Thomas Glover's Reel

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s set, dance down, cast down behind 3s and lead up (RH joined) to face 2L (Man's 2nd corner) in prom hold
9-16 1s dance diagonal reel of 3 with 2nd corners
17-24 1s dance LH across with 2M (1L leading), RH across with 3L and 1s dance out 2nd place opposite sides into...
25-32 1s dance LSh reels of 3 on opposite sides (1M up and 1L down) and cross diagonally to 2nd place own sides

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Thomas Glover's Reel - Full Size And Key To Symbols

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Dance Information

Thomas Blake Glover was born at 15 Commerce Street, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland on 6 June 1838, the fifth of eight children, to Thomas Berry Glover (1806-1878), a coastguard officer from Vauxhall, London and Mary Findlay (1807-1887) from the parish of Fordyce, Banffshire. Thomas Blake Glover spent the first six years of his life in Fraserburgh, which was fast expanding as a fishing and trading port.

In 1844, the family moved first to coastguard stations at Grimsby, then Collieston in Aberdeenshire, then finally to the Bridge of Don, by Aberdeen, Thomas senior having by this time been promoted to Chief Coastguard Officer. Young Thomas was educated first at the recently opened parish school in Fraserburgh, then in primary schools in Grimsby, Collieston, and finally at the Chanonry School in Old Aberdeen. Upon leaving school, Glover took a job as a shipping clerk with the trading company Jardine Matheson and in 1857 he moved to Shanghai.

In 1859, aged 21, Glover crossed from Shanghai to Nagasaki and worked initially buying Japanese green tea. Two years later, he founded his own firm, Glover and Co. (Guraba-Shokai).

His business was based in Nagasaki. It was here that he had his home constructed; the building remains today as the oldest Western-style building in Japan.

As Glover had assisted in toppling the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Boshin War, he had cordial relations with the new Meiji government. These links led to his being responsible for commissioning one of the first warships in the Imperial Japanese Navy (the Jo Sho Maru, later called Ryūjō Maru), which was built by Alexander Hall and Company in Aberdeen and launched on 27 March 1869. Glover also commissioned the smaller Hosho Maru for the navy and the Kagoshima for the Satsuma clan from the same Aberdeen shipyard.

In 1868, Glover made a contract with the Nabeshima clan of Saga Domain in Hizen Province and began to develop Japan's first coal mine at Hashima Island, Takashima. He also brought the first dry dock to Japan.

Glover was a key figure in the industrialisation of Japan, helping to found the shipbuilding company which was later to become the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. Negotiating the sale of William Copeland's Spring Valley Brewery in Yokohama, Glover also helped establish the Japan Brewery Company, which later became the major Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. An urban myth has it that the moustache of the mythical creature featured on Kirin beer labels is in fact a tribute to Glover (who sported a similar moustache).

In recognition of these achievements, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (second class).

His association with the rebellious samurai clans of Satsuma and Chōshū, and his interest in samurai generally seems to have contributed to his being referred to as the "Scottish Samurai" in Scotland.

Statue Of Thomas Blake Glover In The Glover Garden In Nagasaki, Japan

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