We are pleased to share Rachael Quigley’s article about the research she conducted as part of her History work placement. Rachael, and her colleague Sarah, researched our collections relating to Glasgow and populated our Glasgow resource guide.
As an MSc Health History student at Strathclyde, I was given the opportunity to undertake an eight-week placement within the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room. Within this time, I have been able to delve into some of the amazing collections that are held here.
Along with my fellow MSc student Sarah, we were tasked with the exciting opportunity to create a resource guide for the Glasgow-related collections, to time in with the celebration of Glasgow 850. We both chose collections which stood out to us – which was a difficult task within itself as they all hold such fascinating material.
A particular highlight of my research has been the Kirkwood Papers. This collection documents the thinking and lifelong work of Colin Kirkwood, and his wife Gerri (Geraldine) Kirkwood, along with their many collaborators and friends. The couple led a life which was filled with important work in community activism, particularly in the inner-city scheme of Castlemilk, and adult education, as seen in the provision of Writers Workshops in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and across Scotland.
While looking through the collection, I found myself responding with a range of emotions. Colin Kirkwood was a strong believer in the power of ordinary people over authority rule and took it upon himself to facilitate and encourage individuals within schemes like Castlemilk to express themselves and see the value of their own words.
Within the ‘Mud and Stars’ Castlemilk writers workshop publication within the collection, there are strong themes: working-class struggles and despair, about having little money and worries of losing their jobs, their homes and their lives. But within this, there are many humorous stories, some written in Glasgow slang, about the day-to-day working-class life in a Glasgow scheme.
What I took from looking at this part of the collection was that the Kirkwood’s beliefs and intentions were evident in the products of their work. Colin and Gerri Kirkwood saw potential in a scheme with a rough exterior but with a strong community full of voices to be heard. This feeling can be drawn out of some of the stories within ‘Mud and Stars’, which speak of the fresh-aired haven that Castlemilk was supposed to be when everyone moved there. It was contrasted with overcrowded and deteriorating schemes like the Gorbals and was seen to be a new and promising land. However, the stories go on to describe how unemployment, drug abuse, poor housing conditions and government policies had tarnished the once thriving area.
This apparent feeling within the people of Castlemilk reiterated and confirmed the belief of Colin and Gerri Kirkwood that the communities within schemes like this had the ability and the right to express their thoughts, and on a wider scale that the deteriorating condition of inner-city schemes in Glasgow and other Scottish cities in the 1980s had to be recognised.
Further information:
Our latest archival display (June - September 2025) on Level 3 of the Library showcases some of the collections featured in the enhanced resource guide.
