Glasgow City Archives calls on locals to document life in Covid-19 lockdown

And are you writing it all down in a diary?

The team at Glasgow City Archives is calling on the city’s men, women and children to document their time during coronavirus.

“We are all living through an extraordinary period in history,” explains archivist Michael Gallagher.

“We want to encourage the people of Glasgow to record their experiences of coronavirus, which we will keep forever in the City Archives. 

“That way future generations can gain a real insight into life under lockdown during a global pandemic from a variety of perspectives.”

Glasgow City Archives, based at the Mitchell Library, is a fascinating treasure trove 
of official and private records which tell the story of the city and its people. 

“Every day we hear people say we’re living through history, but our history is a shared one, so we are asking you to take part and help us capture a snapshot of life during this time,” adds Michael.

One of the diary entries by Thomas Cairns Livingstone

“What we’re asking is for people to keep a daily diary. It can be as simple or as detailed as you like. You can add sketches and drawings to your entries as well. What are you doing, feeling, seeing and even eating? How is the situation affecting you, your friends and family?”

He adds: “No detail is too big or too small. It is often the day to day minutiae that paints the most vivid picture.”

Looking for inspiration? Glasgow has been home to some interesting diary-writers over the centuries.

Thomas Cairns Livingstone, for example, was a merchant shipping clerk, who wrote his diaries between 1913 and 1933. 

In them, he noted everyday events like doing the household chores, the Glasgow weather and what music he listened to, against the backdrop of an uncertain period of history. 

Annotated entries from the diaries were later published as the much-loved books Tommy’s War and Tommy’s Peace. 

Members of many landed families kept diaries.

Livingstone often illustrated his entries

Those of Sir William Stirling Maxwell of Keir (1818-1878) for example, chart his travels as a young man in Europe and his first visit to Spain, which sparked his lifelong interest in Spanish art and resulted in him becoming a noted authority on the subject. 

The Smith family of Jordanhill also travelled extensively, often for their family’s health. 

The archives hold the travel diary of Sabina Douglas Clavering Smith (who became a love interest of Lord Kelvin) from 1845 which records her impressions of places like Malta and Jersey. 

Many more people were able to read and write by the early twentieth century and the collections reflect this. 

John Francis Clement (b.1915), another diarist who added hand-drawn and coloured illustrations to his diaries, fought in the 5th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery during the Second World War. 

His diaries chronicle his capture and internment on Taiwan from 1942 until 1945. 

Michael adds: “Anyone can take part, the more variety we have the better. We would love to capture entries from all walks of life and all ages, including children. 

“Don’t worry about creating a wonderful piece of literature – we don’t want that. The important thing is that we document your experience of living through an extraordinary time.”

Diaries can be anonymous or very personal, in an electronic format or hand-written, and everything will be treated with care and sensitivity, explains Michael.

“This may mean not allowing people to read other’s diaries until after a long period of time has passed,” he says. “Our archive collections bring joy to many and provide important research information  for others. Today’s diarists are providing rich, intriguing material that is important to capture for the future.”