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Winston Churchill & The Siege of Sidney Street
« on: January 02, 2016, 06:05:52 PM »
Winston Churchill & The Siege of Sidney Street

January 02 1911


The Right Honourable
Sir Winston Churchill

A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.


Soldiers from the Scots Guards open fire at the terraced house on Sidney Street

Preface:
The Houndsditch murders

On 16 December 1910, a gang attempted to break into the rear of a jeweller's shop at 119 Houndsditch, working from 9, 10 and 11 Exchange Buildings in the cul-de-sac behind. An adjacent shopkeeper heard their hammering, informed the City of London Police (in whose area the shop was), and nine unarmed officers — three sergeants and six constables (two in plain clothes) — converged on Exchange Buildings.

Sergeants Bentley and Bryant knocked at the door of No. 11 Exchange Buildings, unaware that the first constable on the scene had already done so, thus alerting the thieves. The gang's leader, George Gardstein, opened the door, but when he did not answer their questions they assumed he did not understand English and told him to fetch someone who did. Gardstein left the door half-closed and disappeared.

The house consisted of a single ground-floor room, into which the front door directly opened, with a staircase leading to the upper floors on the left, and a door to the open yard at the back on the right. It was later deduced that Gardstein must have moved left towards the staircase, since if he had gone right and out of the yard door he would have been seen by one of the plain-clothed officers standing outside, who had a clear view of that side of the room.

Growing impatient, the two sergeants entered the house to find the room apparently empty, before they became aware of a man standing in the darkness at the top of the stairs. After a short conversation, another man entered through the yard door, rapidly firing a pistol, while the man on the stairs also started shooting.

Both officers were hit, with Bentley collapsing across the doorstep, while Bryant managed to stagger outside. In the street, Constable Woodhams ran to help Bentley, but was himself wounded by one of the gang firing from the cover of the house, as was Sergeant Tucker, who died almost instantly.

The gang then attempted to break out of the cul-de-sac, Gardstein being grabbed by Constable Choate almost at the entrance. In the struggle, Choate was wounded several times by Gardstein, before being shot five more times by other members of the gang, who also managed to hit Gardstein in the back. They then dragged Gardstein three quarters of a mile to 59 Grove Street, where he died the next day. Constable Choate and Sergeant Bentley died in separate hospitals the same day. An intense search followed for the murderers, and a number of the gang or their associates were soon arrested

The Siege of Sidney Street


Winston Churchill (highlighted) at Sidney Street, 3 January 1911

On 2 January 1911, an informant told police that two or three members of the gang – possibly including the gang's leader, Peter the Painter – were hiding at 100 Sidney Street, Stepney (in the Metropolitan Police district). Worried that the suspects were about to flee, and expecting heavy resistance from the anarchists to any attempt at capture, on 3 January 200 police officers cordoned off the area and the siege began. At dawn, the battle commenced.

The defenders, though heavily outnumbered, possessed superior weapons and great stores of ammunition. A detachment of Scots Guards from the Tower of London was sent to assist the police, and word got to the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, who arrived on the spot to observe the incident at first hand, and to offer advice. Six hours into the battle, and just as the 13-pounder field artillery pieces that Churchill had authorised arrived, a fire began to consume the building. When the fire brigade arrived, Churchill refused them access to the building until the firing from inside stopped. The police stood ready, guns aimed at the front door, waiting for the men inside to attempt their escape. The door never opened. Instead, the remains of two members of the gang, Fritz Svaars and William Sokolow (both were also known by numerous aliases), were later discovered inside the building. No sign of Peter the Painter was found. Besides the three policemen, a London firefighter, Charles Pearson, also died after debris fell from an upper storey.


Detectives inspect the house at 100 Sidney Street at the conclusion of the siege

From Wikepedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sidney_Street
« Last Edit: January 02, 2016, 06:09:56 PM by Asid »
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