arts program alongside the sport. Much of it feels a wee bit temporary now, a couple of years after the event. Across the city numerous versions of the games' mascot "Clyde" were placed during the games, all differently decorated by Glasgow schoolchildren. Twenty-two of these have now been re-located to various council premises across the city. You may have one at your local library or swimming baths.

"Big G" Commonwealth Games logo

The logo of the games, a "Big G" structure that stood in George Square, can now be found in Glasgow Green. It is very much just a marketing logo. I am not sure it really holds a warm place in many people's hearts and I don't think it will age well.

Rugby player outside Govan fire station

Glasgow's eleven fire stations had sculptures erected in their grounds before the Commonwealth Games, representing the various sports in the games. These were built by prisoners in HMP Barlinnie and are still on display around the city.

Hockey player at Calton fire station

Pondering other sports that might be commemorated with a statue I could not think of any horse racing or greyhound statues in the city. There are a few notable equestrian statues in the city that it may be worth mentioning however. The horseback Duke of Wellington statue on Royal Exchange Square, permanently topped off with a traffic cone, has become almost a symbol of the city. Two other slightly odd horsey statues are worth mentioning.

Buffalo Bill statue in Dennistoun

For four months in late 1891 "Buffalo Bill" Cody ran his Wild West show, featuring Annie Oakley and many more, at the East End Exhibition Centre on Whitehill Street in Dennistoun, off of Duke Street. This statue was put up in 2006 by the housing developer that built the nearby flats that year.  

Lobey Dosser statue on Woodlands Road

After several months of repairs (the statue gets repeatedly bent by people riding on it) the world's only two-legged equestrian statue is back in place on Woodlands Road, opposite West On The Corner, the former Halt Bar. Lobey Dosser, the sheriff of Calton Creek, was a character from Bud Neil's strip cartoon in the Evening Times newspaper from 1949 to 1956. Erected in 1992 by public subscription, the statue was created by Tony Morrow and Nick Gillon. Tony Morrow is also responsible for Dundee's statues of Desperate Dan and Minnie the Minx. 

Running Clock by George Wylie

What about athletics? Definitely a sport which appears to be underrepresented in statue form. One bizarre statue which Glasgow used to house, beside Scotstoun Swimming Pool, was of tracksuit wearing marathon runner and all-round weirdo Jimmy Savile. When his activities came under investigation by the police, his statue was discreetly vanished.

Although not the complete athlete, George Wylie's "Running Clock" statue outside Buchanan Bus Station is worth a mention, as running for a bus is probably the peak of physical activity that many of us do. It is rare in recent years that the council have managed to get the four clocks at the top of it telling the same time, but when I photographed it today, they were all actually telling the correct time too (plus five minutes to make you catch your bus). Another running man nearby stands outside what is now called Buchanan House. Some offices of Transport Scotland are housed here in what was built in the 1960s as new headquarters for British Rail in Glasgow. British Rail commissioned the sculpture to symbolise the "power and virility" of rail travel(?). At the time of its unveiling, journalists used this daft premise to ask, if that was the case why the sculpture was not anatomically correct, genitals having been omitted. Called "Locomotion" the sculptor was Frank Cossell.

"Locomotion" statue in front of Buchanan House

There is one more athletic sculpture I came across which once stood hereabouts, on the roof canopy of Bishopbriggs Sports Centre apparently. This picture below is a photo belonging to Hugh Barrow, one time runner and rugby player, taken from "The Sporting Statues Project" website. They report that the statue was atop Bishopbriggs Sports Centre from 1973 to 1995, and is in storage now. Three statues of "The Runner" were made in 1933, cast from a new aluminium alloy called Sindal. Originally modeled on Clydesdale Harrier athlete Bobby Gray, it was made by John Longden, a Baillie in Clydebank, who worked at Tullis's Kilbowie Ironworks. Apparently a plaster version of the statue stood in Clydebank Library for decades, but no longer. I am intrigued by him apparently being painted in Partick Thistle colours, but I am guessing that the red and yellow is in fact meant to be West of Scotland Football Club's rugby colours. Does anyone remember this statue? Where is he now?

Although football casts a long shadow, there are many other sports played in Glasgow. I have written about being a spectator at some of these previously, but speedway, ice hockey, rugby and basketball have yet to throw up a character sufficiently prominent in the public consciousness to merit a statue.

One sport however in which Glasgow has managed to produce champions that could take on anyone in the world is boxing. However there are not yet any sculptural reminders of these wee men on the city streets. A quick search of the internet finds that in boxing there have been 12 Welsh world champions and in Wales there are four statues of boxers. England has had 70 world champions, and has six statues of boxers, with one of Henry Cooper also on the way. Northern Ireland has had 8 world champions, and has four boxing statues.

Depending on who you count, Scotland has had between 13 and 18 world champions and has only two statues. It was briefly mentioned above that Olympic and amateur champion Dick McTaggart has a statue in Dundee. The other Scottish boxing statue that I could find commemorates the life of Newmains boxer, James Murray. The Scottish bantamweight champion died from a bleed to the brain after his last fight in 1995, aged just 25 years. Alison Bell is the sculptor who created this statue of him that stands in the centre of Newmains in North Lanarkshire, gloves raised and wearing his champions belt. A reminder of the risks boxers take every time they go into the ring.

James Murray, boxer from Newmains

Any more statues on the way?

In the past week I have had news on my Twitter timeline about fundraising schemes to build statues in Glasgow for comedian Billy Connolly, campaigner Mary Barbour, and in his hometown of Saltcoats, "Lisbon Lion" Bobby Lennox. This latter one has John McKenna penciled in to create the statue, as he slowly works his way through the whole 1967 Celtic squad.

Benny Lynch training for a fight, photo possibly taken at Firhill Stadium

One campaign that I think has a lot of merit, and already has some momentum behind it, is the push to remember boxer Benny Lynch with a statue. Like many of the sportsmen named above, Benny Lynch grew up in a poor neighbourhood, in his case the Gorbals in Glasgow, and his boxing ability was what lifted him to become champion of the world. Thousands of people came to greet him at Glasgow's Central Station when he returned home as champion, and carried him shoulder high. I hope that either in the station, or near his Gorbals origin, we soon see a statue to Scotland's finest boxing champion. You can find out more about the campaign here, including how to contribute.

If anyone can think of any other sporting statues near Glasgow that I have omitted, or any glaring factual errors in what I have written above, please let me know in the comments below.
For more info on much of this see The Sporting Statues Project.