'Meet me at The Knob' – The history of Glasgow's gay scene and the notorious White Hats
| Published date | 02 February 2021 |
| Author | Christina O'Neill |
| Publication title | GlasgowLive (Scotland) |
The group, aged between 20 and 34, used a variety of female pseudonyms – led by the notorious William Paton, known as Liz.
Among them were the colourfully named Happy Fanny Fields, Ella Shields, Edie Helly and Florence Ramsay.
In a very Ru Paul's Drag Race-esque tribute to his scheme, member Thomas Robbe even named himself Maria Santoye – after the notorious east end gang, San Toys.
Dr Jeffrey Meek, Economic and Social History lecturer at Glasgow University, has explored the history of the city's LGBTQ scene through his PHD research and website Queer Scotland.
Through years of researching and interviewing gay and bisexual men, he discovered the story of the little-known White Hats – who used nicknames to conceal their true identities from the authorities.
He tells Glasgow Live: "The names the White Hats used are interesting because they were mostly of variety hall artists who performed at the Empire, Panopticon and the Pavillion, whereas in Edinburgh, men's 'camp names' were glamorous filmstars like Tallulah Bankhead, Myrna Loy and Lillian Tashman.
"Even then, it played into the certain stereotype of Glasgow being more earthy and Edinburgh being more cosmopolitan."
Every single man in the White Hats had a criminal record: mostly petty crimes such as gross indecency, theft and blackmail. They were known for targeting wealthier clients in particular, who had a fair bit to lose at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
Ringleader Paton, once described by the Sunday Post as the "leader of the criminal underworld", cut a notorious figure in the city.
Originally from Dundee, he was a pimp who lived off the earnings of female sex workers, running an illegal nightclub on Woodlands Road, and preyed on people arriving in Glasgow looking for work and accommodation, taking them to these illicit venues.
The spots were known to the police, with reports from the time describing the men and women who went to these spots as "fashionably dressed" – an innocuous description which held rather subversive undertones in Glasgow in the conservative 1920s.
Dr Meek said it's likely that many of the men and women were sex workers, who lived, worked and socialised in these "safe spaces".
It may also come as a surprise to learn that some of the White Hats were blackmailed into...
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