Calton Weavers ComMeMoratioN COMMITEE
Fighting for historical justice
for Glasgow's Calton Weavers
The Calton Weavers Commemoration Committee (CWCC) was formed in May 2023 by grassroots trade unionists who were tired of this historical amnesia. We didn’t wait for permission. We took inspiration from the spirit of those weavers who laid down their lives for social justice and began rebuilding the memory of their sacrifice.
Our first commemorative event in September 2023 was a powerful day of remembrance and celebration. It began at the Calton Burial Ground where three of the weavers are buried, continued through a walking tour of the radical past of the Calton, and finished with food, fellowship, and a talk from Elspeth King—historian, curator, and author of The Glasgow Weavers’ Strike of 1787.
True to the best traditions of the Scottish working class, we shared mutton pies, macaroni pies, tablet and macaroon—a feast of memory and community.
We partnered with Calton Books to publish a new edition of The Glasgow Weavers’ Strike of 1787, featuring a powerful new introduction by Elspeth King and a foreword by STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer. It also includes the 1953 pamphlet written by Harry McShane, former Glasgow TUC secretary and lifelong revolutionary, reminding us this isn’t just history—it’s a tradition of struggle passed through generations.
In 2024, we expanded the commemoration with songwriting workshops and community engagement, creating new cultural expressions of the Weavers’ fight—keeping their legacy alive through music, speech, and action
We’re proud to already be supported by:
Calton Books
Clydeside IWW Branch
Green City Wholefoods
McDougall’s Solicitors
NAS/UWT (teachers’ union) Scotland
RMT Motherwell & Wishaw Branch
The Great May Day Cabaret
UCU Strathclyde University Branch
UNISON Glasgow City Branch
UNISON NHS Glasgow, Clyde and & CVS Branch
UNISON Housing & Social Care Branch
UNITE City Building Branch
UNITE Glasgow Construction Branch
UNITE Glasgow Education Branch
UNITE Community Branch
UNITE Retired Members Branch
Calton Weavers
Commemorative badge
A new badge to commemorate Glasgow’s working class martyrs murdered by the Militia in 1787 for taking strike action.
The Militia opened fire on the strikers, three died instantly and a further three died of their wounds. This happened 50 years before Tolpuddle and has not had the recognition that it should have.
All proceeds from the sale of this badge are contributing to the newly launched Calton Weavers Commemoration committee activities to re-claim the Weavers for future generations.
£5.00
GET INVOLVED
Join the Struggle for Historical Justice
We call on all trade union branches, national unions, socialist organisations, and working-class communities to affiliate to the CWCC and support our mission. This isn’t just about the past—it’s about who we are today and how we fight.
We also welcome individual members, supporters, and sponsorship from those committed to remembering our martyrs and building the power of the class they died defending.