Diary of Thomas Cairns Livingstone, 1917

This material is held atGlasgow City Archives

  • Reference
    • GB 243 TD1969/5
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1 Jan - 31 Dec 1917
  • Language of Material
    • English
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume
      Manuscript

Scope and Content

Handwritten daily entries accompanied by line drawings and colour illustrations drawn by the author.

Subjects include: war loaf made official (10 Jan); account of speech by the socialist Scott Gibson (21 Jan); nationalisation of the country's coal mines (15 Feb); shortage of potatoes (17 Feb); expected food shortage (9 Mar); his son diagnosed with German Measles and the Russian revolution (16 Mar); colleague's last day at work before entering the army (22 Mar); United States of America declares war on Germany (7 Apr); rising cost of newspapers (18 Apr); rising cost of tobacco (28 Apr); bathing in the new Govanhill Baths and the British army age raised to 50 (14 May); first public execution in Glasgow for 12 years (16 May); visit to Govan to see the Russian cruiser Askold (27 May); Russian sailors in the Gorbals (29 May); holiday to Arran (29 Jun - 2 Jul); visit to Glasgow Green to see the shows set up for the Glasgow Fair (13 Jul); procession in aid of the wounded proceeding along New City Road (21 Jul); receipt of calling-up notice which his employer is appealing against (15 Aug); search lights at night in Glasgow (22 Aug); gas-driving motor bus (9 Sep); completion of sugar form (13 Sep); Russia becomes a republic (17 Sep); visit of King George V to Glasgow (19 Sep); fire in South Hanover Street (22 Sep); receipt of exemption from military service (26 Sep); reported arrival of American troops in Glasgow (4 Oct); his wife bakes an eggless cake (15 Oct); civil war in Russia (16 Nov); tram accident at Queens Park Gate (6 Dec) and fire in Allison Street (27 Dec).

Debits and visits for 1917 recorded at the end of the volume.

Access Information

No access restrictions apply.

Conditions Governing Use

Application for reproduction should be made to the Archivist

Bibliography

This diary is one of those which have been annotated and published as "Tommy's War: A First World War Diary, 1913 - 1918", Thomas Livingstone and ed. by Ronnie Scott (HarperPress: London, 2008)