Glasgow Langside

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

The Boys had survived the Holocaust as slave labourers in the Nazi concentration camp system, in hiding and by living alone. 

After arrival in the UK, members of the Boys spent time in the reception centres before being moved to children’s homes known as hostels. Others were sent direct to boarding school or yeshivas, and those who were sick spent time in sanatoriums.

Some of the members of the Boys were lucky enough to find relatives or were taken in by foster families but the majority were moved to children’s homes known as hostels. Glasgow Langside was one of these hostels.

^{Langside Synagogue}

Overview

The hostel was formerly the Gertrude Jacobson Orphanage, which opened in 1913. It was home to a group of the Boys in 1946, who moved there from Cardross.

The Langside Story

The hostel was situated on the south side of the city in Sinclair Drive. The building has been demolished.

Living space was crowded, as Harry Olmer recalls. “I was in a room with 6 other boys with only a chair between each bed.”

They were advised to learn a trade and Olmer studied dental mechanics. In the evenings they attended classes, studying English, Maths, German and Polish amongst other subjects. They spent their free time at the nearby cinema or at the Tarbut Hebrew club.

The Staff

Olmer remembers the cook Julie Mahrer fondly. She was Austrian, came to England before the war. She moved with the Boys from Cardross. She later worked at the Primrose Club in London.