1919: Britain's Year of Revolution

by Simon Webb

The little-known true story of rioting and rebellion among British veterans and workers after the end of World War I.   On the August Bank Holiday of 1919, the government in London dispatched warships to the northern city of Liverpool in an overwhelming show of force. Thousands of troops, backed by tanks, had been trying without success to suppress disorder on the streets.   Earlier that year in London, a thousand soldiers had marched on Downing Street before being disarmed by a battalion of the Grenadier Guards loyal to the government. In Luton that summer, the town hall was burned down by rioters before the army was brought in to restore order, and in Glasgow, artillery and tanks were positioned in the center of the city to deter what the secretary of state for Scotland described as a Bolshevik uprising.   Industrial unrest and mutiny in the armed forces combined to produce the fear that Britain was facing, the same kind of situation which had led to the Russian Revolution two years earlier. Drawing chiefly upon contemporary sources, this book describes the sequence of events which looked as though they might be the precursor to a revolution along the lines of those sweeping across Europe at that time. To some observers, it seemed only a matter of time before Britain transformed itself from a constitutional monarchy into a Soviet Republic.   “An extraordinary tale.” —Battlefield

Genres: History

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2016

Reviews

[Ron Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a terrific example of how history is written by the victors. I didn’t know, and nobody that I know knew that the UK government came within a hair’s breadth of being overthrown in 1919. With the Russian Revolution being actively fought, the ideals of communism and the appeal of workers’ soviets were gaining a strong foothold across Europe, including parts of the UK. Ireland was in the throes of a violent separatist movement. UK workers who had their rights and their salaries suppressed throughout the war launched multiple violent actions to reclaim their due. Among those who had been severely taken advantage of during the war era were the police forces, and they also launched strikes and could no longer be strictly counted on to side with the government when called out to put down worker riots. The government was especially afraid of rail strikes, since goods were nearly all moved by rail, as were the armed forces. The government at one point called for ‘right minded’ volunteers to form citizen militias (which the government wanted to arm) to battle these forces – in effect declaring a class war, since the only interest came from the middle classes who wanted to protect their lifestyle. On top of this, the supreme leaders of the armed forces had never had life so good, having been put in charge of the largest forces the UK had ever seen, and they had no desire to demobilize these soldiers, sailors and airmen. Churchill wanted to simply redeploy his wartime forces to crush the nascent communist state in Russia, and to lodge large armies across the British Empire to keep it safe from internal or external attack. The armed forces themselves mutinied on various occasions leaving, as I said, the government inches away from losing total control of the nation. Only a few last-second compromises made on both sides, with each side being afraid of what would happen if they took one step too far, stopped the country from falling into total chaos. Yet the standard histories of the UK hardly mention these events. A short book and worth a look.

[Mylesgorton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the events of 1919. All stuff I'd not been aware of before and reasonably well written (could have done with a little polish in place if I'm honest)

[NRVOUTDOORSMAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Interesting History

Was unaware of the events covered in this book, and it was an enlightening window on a little known period.

[Rich Shrubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into how the Establishment gripped power with the support of the Labour Party (and alcohol)

[Graham Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent explanation of a very-little discussed part of British history.

[Dave Parr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish boring and repetitive