KING EDWARD IN GLASGOW

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21726, 7 March 1936, Page 17

KING EDWARD IN GLASGOW

' 1 • 1 VISITS TO TENEMENT dwellers; ; 1 i. s DESCRIBES CONDITIONS Afl APPALLING (mnrao h»i usocutiok—«orntxav>J (Received March 6, 10.26 pjn.) LONDON, March' 6. After inspecting the liner Queen Mary the King visited the corporation housing scheme in Glasgow, entering six tenements. His visit to the tenements fulfilled unforgettably his broadcast declaration that he was still the. same as when he was Prince of Wales. The King strode over muddy cobbles and along dark alley-ways in j a district generally regarded as one 1 of the roughest in Glasgow. He 1 stood in dimly-lighted rooms and 1 listened with obvious distress to accounts of the miseries of families of ■ seven or eight living in two rooms; He visited a family of four where , a fortnight-old baby was in bed— . washing was drying in a corner. The father, blinded in a steelworks i accident in 1981, asked, "Who’s ' there?” King Edward replied, : “The King,” and warmly shook j hands with him. His Majesty listened to the wife’s , complaints that rats were every- . where and the rooms were so dark . that artificial light was necessary almost all day; The King was re- . lieved when he was told that they would be rehoused soon. He met a five-year-old boy who asked, “Are you the new King?” King Edward replied, patting the boy’s head, “Yes, sonny.” His Majesty told officials that the conditions were appalling, but that he had seen worse in Durham. He added: “Glasgow must redouble its rehousing efforts.” INSPECTION OP THE QUEEN MARY WORKMEN SHOUT “GOOD OLD TEDDY” (Received March ,6, 7.5 p.m.) LONDON, March 5. The King,' attended by the president of the Board of Trade (Mr Walter Runciman) arid the Secretary for Scotland (Sir, Godfrey. Collins) arrived this morning at . Glasgow from London, alighting at . a station close to the shipyard where the Queen Mary' is nearing completion. The object of the visit was to inspect the new liner. The chairman of the Cunard-White Star Line and representatives of the builders;, were waiting to receive the King at the gangway. As his Majesty walked aboard the * Royal Standard was broken out in the shipyard, but this was the only . sign that Royalty was-in the yard.. While the King- was making** * : a tour of the vessel one of the great turbines of the Queen Mary was running. . . 1 \ f When the King reached the main bridge the captain, Sir Edgar. Britten, was presented to his Majesty; and when he went into the engine rooms a number of workmen, and engineers was also persepted. The King conversed with the men for a few minutes. v ' ' /The King inspected almost every part of the ship, from the boiler , rooms to reach which he climbed down steel fodders, to the searchlight platform. He stood for some time on the bridge, fascinated by the scene below film in the shipyard and out over the Clyde. While he was on board many of the men who had helped in the liner’s construction were presented to the King* and when he. came ashore there were remarkable scenes of enthusiasm, cheering workmen breaking through the police cordon surrounding Him* The King expressed the hope that he would see the liner again before she goes into commission, and it is thought that there Is a possibility that he will make a short trip in her on ope of the trial runs. On leaving the Queen Mary the King was surrounded by cheering workmen who demanded a speech and shouted, “Good old Teddy,” recalling his grandfather’s nickname.