The Post Office Directory Of Glasgow 1937-1938

The Post Office Directory of Glasgow 1937-1938 (Digital Download or CD)

Product Description:

Step back into the vibrant and industrious era of pre-war Glasgow with this complete facsimile of the Post Office Directory for 1937-1938. An essential resource for genealogists, local historians, and anyone researching family history in "The Second City of the Empire."

This comprehensive directory offers a fascinating snapshot of Glasgow life on the eve of the Second World War. Whether you are tracing the movements of your ancestors or researching the history of your home, this directory provides the details you need.

Navigating the Directory: Please note that this directory is a high-quality scan of the original book, consisting of digitized images. Therefore, it is not text-searchable in the traditional sense (i.e., you cannot simply press "Ctrl+F"). However, the publishers of the original directory organized the content meticulously in alphabetical order by surname, street, and trade, making manual navigation surprisingly intuitive and swift.

Tip: Users with modern PDF readers (such as Adobe Acrobat) can often utilize the "Recognize Text" (OCR) feature to create a searchable layer on the fly.

Why This Directory is Vital for Genealogy (The Census Gap): This directory is an incredibly valuable tool for bridging the UK census gaps. The 1931 Census for Scotland was destroyed during the Second World War, and no census was taken in 1941 due to the conflict. The 1921 Census was only recently released, leaving a massive 30-year void until the 1951 Census becomes available. The 1937-1938 Directory is one of the few ways to pinpoint exactly where your family lived and what they did for a living during this lost decade.

What's Inside: This volume contains hundreds of pages detailing the residents and businesses of Glasgow during this pivotal year. It is divided into clear, easy-to-use sections:

• Street Directory: An alphabetical list of streets, showing the head of household or business occupying every single address on the street. Perfect for tracing the history of specific houses.
• Commercial/Trades Directory: A classified list of businesses and professionals. Find out who the local bakers, grocers, shipbuilders, and lawyers were.
• Alphabetical List of Private Residents: The "White Pages" of its day, listing the private addresses of the city's inhabitants.
• Official and Municipal Information: Details on the Corporation, public officials, churches, schools, and institutions.

Glasgow in 1937-1938: A Snapshot in Time This was a time of immense pride and transition for the city.

• The Empire Exhibition: This directory captures the city just as it was preparing for the massive Empire Exhibition of 1938 held at Bellahouston Park. The atmosphere would have been buzzing with construction and anticipation.
• Industry: Despite the looming war, Glasgow was still the industrial workhorse of the UK, famous for shipbuilding on the Clyde and engineering.
• Sports: The city was obsessed with football. The directory lists the grounds and officials for the giants of the Scottish game, Rangers (who were dominating the era) and Celtic, as well as clubs like Partick Thistle, Queen’s Park, and Third Lanark.
• Famous Residents & Connections: While we cannot list every private individual, this era saw many famous Glaswegians residing in the city. The comedian Sir Harry Lauder was a frequent figure in the city's social circles during this time. Sir William Burrell, the shipping magnate and art collector, was actively acquiring art for his collection during this period. John Logie Baird, the inventor of television, had connections to the city, though by this time he was largely based in England, his family roots remained strong here.

Important Disclaimer: Please be aware that, as with many archival editions of this directory, the original map sections were unfortunately missing or damaged prior to digitization. Therefore, this product does not include the street maps usually found at the rear of the volume.

Reconnect with your Glasgow roots and walk the virtual streets of 1937 today!