The Bigmen

Personal Memories Of Glasgow's Police

Joe Pieri

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The Northern Division was the name given to the police force which operated within Glasgow City boundaries prior to the creation of the Strathclyde Police Force. Its recruits were drawn largely from ex-servicement who were demobbed after World War II and, as a result, they became known as The Big Men. Their name was well-deserved as they set about clearing Glasgow's streets of the gangland "neds" who had overrun the city during the war. They took no prisoners and gained a fearsome reputation for no-nonsense street policing.This biography is written by a man who was close to them. Joe Pieri's cafe, the Savoy in Cowcaddens, was a haunt for policemen on the beat, with a blue police box situated just outside. The back shop often had a policeman in it, keeping an eye on the blue light atop the box as he made out his beat journal or had a drink. Cowcaddens was a tough city which added to the reputation of Glasgow as a mean city, but Joe has maintained a living record of what those days were really like. In this volume, he offers an insight into how the city was tamed and crime kept in check by the Big Men.