The Gorbals , Glasgow , Scotland 46 year old James Docherty lives with his wife Margaret , adn their seven children in a "single end " measuring 18 ft x 15 ft on the first floor of 14 Lawmoor Street , a recently condemned property . Mrs Docherty keeps the family spotlessly clean . She is expecting another child shortly . In the Docherty home on Sunday afternoon , Mr and Mrs Docherty by the fire watching Tony , aged 2 1/2 November 1952