A Better Class of Person

Plaque commemorating Bob Cooney in the Castlegate. Unlike most such plaques, it does not mark Bob's house, but his political activities in Aberdeen, and one famous incident in particular: [William] Chambers-Hunter [BUF leader in Aberdeen] pencilled in the evening of Sunday 18 July 1937 for his big rally. The workers would be caught out on a Sunday in the height of the holiday season. He miscalculated. The grapevine was finely tuned; Bob addressed a crowd of 2,000 at the Links at 11a.m. They vowed to gather at the Castlegate in the evening. The Fascists duly arrived with their armour-plated van and their police escort, their amplifiers and their heavies. As Chambers Hunter clambered to the roof of the van, the workers surged forward, cut the cables and chased the Fascists for their lives. The Castlegate was cleared by 8 p.m. Bob was one of many arrested, and served his four days. A young Ian Campbell, later of Folk music fame, remembers sitting on his father’s shoulders watching Bob being carried shoulder high on his release from prison. He also remembers how the crowd went silent as Bob addressed them. It was Bob’s last speech in Aberdeen for a long time because within hours he was on his way to Spain [to join the International Brigade]. (from notes by his nephew, Councillor Neil Cooney; for more, see: Link )

  © Copyright Bill Harrison and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence .

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