The Battle of Cable Street 1936

by Cable Street Group

This book describes the famous clash of 1936 between police and anti-fascists when Sir Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirt army attempted to march through largely Jewish Stepney in East London. 100,000 people crowded the streets, barricades were erected and the area successfully defended. The story is partly told through the voices of those who took part. The authors also examine the political, economic and social conditions of the time - and its present day legacy. The Cable Street Group came together initially to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, publishing an early edition of this booklet, whose writers included Ruth Kelly, later Minister for Education. The group has celebrated the anniversary ever since with huge events on significant anniversaries, and the creation of the famous Mural.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

52 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book produced by the Cable Street Group gives a good overview of the events leading up to the Battle of Cable Street. Before I started researching for my current job I didn't realise that there were Fascists in Britain in the 30s, let alone that the government was protecting their rights to march. This book gives an overview of the social and political situation of the 30s, the unemployment, economic conditions and rise of anti-Semitism. One thing that I thought was most interesting was that the East End wasn't nearly as badly hit by the depression as other parts of England. Some places had up to 75 percent unemployment but in the East End it was only 15.

One of the most interesting things about the "battle" was that it wasn't against the fascist, but against the police that were allowing the fascists to march. The police were attempting to clear the anti-fascist demonstrators off the streets and they resisted. The book gives only about a third of its space to the battle itself. This is half in the form of an overview account and the other half reproducing printed and oral history accounts. The first hand accounts are by far the best part of the book (and are reproduced in much longer excerpts in the book, Everything happens in Cable Street.

I would say overall this is a short but interesting overview of the period and the events leading up to the battle and some of the fall out after the march was stopped. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about this important event in East End history.

[Jordan Phizacklea-Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swift but deftly researched, this is a good overview of a pivotal moment in British history of standing up to the far-right and fascism (as you can imagine, there are some lessons from yesteryear of relevance in today's increasingly poisonous climate).

[Marja Suomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview to get a better understanding of what happened in Cable Street in 1936. It's an interesting book that keep alive the memories of the population fighting against fascism that could be applied nowadays due to the current political situation.

[Seth Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, interesting, introduction to the Battle of Cable Street. Worth reading as a starting point.