Hard Men In Brigton, Were they really hard Options

[dizzybint]

I lived in Bridgeton until they pulled the place apart in the late 60s early 70s leaving us all thrown to thewinds.. in places we didnt want to be...ah always mind the talk of the old gangs.. who ruled the place, with protection rackets etc, no the hard men they were made out to be.. they were no Robin Hoods as some might think either...and this wasnt wee neds hanging round street corners drinking Buckie either... they were men.. who took over and handed out their own laws.

[benny]

Ah remember ma sister tellin me aboot a guy frae Brigton she knew. (Ah'm no gonnae name names, because he may well still be alive.) Anyway, it seems his brother-in-law had been duffin up the guy's sister, so the guy found his BIL in the pub an took his fingers aff wi a cleaver. That sounds like a hard man tae me.

[Dexter St. Clair]

Here's the story of another Brigton Hard man and part time nazi.

Notorious Glasgow hardman Billy Fullerton was 'bully and wife-beater'...

Dr Andrew Davies, a historian at Liverpool University, debunks much of the "fiction" that has sprung up about cowardly, fascist Fullerton, who led a fearsome gang in 1930s Glasgow.

The Billy Boys revelled in their reputation as underworld figures who were quick to flash a blade but dashing and loyal to their wives and children.

Davies, whose book on the gang will be published in 2012, said: "Fullerton himself was jailed for wife-beating in the 1930s, so in terms of myth-making that goes on, I'm just keen to subject these claims to critical scrutiny."

Daily Record report

[dizzybint]

Fullerton died in Brook street in a single end.. I also rembember his son hanging around Bridgeton Cross.. not the best people.

[benny]

The first hoose wan o ma sisters got when she got married wis in Baltic Street, an she hid tae pay the "key money" tae Oany (spelling?) Fullerton, Billy's son.