Civic humanitarianism: Glasgow, the Great War, and Belgian refugees

Abstract

Over the course of the First World War, around 250,000 refugees came to Britain from Belgium fleeing the German invasion of their country. Scotland hosted around 20,000 of these migrants. Glasgow Corporation, the city’s municipal government, assumed national responsibility for the refugees’ care across Scotland for the duration of the War. In organizing this humanitarian relief, the Corporation drew upon the support of a wide range of individuals, institutions, and organizations. These bodies came together to host refugees and provide financial assistance for their relief. This chapter offers an overview of the Scottish contribution made toward Belgian refugees during the First World War. The chapter begins by contextualizing relief efforts made in Glasgow with those carried out elsewhere in Britain and in Europe during the First World War. Following this, the city of Glasgow’s role in assisting Belgian refugees is considered. It is argued that the work of Glasgow Corporation created a humanitarian legacy. The chapter contends that the relief of Belgian refugees in Glasgow during the First World War prefigured later attempts to assist refugees in Scotland during the 20th century. International humanitarianism and the assistance of those fleeing oppression and warfare became important to Glasgow’s local politics, its civic culture, and to wider Scottish political identity in the 20th century. Ideas of hospitality and traditions of welcome continue to be mobilized in relation to the projection of ideas around refugees and migrants in contemporary Scotland.