The violence in the “Battle” was exclusively between rioters and the police, not the army….The first of 10,000 infantry troops began to arrive around 10pm on Friday night 31 January. Six tanks arrived the following Monday, but never left the shed in which they were stored. The deployment of so large a force was almost immediately recognised as overreaction.

It is true that Glasgow’s chief legal officer Alistair Mackenzie, Sheriff of Lanarkshire, called for troops when he was struck by a missile during rioting, but he called for them to stem a riot, not put down a strike. They stood about guarding things, and were certainly visible on the streets while they were there. Barclay also shows that Churchill, though it wasn’t his decision, warned against sending them, saying that

…the government should have ample provocation before taking strong measures. By going gently at first, they would earn the nation’s support if troops were needed. But the moment for their use had not arrived…. A dispassionate analysis of available evidence shows that Churchill was one of the least concerned about a “Bolshevist threat” in Glasgow. Indeed he expressly asked his colleagues not to exaggerate the problem. Churchill did not “roll the tanks.” Nor did he persuade the Cabinet that troops “should be deployed” or make “a positive proposal’” to send them. Not being a member of the War Cabinet, he played no role in liaison with Glasgow authorities. He merely acceded to the War Cabinet’s decision to make troops available, should the Sheriff need them. The army alone determined what it needed. The myths of George Square, established during the last century, have completely overwhelmed the actual history.

As Churchill said: “The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is.” RML

“National Guard” (in Part 1) refers to American terminology; I have amended the text to indicate. If in Britain regular or T.A. troops have not been used to quell a strike in 100 years, might we conclude the Llanelli was the last time?