IN THE back courts and gardens of tenements across Glasgow, helping the war effort meant doing whatever you could to support your family, friends and neighbours in difficult times.
They did not stop when the war ended, of course, and often attracted hundreds of people.
Our picture captures one huge event from 1959 in Thistle Street, Gorbals, featuring Alec Harvey and his dance band and the Laurieston Pipe Band.
It was staged to raise money for local pensioners.
Our recent feature on the back court concerts prompted reader Anne Hunter to get in touch with a touching tribute to healthcare workers then and now.
“I was brought up on Elder Street in Govan and my wartime memory of the concerts is very strong,” she says.
“A neighbour, called Mrs Maxwell, would rehearse all the local children in her small kitchen, which housed a piano and a sewing machine. She made the costumes, wrote the lyrics and composed the music.
“I am 88 but I can remember it all so clearly.”
Read more: Singing and dancing in the old back courts
Anne, who now lives in East Kilbride, adds: “Reading about the back court concerts in the Times rekindled many lovely memories. I can still remember the grand finale, all about the Red Cross – the same song could be sung for our NHS today, and for all the wonderful work they are doing in these awful times.I am proud to be a Glaswegian.”
The song went as follows:
“Save a little something for the Red Cross/Don’t throw your small change away/Give a little something for the Red Cross/ You may need their help some day.”
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