Historically in Scotland dairying was the preserve of the South-west of the country; in the area covered by the former counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Wigtown, Ayrshire, Lanark, Renfrew, Dunbarton and Bute. There, the mild climate, the long grazing season and good pastures in these counties encouraged farmers in its practice.
Until late in the 19th century, because of its perishable nature, the produced milk had either to be distributed locally or, to get it to further-off places of consumption, made into butter or cheese.
For some of the farms an additional source of revenue was derived from the sale of cows to dairies in or near the towns for the liquid milk trade.
As the nineteenth century drew to its close, proportionately less milk was processed on the farm and more taken to the then-emerging creameries for processing.
By the early 1930s complementary distribution networks had evolved for both liquid milk distribution and factory cheesemaking.
In Glasgow by this time, a number milk distribution depots had been established; including:
The Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society, Ltd., at Titwood Road, Crossmyloof
East Kilbride Dairy Farmers Ltd., at Silvergrove Street, Bridgeton
The Poloc Creamery of H. and H. Kennedy, Ltd., at Cogan Street, Pollokshaws
An article published in The Commercial Motor (April 1935) provides some interesting insights into the ways in which improvements in road transportation had massively transformed the possibilities and patterns of daily milk distribution in the City of Glasgow.
The article focuses on the The Milk Act (1934), which empowered education authorities to provide daily milk for children receiving education in the schools under their control. Each child was to be provided with a bottle containing 1/3 of a pint for the charge of 1d., and In the case of ‘necessitous’ children, the milk was supplied free of charge. Wherever possible, the children were to receive their milk at 10.40 a.m., that is, just before the morning “break”.
Glasgow Corporation was one of the first authorities to take advantage of the permissive powers of the legislation. The collection, pasteurisation, bottling and delivery of the necessary quantity of milk for the city was a large-scale undertaking of considerable challenge – involving as it did some 180 schools and 150,000 pupils.
The contract for the supply of the milk was divided between the three concerns outlined above:
SCWS – 50%
EKDF – 25%
Kennedy’s – 25%
The procedures adopted for implementing the milk contracts varied, although there were naturally many points of similarity.
SCWS Ltd.
SCWS, Ltd., serviced 124 of the schools with a daily delivery of nearly 75,000 bottles, (amounting to 3,075 gallons). The milk was supplied from two SCWS creameries situated in East Kilbride and Kilmarnock (Witchknowe).
In both cases, partly in SCWS lorries, the milk was collected from various farms in the surrounding districts, pasteurised, bottled and then delivered to the Glasgow distribution depot. Supplies to the schools start at 6 am, with all bottles delivered before 10.30 a.m. The empties were collected later, returned to the depot and thereafter to the creamery of origin.
The Kilmarnock Creamery supplied the Govan, Tradeston, Springburn and Hillhead areas, whilst the East Kilbride depot delivered to Maryhili, Cathcart and Pollok.
Kennedy’s Ltd
The Kennedy portion of the contract amounted 36.700 bottles. The company delivered to 51 schools in all, situated in the Bridgeton, Camlachie and Gorbals areas.
Milk in cans was delivered from farms by contractors to Kennedy’s Poloc Creamery – where it was pasteurised and bottled. Lorries, each capable of carrying milk for 13 schools were employed though milk for nearby schools was delivered by horse and cart.
EKDF Ltd.
At East Kilbride Dairy Farmers, collection and delivery from the farms was undertaken directly by the creamery. The arriving cans were run down a conveyor to tanks, where the milk was weighed and then pasteurised and bottled.
The schools served by EKDF were in the Bridgeton and Shettleston areas, and in the Central, Kelvingrove and Partick districts.
At the premises of all three suppliers, because the milk requirements remained practically uniform from day to day. Thus, apart from breakages; the same bottles were used day after day, arriving back in the afternoon in time to be washed and filled with the milk which had been collected and pasteurised during the day. After filling, the bottles were put into cold storage until they are delivered the following morning. All of which was achieved in parallel with the distribution to a plethora of dairy retail shops and door-step delivery businesses.
Sadly, all three depots have now been long-demolished.