Alexander Wylie Petrie

Pain in the arse of the Glasgow Establishment - 1853-1937

Alexander Petrie was affectionately known as "The Glasgow Clincher" from the title of the newspaper he wrote, edited, published and sold. A hairdresser by trade, Petrie was a witty and flamboyant man. His wit he claimed, was due to one particularly agile brain cell.

The first edition of The Clincher was published in 1897 and Petrie sold it himself on the streets of Glasgow where he became a well known and popular character.

He used The Clincher to wage a series of attacks on the Glasgow establishment, in particular, Glasgow City Council, or Glasgow Corporation as it was then known.

The heid bummers, the councillors, or "useless numpties" as they are now known, didn't like Petrie and he was regularly arrested for disorderly conduct.

Eventually the Corporation got so pissed off with him that they had him arrested and committed to Woodilee Hospital, a sanitorium for the mentally insane.

The ensuing public outcry secured his release accompanied by a certificate signed by an independent Doctor, certifying his soundness of mind.

Thereafter he claimed that he was the only certified sane man in Glasgow.

And who would argue.