Clydebank

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Clydebank (Bruach Chluaidh in Gaelic) is a town in Dunbartonshire, Scotland, lying on the north bank of the river Clyde. Founded on the banks of the river Clyde (Clutha in Gaelic). Clydebank is a relatively young place in comparison to other Scottish towns, being one of the earliest new towns of the 19th century. Officially founded as a Police Burgh on the 18th of November 1886 as part of the county of Dunbartonshire, Clydebank served as an early housing scheme for several shipyards Thomson's Ship Builders (1871) and Beardmores (1860 Clyde Navigation Trust) when they opened their shipyards between Yoker village on what is now the western fringe of the city of Glasgow and the village of Dalmuir. These yards eventually became some of the most important ship building yards in the 20th century, John Brown's the home to the great Cunard Line being a fine example. Additionaly, the American Singer Corporation opened between 1884 and 1885 closing in 1984 had the honour of housing the largest clock face in the world.

Clydebank is currently the largest town in the council area of West Dunbartonshire; with a population of around 45,000, it is home to roughly half the area's people. The town is found within the historical boundaries of the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, the parish of Old Kilpatrick (12th cent), the Mormaerdom of Lennox and the county of Dunbartonshire

Residents of the town, nicknamed Bankies, have a strong sense of local identity and do not identify as belonging to West Dunbartonshire or the city of Glasgow. The postal address is Clydebank, Dunbartonshire rather than the politically accurate Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, and is sometimes incorrectly written as Clydebank, Glasgow G81. A 2003 poll conducted by the Scottish National Party suggested that Clydebank residents were unhappy with the town's status as part of West Dunbartonshire and would prefer the restoration of the town's pre-1994 council, which was scrapped in the 1994 restructuring of Scottish local government. The Clydebank SNPpoll found common irritation at the location of the 'county' government in the town of Dumbarton, the second largest town (20,000 population) and a view that despite 11 of the total 22 'county' councillors being elected to represent wards within Clydebank, the town residents were distant from their representatives.

Also of concern was that Clydebank will no longer share an MP (Member of Parliament) with Milngavie (an adjacent town in East Dunbartonshire) as the 'urban' burgh constituency of Clydebank and Milngavie, but is now represented in the British Parliament along with the West Dunbartonshire towns Dumbarton and Alexandria (Vale of Leven), as the semi-rural county constituency of West Dunbartonshire. The same change may yet take place regarding representation in the Scottish Parliament, however at present there are no plans to change from the Clydebank and Milngavie Scottish Parliamentary constituency. It is the generally held belief of residents that Clydebank has far more common interests with the rest of Greater Glasgow than they do with detached areas of West Dunbartonshire, though others believe that the historical connection to Dunbartonshire is important in fighting to retain Clydebank's independence from Glasgow. Although not part of the local authority area of the City of Glasgow, Clydebank lies on the periphery of the conurbation of Glasgow with some neighbouring houses and streets fall within the limits of the 2 'counties'.

The town is part of a single urban area (officially the Glasgow City Metropolitan Area) with the terms Glasgow, Glasgow City, or Greater Glasgow commonly used interchangeably; the Glasgow City Metropolitan Area includes places falling within the limits of the following 'counties': West Dunbartonshire (Clydebank), East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and all of the City of Glasgow. The majority of these areas are part of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

In the early 20th century the town was synonymous with the Scottish socialist movements led by the shipyard workers along the river Clyde, giving rise to the title of Red Clydeside, a mishmash of socialists, trade unionists and nationalists

Clydebank has two semi-professional football teams, Clydebank F.C. and Yoker Athletic F.C.. Both are members of the Scottish Junior Football Association and play in the Central League Division 1. Clydebank FC formerly held status as a senior league club but, while in administration in 2002, the club was purchased by a consortium and moved to Airdrie and renamed Airdrie United F.C.. A new Clydebank F.C. were formed in 2003 and entered the Central district of Scottish Junior football.

The new Clydebank Football Club have a sizeable support - regularly attracting crowds of 400-1,200 for home matches - attendances that exceed those regularly achieved in the Scottish League Divisions 2 and 3.[citation needed]

Yoker Athletic FC (one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland)also have a small but committed support - bolstered by "bumper crowds" achieved when playing home matches against Clydebank FC.[citation needed]

The town has a large shopping centre which is divided in two by the Forth and Clyde Canal which runs through the town. There are three secondary schools in the town: Saint Andrew's High[2], Saint Columba's High[3] and Clydebank High[4]. There are numerous primary schools. The town has many bars and pubs, and several nightclubs.

The popular Scottish band Wet Wet Wet formed in Clydebank in 1982.

Although the town currently has a high unemployment rate, this was not always the case.

A major employer in the town was John Brown & Company shipyard, which built several well-known ships, including the Hood, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth 2. Later it became part of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, which was the scene of a famous "work-in" in the 1970s.

Singer Corporation was also a major industry in Clydebank, giving thousands of jobs to the townsfolk but has since closed, with a Clydebank Business Park where it's famous building used to stand (next to where Singer railway station is now)

During World War II Clydebank's production of ships and munitions for the allies made the town a target for the German Luftwaffe: 439 bombers dropped over 1000 bombs on 13th and 14th of March 1941. Of 12,000 homes in the town fewer than a dozen were undamaged and over 35,000 people were made homeless. The raid, known as the Clydebank Blitz, was the worst suffered by Scotland during the war and resulted in 578 civilian deaths, the total per-head of population, one of the highest in WWII was devastating. A memorial to those who lost their lives on those nights can be found at [Graham Ave], [you can check the casulty list for all registered deaths].An additional [memorial to the dead of both WWI & WWII can be found at the Town Hall in Hall St]. A further memorial to the "Defenders of Clydebank", the officers and sailors of the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun is found opposite the Town Hall. The ORP Piorun was in John Brown's shipyard at the time, and was remembered for the heavy anti-aircraft fire it put up during the raids. Two German bombers were shot down by RAF fighters during the raid, but none were shot down by anti-aircraft fire.