大象传媒

AB42 2ZX - Peterhead

John Mclean was born to a Highland family, but they were forced to move and they settled in Pollokshaws near Glasgow. After his father鈥檚 death, in order to support the family, Mclean鈥檚 mother went back to her old profession as a weaver and took in lodgers.

Mclean became determined that to repay his mother鈥檚 sacrifices for the sake of his education by putting his intellect at the service of the working class. Mclean trained as a school teacher but his Socialist beliefs led to friction and in 1915 he was sacked from his post at Lorne Street Primary School.

He was a fierce opponent of the First World War. 鈥淗e argued that what was at stake was a struggle between Imperial nations for a share of the world鈥檚 resources - and not worth shedding a drop of workers鈥� blood for,鈥� says Dr Bill Knox, Senior History Lecturer at St Andrews University.

In 1918, against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, Mclean was arrested and put on trial for sedition. Despite an eloquent, seventy five minute speech in which Mclean accused capitalism of 鈥渄ripping from head to toe in blood鈥�, he was found guilty and imprisoned for five years in Peterhead Prison.

鈥淢clean didn鈥檛 see himself as a criminal, he was a political prisoner,鈥� explains Bill Knox. 鈥淪o he refused to co-operate with the authorities. No sooner was he imprisoned than he embarked on a five month hunger strike, gravely weakening him mentally and physically.鈥�

The Labour movement on Clydeside mobilised a campaign to have Mclean released, a campaign which gathered strength throughout 1918. The increasing confidence of the Labour movement, in tandem with the government鈥檚 fear of revolution, forced the government of the day to make concessions. One of the key concessions was the release of Mclean and he emerged from Peterhead Prison in December 1918.

鈥淚 think he鈥檒l always be seen as a heroic figure,鈥� says Bill Knox. 鈥淗e stood for the best things within the socialist movement. He might have been a sort of dour character but he inspired the best in people, even though he could never convince them to go along with him politically.鈥�

Image courtesy of Caledonian University.

Show less