- Italian Connection
- Novel Extracts
- 13 Seconds Short Story
- Press Release
- Evening Times Review
- The Paisley Snail
- Jack Johnson Article
- Old Photos Slideshow
- Anderston Video Link
- People's History ITV
- Personal Youtube Videos
- Acupuncture Article
- Radio Plays Synopsis
- The Reluctant Assassin
- Poetry
- Radio Interview
- Ringwood Interview
- Misc Photos
- 25 Gordon Street
- Banned books
- Grandfather Army Record
- 1966 Syndrome
- Books
- Daily Record Letters
- Crane
25 Gordon Street
Number 25 Gordon Street, about three blocks east from Glasgow’s Central Station, is an uninspiring building. Tenants have come and went over the years, among them the Girl Guides Association, Wedding Photographers and the Gordon Bridge Club. The latter first appears in the Glasgow Post Office Directory of 1956 at that address but by 1959 it’s gone- closed by the police. Lord Wheatley called it: ‘...that notorious place where every game of cards seems to be played except bridge.’ His observation was precise. Visitors to the club could play any number of card games: Chemin de fer, Blackjack, Poker, Three Card Brag among others. In fact any game that involved gambling- but not Bridge. The club was the brainchild of one Samuel MacKay who managed the club for a while before becoming part-owner. It was a gambling club at a time when gambling was considered by many as an illegal and immoral activity. High Street licensed bookmakers did not exist but if a working man wanted a punt he could use a street bookmaker and hope, if he bet a winner, the bookie would turn up the next day to pay him. There were some betting shops but these were frequently raided by the police and the bookie and his customers were arrested. Fines of five or ten shillings were imposed at the nearest police station on a per capita basis and paid by the bookie. Of course if you were well-heeled you could have a telephone account with a bookmaker or go to the racetrack where you could bet legally. The Gordon Club’s clientele included bookmakers, a smattering of Glasgow’s top gangsters, a famous safecracker and a serial killer by the name of Peter Manuel. It was a place where illegal deals were negotiated, robberies were planned and you could rent a safe blower or buy a gun. Between 1958 and 1959 the Gordon Bridge Club featured in two of Scotland’s major criminal cases: The trial of Peter Manuel and the Shettleston bank robbery.
During Manuel’s trial the police gave evidence that during a search of Manuel’s home they found a National Assistance form with the name McKay written on it along with the Gordon Bridge Club telephone number. They later carried out investigations at the club and learned that Manuel was a regular visitor who had recently came in to the club looking for a package. A staff member tried in vain to convince the court he really worked in a bridge but inevitably was forced to admit it was a gambling den. Another witness, who identified himself as a clerk at the club, told the court that he was in a car with Manuel who showed him the contents of the package-a 9mm Beretta revolver and a matchbox containing 4 or 5 bullets. McKay said he recognised the gun from a photograph in the newspapers. He also told the court that Manuel tried to borrow £150, saying he needed to get out of Glasgow, but he refused to help. Manuel was later found guilty of murder and executed in July 1958. The following year the Gordon Club featured in another major trial, on this occasion the witness Samuel McKay, had swopped the witness box for the dock.
On Thursday 30th September 1959, staff of the Clydesdale and Northern Bank of Scotland on Shettleston Road, arrived at work to find over £38,000 missing from the safe- worth about £800,000 in today’s values. It was clear to the police that keys were used to enter the bank and open the safe leading them to suspect an inside job. Following a great deal of police pressure on a young bank apprentice he admitted he had supplied the robbers with keys which they had copied. The apprentice later turned Queen’s Evidence and a Shettleston bookmaker along with John and Samuel McKay were arrested and taken to Barlinnie prison to await trial. Sam McKay escaped from the prison hospital and remained at large until he was later recaptured. The robbery created a great deal of media interest and early in October members of the Gordon Club arrived to find the place closed on account of the bad publicity it was receiving in the press. It is perhaps somewhat perverse that the publicity the club received when one of their members was found to be a serial killer did not cause its closure but having a member who was a bank robber did. However it soon reopened until the police raided the premises . They removed blackjack tables, roulette wheels and other gambling equipment. Fifty arrests were made with police vans running a shuttle service to the nearest police stations. Fines were imposed on 48 individuals and the club never reopened. Samuel McKay was jailed for ten years for his part in the bank robbery and faded into obscurity on his release. The Press were fond of calling him ‘Dandy’ McKay due to his well turned out appearance in hand made suits, shirts and shoes but Detective Tom Goodall said he got the nickname from his constant reading of the comic with the same name. However, this was more likely said in a fit of pique, as the money from the bank robbery was never recovered. McKay never revealed what happened to the proceeds of the crime nor did he ever confirm that a plan to rob the Glasgow to London mail train was first discussed in the Gordon Bridge Club before it was forced to close in 1959.
lick here to edit.