1919 Britain's year of revolution

[yperman]

Simon Webb's '1919 Britain's year of revolution' provides fascinating insights into the problems, and politics, of demobolising the British Empire's armed forces  in 1918-19. He describes in some detail the sheer scale of the naval and military unrest - and even mutinies - during 1919. He also  describes the very serious violence and rioting by the UK's civilian population, the disaffection of the police and  the deployment of  the dreadnaught HMS Valiant to intimidate the port of Liverpool, where regular soldiers and a few tanks were struggling to maintain law and order.

 

I was particularly struck by his account of the police strike of 1918 and the political debate ( at the time Haig was about to breach the Hindenburg line) on how to control the disorder in England. One line that I found surprising  was the claim that in London private soldiers of the Grenadier Guards had actually indicated they would not obey orders to use force on the striking police.

 

Food for thought and I suspect disagreement!

 

 

[Stoppage Drill]

There were two police strikes, one in the Met in 1918, the Government caving in quickly.

The 1919 strike was more widespread, particularly well supported in Birmingham and Liverpool. The Government took stronger action and carried out a threat to dismiss officers who failed to return to work by a deadline.

A commission led by Lord Desborough recommended many changes to police administration, and this lead to the 1919 Police Act and the formation of The Fed.

The last person to be killed by the Army acting in Aid to the Civil Power in England in peacetime was a looter in Liverpool.

Many Liverpool Scuffers who were dismissed still considered themselves to be constables on strike, carrying their NUPPO (National Union of Police and Prison Officers) 'On Strike' cards until the ends of their lives.