Anarchist symbols appear across Falkirk district including on historic phone box

The iconic kiosk was not the only target as the anarchist symbol – an A in a circle – appeared in several locations last week, on and around the railway bridge on Ladysmill, Falkirk.

But the group who restored the iconic K6 phone box on Ladysmill say the graffiti is now obscuring the story of the woman who played a major part in bringing free healthcare to the poor in Falkirk.

The classic phone boxes are themselves a key part of Falkirk’s industrial heritage, with an incredible 40,000 having been made for BT by the world famous Carron Company.

Across the district, several of them have now been adopted by FMF, who now use them to display colourful panels relating to local history. Some of those panels celebrate the achievements of Harriet Gibson, the woman who led a fundraising campaign to establish Falkirk’s first hospital in nearby Thornhill Road.

Duncan Comrie, secretary of FMF, said he was surprised to see anarchists target the kiosk – and he’d like to see them realise what they have done.

He said: “The phone box is perceived to be representing authority, although that is misguided. They probably didn’t read the text on the phone box but I’d like to make them realise that what they have done is insult the memory of Harriet Gibson and what she achieved – which was the beginnings of free access to medical care in Falkirk.

“As well as raising money for the hospital, she also raised money for the first district nurse for poor people who had no medical care at all, then started first aid training in the early days of St Andrew’s Ambulance – training ordinary people how to do first aid, because people didn’t really understand it then.”

Harriet was the wife of J E Gibson of Salton Iron Works, but Duncan’s research has found that her own childhood was far from affluent.

Her father seems to have been a gambler, whose losses led to his family being forced to live in a slum and Duncan believes this experience led to her absolute determination to help people who were living in poverty in the 19th century.

“Because there is no memorial to that first hospital, it was nice to use the phone box to communicate a bit of that history,” he said. “That’s what’s been painted over – and I’m sure even anarchists appreciate free access to medical care.”

Mr Comrie says the graffiti should not be dismissed as “just vandalism”.

“An anarchist symbol is a deliberate political statement and its not that common these days, so it’s a strange development.”

Although Falkirk Council owns the phone boxes, FMF has agreed to take care of them but the graffiti is proving very difficult to remove.

However, if necessary, the plastic panels will be fully replaced.