David Hodge (13 September 1909 – 9 December 1991) was

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...

from 1977 to 1980. He was a member of the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

. Hodge was born in Glasgow, to David Hodge Sr., an employee at the

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

, and Sarah Hodge (''née'' Crilly). In his youth he played football for

Greenock Morton F.C. Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish Professional sports, professional Association football, football Football team, club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of t ...

before embarking on a career as an insurance agent. In the war he served in

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. In 1971, Hodge joined the

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

. He later served as chairman of the magistrates committee and then as chairman of the licensing committee in 1974 after a reorganisation of the local government. He served as chairman of Glasgow Constituency Labour Party before becoming Lord Provost of Glasgow from May 1977 to 1980. He was one of the most popular lord provosts and enjoyed a high public profile. He was later credited with helping to lay the foundation for increasing tourism to the city. Hodge became Lord Provost in the midst of a period of political uncertainty. The 1977 elections for Glasgow District Council saw Labour lose their majority, but they were still the largest party on the council with 30 seats to the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

25. Labour decided not to try retain power rejecting the possibility of coalition deals with either the Conservatives or the SNP. This seemed to pave the way for the Conservatives to try to form a minority administration, although they also refused to work with the SNP. However Labour did decide to nominate Hodge as a candidate for Lord Provost. When the Council met on 9 May 1977 SNP abstentions meant that Hodge was elected as Lord Provost over the Conservatives Jack Richmond. As the Conservatives had said they would only form an administration if a Conservative held this office, this caused an uncertain situation. Ultimately Richmond urged his colleagues to form an administration nonetheless and they eventually agreed to do this after an internal vote among the Conservative group. During his term of office he was involved in a memorable

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

prank, when it was reported that he would be singing in the lead in Scottish Opera's next production of ''Il Rapolfo''. He also unveiled a statue "The Concept of

Kentigern Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this s ...

". In 1980, Hodge was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

and received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

. Hodge, who was Roman Catholic, was an

Officer of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

. He and his wife Mary, who died in 1989, had three children together. David was previously married in 1939 to Dorothy Quinn. They had a daughter in 1940 and Dorothy died in 1941 from colon cancer. So in total, he had four daughters.

References

External links

Theglasgowstory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, David 1909 births 1991 deaths Lord Provosts of Glasgow Greenock Morton F.C. players People educated at St Mungo's Academy Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of St John Deputy Lieutenants of Glasgow Association footballers not categorized by position Scottish footballers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II