Step back in time with GCU student’s award-winning tour
A PHD researcher is set to bring his work to the streets of Glasgow this month and provide an insight into what life was like for local people during World War II.
Kevin Morrison’s PHD focuses on the buildings, open spaces, networks and human capital that were utilised in aid of the war effort. He’s set to complete his Viva (final assessment) in the coming months, but not before his - now traditional - annual appearance at Glasgow Doors Open Day.
“Thanks to GCU’s Archive Centre, The Mitchell Library, and the Glasgow Women’s Library, I’ve came across so many anecdotal stories about Glasgow and how buildings were used,” explained Kevin.
“In 2018, I decided to approach Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival and told them I would like to do a wartime trail. This will now be the fourth year I’ve taken part.
“There’s probably 80 or 90 buildings that I can tell stories about. People are amazed when they come on the tour and hear what Glasgow was like in wartime. You always hear about the soldiers on the battlefields, but you don’t hear as much about what happened on the home front.
“Finding out about different people who lived and worked here helps bring these buildings to life, and it’s something I love doing. I actually ended up winning an award for it in my first year (Inspiring City Tour 2018), which was just amazing.”
32 years prior to leading groups of tourists around Scotland’s biggest city, there was a young man heading down to London in the summer sun with a very different agenda.
Kevin explained: “I’d been interested in the World War II when I was a boy, but I’ll be honest… I kind of forgot all about it! Then I went to Glastonbury in 1986 and everything changed.
“I was going to see The Cure and we had a bit of spare time, so we went to the Imperial War Museum. It completely spurred my interest and I basically just started reading all about that period of history between 1939 and 1945.
“At that time, I was working as a gardener, but through my reading I decided to go back to college. I ended up coming to GCU in 1990 as a mature student and at the same time there were a few shops in Glasgow that sold quite a lot of war-related memorabilia, so I started to buy different things. The more I bought the more I became interested in the home front.
“Quite a few years later, I actually worked at GCU as a Library Assistant. I hosted a collection, which related to the home front during World War II. I bought a leaflet for my collection and it had a Ministry of Food stamp on it – which is the part of the UK government responsible for overseeing rationing.
“It really got me thinking about wartime and how everything in society had to adapt. This brought me onto the different building and office spaces we have here in Glasgow and the purpose of them during the war.
“I got in contact with Dr Ben Shepherd and we had a talk about my interest. I came across the work of urban studies scholar Cliff Ellis who was researching buildings, networks and open spaces (not in wartime) which gave me a template for analysing wartime cities, I then added the economics principal of human capital and we decided there would be a PHD there covering that topic.”
Kevin’s appearances at Glasgow Doors Open Days have helped bring his research to a new audience.
He said: “I could try and do tours on my own but if you’ve got the endorsement and backing of a big event like this then it definitely gives you that platform to share everything you’ve learned.
“The tour starts at Charing Cross and winds its way through Sauchiehall Street. I always say to people at the beginning: ‘The only thing I want you to bring is your imagination’ and that’s because most of the buildings aren’t actually there. It’s the stories and little facts that will help bring it alive for everyone to transport back in time.”
Kevin’s tours are open to all and will run three times a day on the 15th, 16th and 17th of September.
He said: “A huge amount of tourists come to Glasgow and get involved, but there are also a lot of local people. I even gave a school tour last year and adapted things a bit to make it interesting for them.
“I call it ‘walk and talk’ because I also want to hear about participants' stories relating to World War II. It usually ends up being a wee community for 90 minutes. People bring along their prams and their dogs – it’s nice and relaxed!”
Kevin added: “It’s quite interesting as well because I’ve had quite a lot of new international students come along to get an idea of the area surrounding the three different universities in Glasgow.
“It would be particularly rewarding for me to see students and staff from GCU join me and discover more about the history of their city. Everyone is welcome and I’ll do my best to make it as fun as possible!”
Interested in getting involved? Find out all you need to know about Kevin’s tour: ‘Shop with safety’ the Second World War shopping experience on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street’.