About Parkhead By Robert McClair

My late mother Jessie McKenzie Russell and sister Helen, lived at 124, Crail St. ( straight across the road from Quarrybrae Public School) with their parents John and Chrissie Russell ( nee Morrison).
The parents met and married as they worked as driver and Clippie with Glasgow Corporation Transport, before John went off in the GCT ” Pals Battalion” , (15th Glasgow, HLI if I remember it right) like many others in WW1 and served in Belgium and France, where he was badly gassed and was a semi invalid for much of the rest of his life.
They stayed ” wan up” in their tenement building, and shared a landing with ” Donal’ Cameron ( a driver with Tennent’s brewery) and his wonderful wife, ” Leezie” Cameron ( who we all adored as both friend and neighbour) and their 4 kids , Theresa, Sam, Charlie, and ?….sorry, I’ve forgotten.
My mother worked in the Beardmores munitions site during WW2, and later married my late father David McClair, a patternmaker from Craigneuk Wishaw with them re locating to Wishaw around 1953/4 time….where they had two children ( both boys) being me, Robert McClair, in 1945, and then my two years younger brother, David.
Fond memories of Quarrybrae School, and playing in the rear tenement areas which we knew as ” the scabby lawn”…..which never had even the merest HINT of grass anywhere !……other memories included Wards Dairy ( on Tollcross Road just opposite the Corporation transport bus depot just a 100 yds. or so down the incline from ” Parkheid Steamie” , which I used to run past…terrified at the scary sound of the steam being released there from. Never been near a steamie since. Still think they must be full of monsters !.