Ghobrail Glasgow

[muso_bob]

I have an address for my mother living at c/o Ghobrail, 152 West Graham Street, Glasgow C.4.

I have no knowledge of such a place - the address in West Graham Street does not seem to exist today. My mother who died overseas was there mid year 1946.
I hope the wonderful team of RC'ers can show some light or direction my way.
Thank you, Robert

[bleckie]

Hi Robert

Have a look at this site it may give you some info

http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/info-streetschanged2.html

Yours Aye
BruceL

[IMBER]

Forgive me if I have misunderstood your query but surely Ghobrail is the surname of the householder or similar? Doesn't seem to be a common name but a quick Google suggests foreign, possibly Asian, origins?

[Lodger]

West Graham Street is still where it always was! In an area called Garnethill, very city-centre, just behind Sauchiehall Street. At one time it had a large Jewish population but in the 1950s & 60s it became quite rundown. Nowadays it's a little more up-market.
 http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=258494&y=666204&z=0&sv=G4%209LJ&st=PostCode&lu=N&tl=~&ar=y&bi=~&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf

[fifer1947]

The address is an even number, these appear to have been on the north side of the street of which little remains.  

Also the motorway cut right through the higher numbers at the end of the street.  There are still some odd numbers on the south side opposite Stow College but doesn't look like they go as high as the hundreds.  

Another casualty of the motorways I'm afraid.

You might like to try the pics on the Virtual Mitchell.  
http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/virtualmitchell/  
Just select street search and type the street in.

Good luck!  

[fifer1947]

but in the 1950s & 60s it became quite rundown. Nowadays it's a little more up-market.

Aye but it had loads of character and great community spirit! 

[muso_bob]

Thank you once again lodger and fifer 1947. Most interesting. Thank you as well bleckie for your link.
Robert

[muso_bob]

Dear Imber I have no idea what the Ghobrail alludes to. It may well be a name, I have also seen now that it is quite an uncommon name. A document I have is an address on an envelope to my mother in 1946.

My Mother's Name
c/o Ghobrail
152 West Graham Street,
Glasgow C.4.
I would have thought if it was a person's name it would have had some sort of Title or initial. So I was wondering if it was a building or company name?
I am sorry if it created confusion for you, it certainly did for me.
Regards, Robert

[IMBER]

I think it was quite common to address someone as c/o (surname).  Certainly correspondence to people staying with my grandparents in Glasgow just after the war was c/o Lindsay. They stayed in a tenement and the custom then was to have a brass plaque or similar with just the surname on the front door.  Given what was said above by others the name might be Jewish? I guess most Asian names appeared later than 1946?