6 Maintaining order in the early twentieth century

The period 1900–1939 continued to see violent public disorders, often starting from political or economic demonstrations. A perception that immigrants were ‘stealing’ jobs triggered the 1919 ‘Race Riots’ in various port cities. There was also disorder following the National Hunger March of 1932. An accessible overview of the 1919 Race Riots and a set of historical documents are provided by The National Archives [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . moved from footnote

It was during this period that the responsibility for policing public order shifted decisively away from magistrates towards the police. This shift can be illustrated by contrasting the policing of the miners’ strike in Tonypandy (1910) with the Battle of Cable Street (1936).

In 1910 a long-standing dispute at coal mines in the Rhondda valley area of Wales resulted in a strike and there were confrontations between striking miners and police. The local justices requested military support from the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, and this was authorised on condition that it be held in reserve ‘until all other means have failed’. Several hundred Metropolitan Police officers were also sent (Vogler, 1991, p. 76). Disturbances in the area lasted several weeks and the troops were eventually deployed. Over 500 citizens and around 80 officers were injured.

Figure 9: British politician Sir Oswald Mosley inspects members of his British Union of Fascists shortly before the riot which became known as the ‘Battle of Cable Street’ [Description: Black and white photograph showing Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists inspecting his men. All in full 'blackshirt' uniforms and saluting. The inspection is taking place in Royal Mint Street, London and there are Union Jack flags behind the men.] Source: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/british-politician-sir-oswald-ernald-mosley-inspects-news-photo/3311264?adppopup=true

The 1910 events at Tonypandy can be contrasted with fascist and anti-fascists clashes in London in 1936. The British Union of Fascists (BUF) (see Figure 9) had considerable popular support but was increasingly opposed by a broad-based anti-fascist coalition. The BUF planned a march for 4 October 1936. On the day, several thousand BUF members were confronted by 100,000 or more anti-fascist counter demonstrators.

Around 6,000 police were deployed but they struggled to keep the demonstrators apart and prevent violence. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Philip Game, read the Riot Act, but further clashes between police and protestors ensured. The clashes became known as the ‘battle of Cable Street’. It is notable that the tactical response was left to the Metropolitan Police alone, with no recourse to the military and no government oversight or intervention.

By the start of the Second World War (1939–1945), therefore, responsibility for policing public order had passed decisively to the police. The Public Order Act gave them new powers to manage large demonstrations and, in the decades after the war, they developed experience in using its provisions and continued to develop and refine civilian riot control tactics.