Local records
CRIME & PUNISHMENT
27/2/06
2:01 pm
Page 42
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT stank of whisky and had to be taken to hospital, where she was in a critical condition for several days. The scourge of “steaming”, where a crowd barges into a shop causing maximum fear and disturbance before stealing goods, is another crime where the past echoes the present. On 23 August 1873, a train carrying 500 holidaymakers returning to Newcastle after a trip to Edinburgh, stopped at Galashiels for 15 minutes for the engine to take on water. One newspaper reported: “As soon as the train drew up, the excursionists jumped out of the carriages and crowded the refreshment room, where only one young woman was in attendance. “At first, what they took was paid for but, shortly after, a general scramble took place and everything that could be readily-lifted was carried off without acknowledgement, including teapots, bottles and glasses. The tap on the whisky barrel was turned on and each helped himself as opportunity offered. The whole party escaped with their booty and the train started before steps could be taken to arrest them.” Nor are race riots a new phenomenon. Some of the most graphic photographs I found are from the Arab riots, which hit South Shields in 1930. The riots followed months of increasing tension involving Yemeni seamen, who had been brought to the town decades earlier but were no longer needed during the Depression. Rumours circulated that the Arabs used bribery to get jobs on the ships – thus robbing white men of work. At the same time
the Yemenis felt a new rota system discriminated against them. On 2 August a large crowd of Yemeni gathered outside the Shipping Foundation offices in Mill Dam to hear rousing speeches from their leaders. Trouble started around lunchtime, when four white men were hired for the steamer Etherelda and, expecting trouble, police were drafted into the area. There are conflicting reports about what sparked the ensuing chaos but, whoever was to blame, there was soon furious fighting between a group of white sailors and the Yemenis. Police drew their batons and charged – only to be met by a hail of stones and screams of abuse. Then the Arabs drew their knives, stabbing four policemen. Police reinforcements waded in with their batons as the riot spilled over into nearby Holborn, injuring dozens of innocent bystanders. By the time the fighting was brought under control the area was strewn with bricks and dotted with pools of blood. Twenty Yemenis were given prison sentences with hard labour, ranging from three to 16 months. After serving their sentences, they were all to be deported. Finding out the stories behind the old photographs of criminals has been an amazing adventure. I can’t help but look into their faces and wonder whether their descendants are still walking our streets today. Nigel Green has worked for newspapers and television for more than 20 years, specialising in crime reporting.
COMPETITION
WIN Tough Times We have three copies of Nigel Green’s Tough Times to give away as prizes to readers who can name the 14year-old Victorian joy-rider mentioned in the article. Send your answer on a postcard to Tough Times Competition, Ancestors, PO Box 38, Richmond TW9 4AJ, or email ancestors@nationalarchives.gov.uk, remembering to add your name and address. Closing date is 3 April 2006. To order a copy of Tough Times, send a cheque for £12 (includes postage and packing) made payable to Nigel Green Media, along with your name and address, to PO Box 614, Whitley Bay NE26 4WZ. The book can also be ordered by logging on to www.nigelgreenmedia.com.
TAKING IT FURTHER Most of the cases here originally appeared in local newspapers, particularly the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Shields Daily News and the Sunderland Echo. Copies can be found in local studies libraries or at the British Newspaper Library in London (call 020 7412 7353 or visit www.bl.uk/collections/ newspapers.html for details). Newcastle Central Library, call 0191 277 4166 or visit www.newcastle.gov.uk/ libraries1.nsf/a/librarywelcomepage? opendocument. North Shields Library, call 0191 200 5424 or visit www.northtyneside.gov.uk/libraries/ localst/local.htm. This library holds Wellesley Nautical School’s annual reports. Sunderland City Library, call 0191 514 8406 or visit www.sunderland.gov.uk/public/ editable/themes/lifelong-learning/ Localstudies.asp. The Tyne and Wear Archives has a small but very interesting selection of photographs and criminal records of prisoners held in Newcastle Jail in the 1870s. Call 0191 232 6789, or visit www.tyneandweararchives. org.uk for details.
An Illustrated Police News depiction of holidaymakers raiding the refreshment room at Galashiels.
42 • ANCESTORS APRIL 2006
A website devoted to the North East police can be found at www.nepolicehistory.homestead.com.