Paisley Cinema Disaster memorial postcard, 1929

Black edged memorial postcard commemorating the Glen Cinema Disaster, Paisley, which resulted in the deaths of 71 children. The disaster was caused by the incorrect storage of a film canister which caused the nitrate film to heat up and produced smoke inside the entrance passageway of the cinema. The smoke caused panic, with children rushing to the rear exit which was a concertina style, metal gate which had been locked to prevent children sneaking in. This resuilted in 70 children being crushed to death trying to escape from what they thought was a fire, and one child dying from a fractured skiull. The reverse has a handwritten shopping list with prices added to it.