It would be as well I think to review the French Class from its
very conception, in order to have a complete record of all factors concerned.
On 9.10.62, a letter was received from a
Mr. Oliver Brown, O.A, M F.I.L, of Achenairn, Glasgow, Road, Milngavie, I which
he made reference to an educational experiment carried out in Fresnes Prison in
France.
Mr. Brown went on the state that he thought
such an experiment could well be considered in a Scottish Prison, and that if
we were interested he would be pleased to help.
On Wednesday, 24th October,
1962, a meeting was arranged and present on that occasion were, yourself, the
Chaplain, myself and Mr. Brown.
From the discussion that followed it was
agreed that I should attend to obtain ‘volunteers for a class in Conversation
French, and that dependent upon the numbers interested, I should decide whether
to go ahead of not.
For various reasons I decided that the
Younger Recidivists should be the group from what I would attempt to form the
class, and I duly posted notices inviting the interested amongst them to
contact me.
2. This process, to a great extent, of
self-education, for without the co-operation of the ‘students’ and a certain
amount of ‘homework’, the class would
have failed.
3. This voluntary’ class and for many
participants this was the first constructive effort ay of them had made to
‘make their sentence serve them;.
4. The interest emanating from the class
had a noticeable effects upon the participants in “ A’ Hall itself. Only one of
those attending the class got into any trouble in the Hall during the whole
course.
It should be stated here that the class was
composed of all Y. R. elements from the ‘docile’ to the ‘hard case’.
5. The courses may have the effect of
encouraging certain of the ‘students’ to continue these studies when liberated.
6. On completion of all the students had an
impressive if superficial knowledge of the French Language.
With reference to Mr. Oliver Brown
The response was surprisingly good,
somewhere in the region of 18 prisoners, expressing a wish to take part. I had
previously decided that 10 prisoners would be the minimum number required to
form a class, so after examining liberation dates I decided that we would have
sufficient numbers all through the course to make it a worthwhile venture.
Mr. Brown was contacted on 14.12.62 the first
class commenced. Present on that occasion were 17 Young Recidivists al of
course from ‘A” Hall.
After the commencing date a few other
prisoners asked to join the class and the were absorbed as we went along.
The last class was held on Friday, 12th
instant, and a look at the attendance register showed me that our average
attendance throughout the course was 13.
This figure I found extremely satisfactory,
and a splendid tribute not only to Mr. Brown but to ‘student’s also.
During each Friday evening that the class
met, they were supervised by Officer a. MacPherson of the Borstal Section, and
in his final report to me ha stated that he could scarcely credit the fact that
week after week the behavior of prisoners from ‘A’ Hall was near perfect.
There were no ‘incidents’ during any class
and I am quite convinced the presence of an Officer was almost superfluous.
It would be as well now to consider the
value of such a course and to state future intentions.
We are researching what constituted crime? What demographic were imprisoned, and for how long? What were the circumstances that lead them to be in that situation? This and many more elements are being covered and also looking at the comparisons of the history of Barlinnie 130 years ago up to the present day. Our amazing researchers have already come up with some truly remarkable and very interesting facts, that represent society's views, primarily on people from poorer backgrounds. A surprising amount of people were imprisoned for non payment of fines. So simple, so wrong.
We've set up a blog looking for any more contributors with any stories linking to Barlinnie, If you find out more about your relative, we'd love to hear about it on here or email jules@theatrenemo.org
Also, we, Theatre Nemo, run a series of creative workshops within Barlinnie and have set up a mentorship programme for those who are coming to an end of their engagement with Barlinnie. This link is from stage one of Barlinnie: A Living History project. An exhibition of artworks, visual art and audio all created by participants within Barlinnie. PLEASE WATCH this short video. http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/magazine/223291-barlinnie-prisoners-with-mental-health-problems-helped-by-theatre-nemo-arts/
Please feel free to share this article.
Wednesday 27 March 2013
STV POST By Rachael Fulton
Theatre Nemo to unlock rehab secrets from Barlinnie's past
Barlinnie inmates: Investigating the prison's pastTheatre Nemo
For 130 years, Barlinnie Prison – or Bar L as it is locally known – has kept West Coast prisoners under lock and key.
Its cell doors have bolted at the backs of generations of criminals, most notably gangster Paul Ferris, Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and gangland murderer Jimmy Boyle.
These criminal celebrities steal the spotlight when stories of Barlinnie are told, but local charity Theatre Nemo believe there is more to be learned in the hidden, unread chapters of the prison's history.
"There have been a lot of histories of Barlinnie, but they have been all about the famous and infamous people," said Isabel McCue, founding director of Theatre Nemo.
"This is not about the Jimmy Boyles. It's about ordinary, working-class people, often living in poverty, and what would have happened to them and their families as a result of their imprisonment.
"We want to compare their experience with what it is like today. We hope it will shed light on what we are doing wrong and how we can make it better."
The charity aims to investigate these stories throughout 2013, culminating in a documentary entitled 'Who Built Barlinnie?' and artwork showcasing an honest history of the prison.
Theatre Nemo uses the creative arts to help rehabilitate people with mental health problems, and has a long working relationship with Barlinnie and its inmates.
The group provide creative workshops to help prisoners express themselves, engage with others and successfully re-integrate into society at the end of their jail term.
The charity has secured £9,700 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to deliver the Barlinnie project and uncover the prison's crime trends of the last 130 years.
The idea for the project was sparked when director of Theatre Nemo Isabel McCue was gifted one of three bricks from Barlinnie’s old hanging quarters by the prison governor.
“The governor said to me ‘If these bricks could talk, what a tale they would tell’ and that got me thinking," said Isabel.
Isabel then sought funding for the project, before appealing for information from ex-prisoners, prison workers and anyone with knowledge of the institution.
“Our main aims are to investigate the social impact of Barlinnie," said Isabel.
“We’re looking at the social issues of 130 years go in Glasgow when the prison was built and what issues are causing crime in Glasgow today.
“Some of the research shows it’s astoundingly similar. Poverty, alcohol - all the same issues. Surely we should have solved these problems by now?”
Barlinnie accepted its first prisoners on August 15 1882 and has grown to be Scotland's largest and most complex prison, which currently houses 1,220 inmates.
Inside Barlinnie
Theatre Nemo work within the prison's high dependency unit, helping people with mental health problems and rehabilitating them through creative activities such as Japanese drumming, script writing and art.
Isobel recognised that, by scrutinising Barlinnie’s history, she and fellow Theatre Nemo project workers could unearth valuable lessons about rehabilitating prisoners.
"We work with people with severe mental health conditions who have had a hell of a life, as awful a life as you can imagine," said Isabel.
"They have to battle against the odds.
"A big focus of ours is what happens to the prisoners when they get out of prison, because inside they are getting help and support and then they go out to nothing.
“When they leave, most of them say they are going to try and don’t want to go back to jail, but it doesn’t work out like that because life is so chaotic for them.
"They don’t have any money or housing and they are trying to keep away from the people they have been hanging about with that ended up them getting into trouble in the first place, so they are alone."
Students from Smithycroft Secondary School, which sits directly adjacent to Barlinnie, will help Theatre Nemo by examining the building's history between 1914 and 1945.
Researchers from Aberdeen University and criminology experts from Glasgow Caledonian University will investigate the causes of crime and the city's social environment through the ages.
The team will also explore the resources available for offenders within prison over the last 130 years, the rehabilitation programmes that existed and how these compare to today's prisons.
"We want to know what help people used to get in prison, what educational resources did they have? How do we change people's perceptions of prisoners?" said Isabel.
"It’s to help people understand that if we don’t help, encourage and support people in prison they’ll keep going back to prison when they get out."
Although the public are more familiar with grim corners of Barlinnie's history - the ten prisoners that were hanged there or the 'slopping out' method of using a bucket as a toilet in cells - this project will focus on the positive improvements made in prison life and the opportunities now open to offenders.
Theatre Nemo hope to hold a display of artwork within Barlinnie at the end of the project and later tour different Scottish venues with their film and findings.
"We want to take our film to show to policy makers, to people outside who don’t understand," said Isabel.
"We’re not making excuses for criminals, we’re looking for causes. What happened? If we don’t figure it out we will keep going through the same things.
"There’ll just be new prisoners and new prisons. We need to help and support people.
"They need to do things to take their mind off things so that they don’t slip into that mentality of ‘There's nothing to do so I will join a gang again’.
“We are giving them social skills and engaging them once they are out of prison and getting them socialising with different friends once they are out of prison.
"We need to stop offending from happening, then we’ll stop having victims and we’ll have a healthy, happy Scotland."
Do you have any information or stories about Barlinnie that could contribute to the project? Contact Isabel here.
Thursday 21 March 2013
Some Chilling Facts About Capital Punishment
from Bob Jeffrey's book “History of Barlinnie”
A total of 10 judicial executions by hanging took place at HMP Barlinnie between 1946, replacing the gallows at Duke Street Prison, and 1960, before the final abolition of Capital punishment in the United Kingdom for murder in 1969:
Date
Name
Age (years)
8 February 1946
John Lyon
21
6 April 1946
Patrick Carraher
39
10 August 1946
John Caldwell
20
30 October 1950
Christopher Harris
28
16 December 1950
James Robertson
33
12 April 1952
James Smith
22
29 May 1952
Patrick Gallagher Deveney
42
26 January 1953
George Francis Shaw
25
11 July 1958
Peter Manuel
31
22 December 1960
Anthony Miller
19
Each of the condemned men had been convicted of murder. All the executions took place at 8.00 am. As was the custom, the remains of all executed prisoners were the property of the state, and were therefore buried in unmarked graves within the walls of the prison. During the D hall renovations of 1997, the prison gallows cell (built into D-hall) was finally demolished and the remains of all the executed prisoners were exhumed for reburial elsewhere.
Inside Barlinnie