Communists versus Fascists: London Street Fighting Volume 0ne - 1932 to 1933

                    Streets Paved With Blood.

                              Volume one 1932 - 1933.

During the 1930's political street fighting in London reached epidemic proportions, battles between various left wing groups and the British Union Of Fascists were frequently vicious. These are their stories, gleaned from contemporary newspapers, the events that left the capital with streets paved with blood.

                     West Middlesex Gazette - Saturday 3rd December 1932.

A large hostile crowd gathered on Monday night outside the Prince Of Wales Baths in Kentish Town where a BUF meeting was being held.

When the meeting was over Sir Oswald Mosley and a number of his supporters tried to make there way through the crowd to enter waiting motor coaches. A number of people broke through the cordon of foot and mounted police and threw missiles at the coaches, some of the windows being broken before the police succeeded in dispersing the crowd.

Prince Of Wales Baths, Kentish Town

The Daily News (London) - Wednesday 7th December 1932.

Razors, broken bottles, chairs and walking sticks were used as weapons in a disturbance at a meeting addressed by Sir Oswald Mosley at Battersea Town Hall last night.

Sir Oswald's Fascist "Stormtroops" tackled the bottle wielders with gloved hands and in half a minute had ejected 25 of them.

Nine milk bottles and five safety razor blades set in wooden handles were seized in the corridor outside.

Battersea Town Hall

The Daily Herald - Tuesday 28th March 1933.

For the fourth time in a fortnight a band of men, some of whom shouted Communist slogans, raided the headquarters of the BUF in Walworth Road S.E, yesterday.

Walworth Road.

Sticks , stones and bricks were hurled through the windows of the club, which is on the first floor. For nearly an hour there was a pitched battle on the stairs leading up to the club. Banisters were torn down and an attempt was made to set fire to the building. A charge by mounted police scattered the crowd of more than 200.

An official of the Fascist club, whose hand was injured during the fight, told a Daily Herald representative:

"Five of us in the club defended the stairs, we had to use fists against a barrage of sticks and iron bars. Meanwhile things were being hurled from the street and a heavy piece of iron hurtling through the window narrowly missed one of our men."

"This is the fourth time men have raided the club, we have received threats that the building will be burned down and during the fight on the stairs oil lamps were snatched from the walls and the oil poured over the stairs. The battle must have lasted nearly an hour".

                                Illustrated Police News - 3rd April 1933

Norman Holliday, a solicitor's clerk, of Craven Street, W.C, who said that he was a member of Sir Oswald Mosley's Fascists' organisation, was at Hampstead Police Court fined £5 for assaulting Solomon Woolf, a Jew, of Wessex Gardens, Golders Green.

                                       The Blackshirt - 17th April 1933.

Four members of the BUF were attacked by a mob of 200 hooligans from the anti-Fascist demonstration in Trafalgar Square, on Sunday 9th April. This mob, comprising the entire audience attending the mass "demo", were incited by their leader to put our Fascists down and kick them in the testes.

This latter order being well understood by the gentlemen of the party, they attempted to put it into effect. Our four members held their own until reinforcements arrived from Headquarters and, although the Reds outnumbered our men by ten to one, they all obediently followed their leader in the opposite direction.

As we had no intention of following them back to Whitechapel, our men withdrew, whereupon these valiants returned - on the other side of the road - and had the courage to shout abusive epithets at the building. Such are the peace loving organisation, the Communist Party.

The Daily Herald - Monday 1st May 1933.

Jumping on the running boards of motor cars and taxis, policemen from all quarters of Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square rushed to a disturbance in Wardour Street and Coventry Street late last night.

The Trouble began when a body of BUF in blackshirts were surrounded by a crowd of more than 2,000, many of them Jews.

Wardour Street and Coventry Street 

For some time a party of 14 Fascists had been selling their paper "The Blackshirt" but soon a number of people became antagonistic towards them.

A fracas developed and the Fascists found themselves surrounded. On the arrival of the police many of whom were sent from Vine Street when news of the disturbance was known, the crowd broke up but not before many people had received cuts and kicks.

When the police started to break up the crowd a number of Fascists ran along Wardour Street, hundreds of people started following. There the Fascists formed a square and held the crowd back. Later police took seven men to Vine Street, where they were followed by the crowd who were kept from approaching the police station by cordons across the road.

Vine Street police station

                                                  

                                         Daily Mirror - Tuesday 9th May 1933.   

Remarkable stories of a west end battle between Fascists and Jews told at Marlborough Street Police Court yesterday, when a number of men some of whom wore blackshirts were charged before Mr Mead.

Kenneth Christian Thompson-Clarke and Maurice Cadell were remanded on bail on a charge of disorderly conduct in Golden Square, both men wore blackshirts.

John Feigenbaum and Hyman Goldstein pleaded not guilty to assaulting Kay Fredericks in Shaftesbury Avenue. Mr Fredericks, who wore a blackshirt and whose head was heavily bandaged, said he was a music hall artist and gave an address at Park Crescent, Brighton. "About 11 o'clock last night", he said "I became separated from my friends in Shaftesbury Avenue, a number of people descended on me".

Mr Mead: were you wearing any distinctive dress? - A blackshirt, there were four of us in that dress.

Mr Mead: why do you wear it? -  We belong to the Fascist movement.

"There was a crowd of about sixty", continued witness, "I got a blow on the jaw and fell on my hand and knees. Two Jews came up and kicked me". He identified Feigenbaum and Goldstein as the men who kicked him.

Asked by Mr Mead whether he had any feeling against Blackshirts, Feigenbaum said "I think they are unjust in that they would intimidate and persecute people because of their race". Both men were sentenced to imprisonment in the second division for five weeks, the magistrate saying it was a most brutal assault.

John William Taylor was fined 20s for insulting behaviour in Denmark Street, Harry Faber was fined 10s for obstructing police and attempting to rescue Feigenbaum and Goldstein.                                      

                                     Croydon Times - Saturday 3rd June 1933.

A disturbance between Communists and Fascists in Katherine Street, on Wednesday night, has a sequel at the Croydon Police Court on Thursday, when two men appeared before magistrates.

Brian Terence Finnegan, a labourer of Coldharbour Road, Waddon, appeared in court with his hand bandaged, pleaded not guilty to the charges of using insulting words and behaviour and with wilfully damaging the window of a car owned by Sir Oswald Mosley.

PC Conquest (great name) stated that shortly before ten o'clock on Wednesday night when a meeting in Katherine Street terminated there was a lot of shouting and swearing. There was some fighting when attempts were made to clear the crowd and the Blackshirts were followed up the street by the Communists. At Fell Road the Blackshirts got into a motor car and Finnegan going forward shouted "you rotten lot" and smashed the window.

Katherine Street and Fell Road, Croydon

Finnegan replied that "the Fascists were making obscene noises like school kids, and putting their fingers to their noses. I stepped forward and shook my fist at them. They came looking for trouble, with knuckle dusters and clubs. The car stopped and my hand went through the window."

Finnegan was sentenced to one month with hard labour.

The second case was against Leslie James Cuming, BUF organiser of Welwyn Garden City, he was charged with using insulting words and behaviour. 

PC Miles said Cuming was the Fascist speaker at the meeting. When the meeting ended there was some shouting and singing, he rushed into the crowd with others shouting "we are British, let's charge them". A fight then started and the defendant was arrested.

Cuming was granted a week's remand in order to obtain witnesses.

                                 Richmond Herald - Saturday 3rd June 1933.

Inspector Clements said that at about 10.40 pm on Sunday he saw about 20 Fascists parading along George Street, Hill Street and King Street distributing copies of "The Blackshirt". Later they proceeded to Richmond Green and a crowd assembled, after several remarks from both sides a scuffle started.

The police stopped this and started to march the Fascists back to the roadway, when one of them broke away and started fighting with a Mr Maurice, whereupon another Fascist also joined in. About 11.30 pm another lorry load of Fascists arrived and it's occupants dismounted, it looked as though trouble would start afresh, but witness managed to avert this.

Police Sergeant Moore, who was on duty at the green at the time of the disturbance described the situation at one period as a very nasty one owing to the aggressive attitude of both parties. He said that it required about a dozen policemen to deal with the disturbance.

King Street looking towards Richmond Green

                                    The Daily Herald - Monday 28th August 1933.    

One man was injured and had to be taken to hospital when nearly 200 men and women stormed the platform at an open air meeting of the BUF at Whitestone Pond, Hampstead Heath yesterday.

Police were called in to break up the crowd which surged round half a dozen Fascists, the injured man was taken by ambulance to the New End Hospital. 

An eye witness said that "at the close of the meeting, which was punctuated by continual interruptions, the crowd dashed towards the platform. One of the Fascists was knocked down and the other members stood around him as he lay on the pavement and fought to keep the crowd away".

Whitestone Pond, Hampstead Heath

                               St. Pancras Gazette - Friday 15th September 1933.

On Saturday at Marlborough Street Harry Distelman, costermonger, Hampstead Road, was charged with assaulting Kay Fredericks, a Fascist, at Shaftesbury Avenue.

Prosecutor said that on leaving a restaurant with a friend they were followed along Frith Street, people were shouting "down with the Blackshirts". Some of the crowd made a rush at witness and companion and prisoner struck witness in the face, fracturing his cheekbone. Witness was talking to two constables when the prisoner struck the witness, the prisoner ran away.

PC Rice gave chase down Shaftesbury Avenue into Dean Street, round two taxis then again into Shaftesbury Avenue where the prisoner suddenly stopped by a wall and said "I have not moved, I have been here all the time" prisoner was then arrested.

Prisoner was sentenced to one month with hard labour.

Shaftesbury Avenue, Dean Street on the left

Lewisham Borough News - Tuesday 10th October 1933.

In the dock were Arthur George Wright, labourer and Geoffrey Clark, member of the BUF, they were charged with using insulting words and behaviour in Wilson Street.

PC Sainsbury said that just before 8 o'clock on Saturday evening he was on duty at a meeting held by the Fascist Party who were endeavouring to get a hearing in the face of a great deal of heckling. Suddenly there was a disturbance in the middle of the crowd and he saw Wright and Clark fighting,

Wright was using a leather belt. Witness got between them and after a struggle parted them, witness took Wright into custody and Clark was arrested by another constable.

Wilson Street, now Willshaw Street

Wright said he was listening to the meeting with his wife, some of the crowd were heckling and some were singing the Red Flag. Suddenly confusion broke out and Clark with two other Fascists adopted a threatening attitude towards the crowd. The singing continued and Fascists rushed into the crowd exclaiming "you will have no ---- Red Flags sung in Deptford". The crowd broke up and Clark adopted a vicious attitude and struck him, breaking his glasses.

Clark said he was in ordinary clothes at the meeting and he had been told to take no action unless the crowd became very bad.

The speaker was unable to get a hearing and there was a great deal of interruptions. Then members of the crowd began singing the Red Flag and Blackshirts went into the crowd to eject the offenders. The crowd retreated in a semi circle and he moved up to fill a breach in the ranks of the Blackshirts. He then saw Wright viciously waving what looked like a rubber truncheon. Wright struck a Blackshirt and witness closed with him to take the weapon from him. Wright fell back into the crowd who surrounded them and attacked him, all he did was defend himself.

Both were bound over for 12 months to keep the peace.

At the same disturbance Sydney Hickman, labourer, was also charged with insulting words and behaviour. PC Cornwall said that Hickman was one of the chief hecklers. He persistently shouted "take those dirty blackshirts off". When a fight broke out in the centre of the crowd he rushed in and struck two men. He became very violent when arrested.

The magistrate commented saying "keep out of these meetings, you are far too old for these disturbances", he was bound over for 12 months.

                                   Acton Gazette - Friday 13th October 1933.

Members of the BUF, some of them wearing blackshirts, endeavoured to hold a meeting on the Mount, Acton, on Thursday last week. The speaker was frequently interrupted, he spoke frankly about Communist doctrine in general and of the behaviour of his opponents in particular, apparently giving them still further cause for anger.

The Mount, Acton.

Cries of "out the blackshirts" and "down with Communism" were raised, someone beat a tattoo on the parish church notice board and also a placard, on which was written the words "down with Fascism", of which there was a struggle for possession.

Two arrests were made, William J Liversuch and Harry C Love. PC Turner stated that there were interruptions and shouting, Liversuch was seen to mount the platform and shout "I will back anybody up against the British Blackshirts". There was much argument afterwards and fighting commenced. Liversuch was seen fighting and was arrested, he denied that he was the cause of the trouble and was find 10/-.

In regard to Love, who pleaded not guilty, PC Mond said he saw him fighting with another man and arrested him, Love was also fined 10/-.

                       Lewisham Borough News - Tuesday 24th October 1933.

A Blackshirt Allen Campbell McCallum of Carnaby Street was accused of assaulting Alfred William Cooper of Forest Hill in Avenue Road, Lewisham on October 12th.

Cooper said he was in the crowd at a Fascist meeting at the corner of Avenue Road when a section of the crowd began singing the "Internationale".

Magistrate: What is the Internationale?

Cooper: Well, it's similar to the Red Flag.

Magistrate: I've never heard a more doleful dirge.

Continuing Cooper said that suddenly the Fascists attacked the crowd like madmen. He found himself surrounded by Blackshirts and in the struggle that ensued McCallum deliberately struck him on the jaw.

Magistrate: Were you singing the Internationale? - Yes Sir.

Magistrate: Why do you sing the Internationale if you don't want to interrupt meetings? Your only object in singing was to annoy people. Why don't you stay at home and sing the Internationale where it would be appreciated, or go to some vacant piece of land like Plumstead Marshes and sing where it would not be resented?

Cooper: I wasn't the only one, I joined in with the others.

Captain Lewis (BUF legal advisor): Roughly how many Communists decided to attend this meeting? - I should say there was none. As a matter of fact the Lewisham Communist Party is very small. I doubt whether there are 20 in it. There was only one I knew there.

Magistrate: Well that is a poor sort of chorus, was the singing to interrupt the speaker - Yes Sir.

Harold Edward Cooper, previous witness's father, said there was a lot of heckling and booing at the meeting. Suddenly a whistle blew and the Fascists made a mass attack on the section of the crowd that was singing.

Magistrate: Why should there not be an attack if people behave in an ill mannered way at a meeting? It is a country of free speech. Why should not they try to prevent them, it is only human nature?

Cooper added that he saw his son attacked by four Fascists. One deliberately knocked a woman down and scrambled over her to get to his son.

Coopers mother said that the Blackshirts attacked the singers like a pack of hounds.

McCallum, in the witness box, said that a fight broke out in the crowd. When it had practically subsided he went to tell his fellow Blackshirts to resume their positions round the speakers van and Cooper, who was very prominent in singing and shouting rushed at him and tried to get him round the knees as in a rugby tackle. If he had completed the lock he would have gone through Woolworth's plate glass window. But I hit him under the chin and he staggered back into the crowd.

Cooper, cross examining McCallum: It is strange that Fascists wear chest protectors at these meetings, it seems as though they come out prepared for a fight.

Magistrate interrupting: Oh, that cuts both ways. You went there to sing something and upset the meeting.

Arthur Mills and Philip Brunswick, both Blackshirts said that McCallum struck out at Cooper only in self defence. He was in danger of being thrown through a window or of being trampled under foot.

The Magistrate said it was a case in which it was not easy to ascertain what exactly happened. People should refrain from singing songs at meetings, otherwise, when the mellee came, they must not whine too much if they got hurt. Case against McCallum dismissed.

                               Daily Herald - Monday 13th November 1933.

A running fight between a crowd and a party of Blackshirts took place in Whitehall yesterday while the neighbourhood of the Cenotaph was thronged.

Trafalgar Square

The fight started from Trafalgar Square and spread as far as the Horse Guards Parade.

An emergency squad of mounted police came out of Great Scotland Yard with batons drawn and dispersed the demonstrators. Several factions had been holding meetings in Trafalgar Square earlier and had tried in vain to get the German Embassy to admit a deputation demanding the release of prisoners in German internment camps.

Two people were arrested in Trafalgar Square during the clash and a Union Jack belonging to the British Fascists was seized and torn to pieces by Communists. Outside the German Embassy in Carlton House Terrace thousands of demonstrators had to be charged by the police and several people were injured, including a woman.

A meeting of Fascists at Spouters Corner in Wood Green last night was broken up. One of the demonstrators was taken to a police box and locked in while the crowd clamoured for his release, later police reinforcements arrived and the man was led away.

Spouters Corner, Wood Green

                                      Daily News - Saturday 25th November 1933.

Men smashing at each other with chairs; 

Women beating off attackers with umbrellas; 

Unconscious men lying on the floor; 

Chairs flying in all directions.

These were some of the amazing scenes at a Fascist meeting in Trinity Hall, Great Portland Street last night and more amazing was the trouble started when someone shouted "I object to that man cleaning his fingernails in public".

The words were directed at a man on the platform, immediately the place was in an uproar, half the audience standing up shouting "apology". Blackshirts moved to effect the interrupter and a moment later the battle was in progress.

Chairs hurled by supporters of the interrupters rained on those on the platform and very soon there were hundreds of smashed chairs all over the hall. One man lay unconscious under a pile of broken chairs. 

The first move of the interrupters was to tear down from the walls a Union Jack on which was superimposed a black swastika and stewards rushed forward with cries of "Imperial Guard". A standard bearer was attacked and the flag was torn to pieces. No quarter was given and men with blood streaming from wounds beat at one another with chairs.

Windows were broken and one man had most of his clothes ripped off. After the battle had lasted a quarter of an hour a strong body of police forced their way into hall. Some of the more violent men were forcibly removed.

The meeting was organised by the Imperial Fascist League and the interrupters are alleged to belong to the BUF.

Later the meeting proceeded in an orderly manner, there were cheers for Captain Leese when, with his head swathed in bandages and his torn clothes pinned together, he appeared on the platform to address the meeting.

A member of the audience said that the police had assembled in the basement of a building opposite the hall. Two men were arrested.