The Barlinnie Story

by Robert Jeffrey

  No doubt many of the Barlinnie governors had their nicknames, most unprintable but, as far as I can see, none that featured in the public prints. But Alcatraz prisoners did a colourful sideline in nicknaming their governors. The first was James A Johnston and he wanted only America’s most incorrigible and most unmanageable prisoners delivered to his care. He was called ‘Saltwater’ because of his practice of hosing down unruly inmates. Edwin Swope was ‘Cowboy’ because of his Stetsons, and Paul Madigan was ‘Promising Paul’ so called because he was a good listener to the problems of inmates, but nothing much ever happened!

  Other examples of tourism and prisons include Tombstone in Arizona, of Boot Hill and the Gunfight at the OK Corral fame. The courthouse and jail here were the backdrop to the exploits of Wyatt Earp and the Clanton and McLaury brothers. The gallows still stands in the court precincts. There are other examples of prisons as a tourist draw, like Old Melbourne jail and its Ned Kelly connections.

  A little imagination could be of use here. In my view when the long-awaited demolition of the Bar-L happens, one of the great halls should be left standing as a Museum of Criminal Justice. The tall chimneys and great walls would still be a dominant feature of the east end skyline. Keep the cells, as they were, keep the echoing landings and staircases. Display the menus and how they changed down the years, and chart the changing regimes showing how they gradually became more civilised. Recreate a touch of the horror of slopping out with a display of chamber pots and remind visitors of the reality of death at the end of a rope with photographs of the death cell and gallows. There would be no shortage of exhibits. But add some extra value to a visit down prison memory lane by relocating the police Black Museum from its city centre Pitt Street HQ to the lone surviving hall. The police service’s own museum, currently near Glasgow Cross, could also be moved to the east end to add to the experience.

  And a final thought. A large area in this new attraction, a prison museum like no other, could be given over to record the turbulent years of the Barlinnie Special Unit. And to house a collection of the remarkable works of art, creative writing, drawing, painting and sculpture created by the singular men, murderers who had their lives changed forever, men who found redemption inside the walls of Barlinnie. Now that would be a place worth travelling to from any part of the world to visit.

  Bill McKinlay listened to the clang of Barlinnie’s doors for a final time when he headed into a well-deserved retirement in Autumn 2010. His successor, Derek McGill is a prison service veteran with vast experience garnered over 30 years in all sorts of establishments. Derek is a savvy guy with a friendly air of authority, a man who has seen both good and bad in his long years. He loves his job, much heartened by any successes that see cons walk out and go straight. But realistic about the failures. He is not out of sympathy with the museum idea but has priorities more important than my perhaps fanciful notion of building a new prison and turning Barlinnie into an unlikely tourist attraction. Talking to him it is obvious that it would take a lot to shake him, clearly a good man to have at your side in the trenches as well as a forward thinking manager. One of his particular interests is ‘incident management’ and I got the feeling that any cons thinking of trouble – be it a wee dining hall rammy or maybe a full scale riot like those of the eighties and thirties in the Bar-L – would do well to realise they would have to deal with a determined man who has made a deep study of prison unrest and how to deal with it. That said it should also be pointed out that within the prison community Derek enjoys a reputation as ‘very fair’. Before the Barlinnie appointment he was governor of both Polmont and Greenock, roles that helped him understand the pressures faced by his officers daily.

  Derek McGill is a classic case of working your way up through the ranks to the top in easy stages. He started as an officer in Dumfries Young Offenders Institute in the seventies. Now at the pinnacle of his profession he likes to lead from the front rather than manage from behind a desk. He has a particular interest in the use and benefits of arts, drama, and music in a prison setting. One of his current ploys is to work with Theatre Nemo in starting up a prison choir. It is interesting that earlier in this book I spelled out the value of drumming in particular to youngsters incarcerated in the bleak halls of Scotland’s great prisons. Derek himself, though no Gene Krupa, has played in groups in his youth and still enjoys laying a beat in behind any guys taking guitar lessons from prison volunteers.

  Like Bill McKinlay he is aware of the physical limitations of the old gaol but rather than tear it down he would rebuild on the site. He points out the advantages – Barlinnie is near the busiest courts in the land, the prisoners are used to it and it is strategically placed for visitors. This is not an impossible task, a new prison building could be constructed in the current workshop and sports area and when finished the old buildings could be knocked down and that area used for library, classrooms, sports ground etc. Bill McKinlay and Derek McGill share one bee in their respective bonnets. The constant tabloid harping on about prisoners enjoying the life of Riley with flat screen TVs etc. Derek points out the prisoners pay a tenth of their prison wages for the chance of a peek at a wee screen. How many on the outside would pay a tenth of THEIR wages for a telly! Another upside is that the tellies in the cells can be used to screen DVDs on subjects like suicide prevention. A down side he has noted is that the library is less used in the TV era.

  Being in a prison daily inevitably makes you think about how the inmates got there and how you can prevent them coming back. Derek feels much of the blame for our high prison populations lies with forces outside of the walls. He believes a high proportion of inmates have not been taught by the education system or their families how to face up to their problems. Instead they take the easy way out – thieving, drinking or drug taking. When inside the staff are encouraged to show inmates this side of their problems and encourage them to adopt a more positive attitude, to help them acknowledge why they are behind bars and how they could have avoided it. To get them to face up to their demons rather than run away from them.

  A simple thing like a game of cards could help. The boredom of Barlinnie has recently been relieved a little by the reintroduction of the old prison card game Bella. A pack without cards 2, 3 and 4 is used and it is a sort of combination of Whist and Bridge. Bridge itself would no doubt be regarded as too poncy and suburban by the cons, but Bella, like it, is a game that requires concentration and deep thinking. It can encourage ‘good mental health’ as well as providing entertainment. Various tricks count for differing amounts of points and the duo with the highest total wins. One young inmate put his finger on a key benefit. It made me ‘think tactically’ he said. You also need to have a good head for figures and be able to work with your partner against an opposing couple. This game, sometimes the officers join in, passes many a long night but more than just killing time it goes a little way to educating prisoners in team play and thinking ahead, something many have never done. Las Vegas it isn’t but Bella is enjoyed greatly by the cons and it encourages record keeping and mathematical skills. It would be overstretching it to say it is a trump card in the battle to make the penal regime work. But, as they say in the adverts, every little helps.

  However the sad fact to be faced is that the optimism shown by concerned Glaswegians in the distant days of the eighteen eighties, in building Barlinnie, has not been fully rewarded. Problems and ongoing controversy still swirl, like the damp dark Glasgow winter mist, round the bleak prison. There are still too many challenges for comfort to be faced by the men and women who live behind the walls, on both sides of the bars. They walk a hard road. And will continue to do so.

  BARLINNIE TIMELINE

  1879 – Purchase of land for £9,750.

  1882 – A-Hall commissioned.

  1883 – B-Hall commissioned. Houses for chaplain and doctor built outside the walls.

  1887 – C-Hall commissioned. Old Gate completed.

  1888 – House for chaplain and doctor built outside the
gate.

  1889 – 35 ‘married wardens’ quarters’ built outside the prison.

  1890 – Link corridor A, B, C halls built.

  1892 – D-Hall commissioned.

  1893 – Chapel completed. Perimeter extended to build E-Hall.

  1896 – E-Hall completed.

  1903 – Large workshop built. E-Hall altered to accommodate rise in short-term prisoners.

  1908 – Old sheds built. Alterations to E-Hall.

  1933 – Alterations to D-Hall to accommodate prisoners from Duke Street. New office block built adjacent to gate.

  1939 – Gymnasium built. (Old) Library built.

  1940 – Bread store and coal depot erected.

  1949 – Handicraft workshop built.

  1951 – Dining halls built (now psychology department, conference suite etc).

  1954 – Old visits room completed.

  1955 – Female block built due to closure of Duke Street. It later became the Special Unit.

  1960 – Reception area reconstructed. Vocational training introduced.

  1968 – New sheds completed.

  1975 – Concrete modernization completed. Office complex completed. ‘Arches’ built on ends of halls.

  1980 – New garage built.

  1983 – Segregation unit completed.

  1989 – Observation bridges built.

  1997 – £5m refurbishment of D-Hall, including removal of gallows.

  1999 – refurbishment of staff and visits area.

  2002 – Slopping out ends. A, B and C Halls refurbished.

  2004 – Work begins on E-Hall, ends 2005.

  2007 – Entrance area refurbished.

  GOVERNORS OF BARLINNIE PRISON

  At the time of writing there have been 22 Governors

  (J Taylor held the post twice, making 22 tours of duty):

  Captain H Montieth: 15/08/1882 to 22/12/1882

  J Taylor: 23/12/1882 to 03/09/1883

  Major W Dodd: 04/09/1883 to 02/04/1888

  J Taylor: 03/04/1888 to 31/07/1898

  A Thompson: 01/08/1898 to 28/05/1908

  J Cram: 01/06/1908 to 31/03/1914

  WB Burglass: 06/05/1914 to 30/04/1927

  Major RW Baird: 15/07/1927 to 01/04/1929

  R Walkinshaw: 22/04/1929 to 11/01/1934

  Captain J Murray: 09/02/1934 to 09/04/1935

  W Findlayson OBE: 10/04/1935 to 30/04/1943

  JP Mayo OBE: 04/05/1943 to 31/07/1954

  JR Peddie MBE: 05/08/1954 to 05/08/1957

  AH Anderson OBE: 05/08/1957 to 22/03/1964

  D McKenzie ISO: 23/03/1964 to 17/11/1974

  RF Hendry ISO: 28/11/1974 to 31/05/1979

  AK Gallacher: 06/06/1979 to 01/07/1987

  AR Walker: 02/07/1987 to 22/02/1990

  P Withers: 23/02/1990 to 31/03/1995

  R Houchin: 05/04/1995 to 30/08/2001

  W McKinlay OBE: 01/09/2001 to 01/10/2011

  D McGill: 04/10/2010 to —————

  INDEX

  A

  Alcatraz (1), (2), (3)

  Aldred, Guy (1)

  Allen, Harry (1), (2)

  Allen, Peter (1)

  Al-Megrahi, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed (1)

  Amery, John (1)

  Annan, Kofi (1)

  B

  Baltic Fleet (1)

  ‘Barlinnie Hotel’ song (1), (2)

  Barlinnie Bevvy (1)

  Barlinnie Farm Estate (1)

  ‘Barlinnie Nine’ (1)

  Barlinnie Special Unit (1), (2), (3), (4), (5)

  Bates, Warder First Class (1)

  Beech, Bill (1)

  Bell, Baillie Mrs (1)

  Bell, Tom (1)

  Beltrami, Joe (1), (2)

  Bishop, Alan (1)

  ‘Bomb squad’ (1)

  ‘Borstal song’, the (1)

  ‘BOSS’, Body Orifice Security Scanner (1)

  Boyle, Jimmy (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8)

  Boyle, Philip (1)

  Brodie, Bob (1)

  Brown, Les (1), (2), (3)

  Bruce, Lady Martha (1)

  C

  Cages, the (1), (2), (3), (4), (5)

  Calcroft, ‘the English hangman’ (1)

  Caldwell, John (1)

  Cameron, Tony (1)

  Campbell, Rev. John (1)

  Campbell, TC (1), (2), (3)

  Capone, Al (1)

  Carraher, Patrick (1), (2)

  Cell sharing (1), (2)

  Christman, Bill (1), (2)

  Civil Aviation Authority (1)

  Clark, PC James (1)

  Clarke, Tom (1)

  Cloverhill Prison (1)

  Colchester Jail (1)

  Collins, Hugh (1), (2), (3), (4)

  Colville, David (1)

  Cooler, the (1)

  Cornton Vale (1)

  Crossan, John (1), (2), (3)

  Curran, Agnes (1)

  D

  Daily Express (1), (2)

  Daily Record (1), (2)

  Daly, PC Amanda (1)

  Defence of the Realm Act (1)

  Dernley, Sid (1)

  Deveney, Patrick Gallagher (1)

  Devine, Alistair (1), (2)

  Discharged Prisoners Aid Society (1)

  Dodd, Major W (1), (2)

  Dog boxes (1), (2), (3), (4), (5)

  Donaldson, Arthur (1)

  Dostoevsky, Fedor (1), (2)

  Douglas-Hamilton, Lord James (1)

  Dowdall, Laurence (1), (2), (3)

  Drovers, the (1)

  Duggan, John (1)

  Dungavel Prison (1), (2), (3)

  E

  Easton, John (1)

  Elliot, Dale (1)

  European Court of Human Rights (1), (2), (3), (4)

  Evans, Harry (1)

  Evening Citizen (1), (2)

  F

  Ferguson, Duncan (1)

  Ferguson, Ron (1)

  Ferris, Paul (1), (2)

  Findlay, Donald (1)

  First Night Centre (1), (2)

  Flanagan, David (1), (2), (3), (4)

  Forbes, Donald (1)

  Force-feeding (1), (2)

  Foy, John (1)

  Frazier, Baillie James (1)

  Fullerton, Billy (1)

  G

  Gallacher, Governor Andrew (1), (2), (3)

  Gallacher, Willie (1), (2)

  Galloway, Tom (1)

  Galpern, Lord Provost Myer (1)

  Gilfeather, Martin (1)

  Gimblett, Sheriff Margaret (1)

  Glen, Robbie (1)

  Goldie, Annabel (1)

  Gordon Highlanders (1)

  Gough, Stephen, AKA ‘the Naked Rambler’ (1)

  H

  Haining, Peter (1)

  Harris, Christopher (1), (2)

  Harrison, Scott (1)

  Hart, the Rev John (1)

  Hayman, David (1)

  Hendry, Governor R (1), (2), (3)

  Herald, the (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9)

  HM Inspector of Prison (1), (2)

  Hotchkiss, Rhona (1)

  Houchin, Governor Roger (1), (2), (3), (4), (5)

  Hunger strikes (1), (2), (3)

  I

  Illicit breweries (1)

  Inglis, James (1)

  Inveraray Jail (1)

  ITN (1), (2)

  J

  Jamieson, Cathy (1)

  Johnston, James A ‘Saltwater’ (1)

  K

  Kearney, John (1), (2), (3), (4)

  Keen, John (1)

  Kennedy, Ludovic (1), (2), (3)

  Key, the, BSU magazine (1), (2), (3), (4)

  Kinclaven, Lord (1)

  Kirkwood, David (1)

  L

  Laing, Allan (1), (2)

  Lang, Ian (1), (2), (3)

  Lawlor, Father Jim (1)

  Leadbetter, Russell (1)

  Leech, Frank (1), (2)

  Leslie, Harald, QC (1)

  Letham Hall (1), (2)

  Limerick, Tom (1)

&
nbsp; Lynch, Benny (1)

  Lyon, John (1), (2), (3)

  M

  MacAskill, Kenny (1), (2)

  MacDiarmid, Hugh (1)

  Madigan, Promising Paul (1)

  Mandela, Nelson (1), (2), (3)

  Manson, Billy and Vinnie (1)

  Manuel, Peter (1), (2), (3)

  Margesson, Viscount (1)

  Marshall, William (1)

  Maryhill Barracks (1), (2)

  Maxton, Jimmy (1)

  Mayo, JP (1)

  McBain, Barclay (1)

  McCallum, Andy (1)

  McCartney, Stuart (1), (2)

  Maclay, Sir John (1), (2), (3)

  McCluskey, Lord (1)

  McCready, Frazer (1), (2)

  McCue, Frank (1)

  McDowall, Bill (1)

  McDuff, John (1), (2)

  McGibbon, Bill (1)

  McGill, Derek (1)

  McGinley, Father John (1)

  McIlvanney, William (1)

  McKay, Reg (1), (2)

  McKenna, Jim (1)

  McKenzie, Governor (1), (2), (3)

  McKinlay, Bill (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7)

  McLean, Jack (1)

  McLeish, Allan (1)

  McLellan, Andrew (1), (2), (3)

  McMann, Father Larry (1)

  McPhail, Ken (1)

  McVey, Bill (1)

  McVicar, Ewan (1)

  Meehan, Paddy (1)

  Menus (1)

  Miller, Anthony (1)