Billy Bragg "Battle of Barking" Live at Leamington Spa
3,116 views · Published 11 December 2010 · 2:33 · Indexed 2 October 2026
Channel: AaranAardvark · 2010 · Music
Recorded at the Assembly Rooms, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England on 9th December 2010. Songs of resistance in memory of the Battle of Cable Street, London 1936. Wikipedia says:- The Battle of Cable Street took place on Sunday 4 October 1936 in Cable Street in the East End of London. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, overseeing a march by the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley, and anti-fascists, including local Jewish, socialist, anarchist, Irish and communist groups. The majority of both marchers and counter-protesters travelled into the area for this purpose. Mosley planned to send thousands of marchers dressed in uniforms styled on those of Blackshirts through the East End of London, which had a large Jewish population. Many of the arrested demonstrators reported harsh treatment at the hands of the police. Most were charged with the minor offence of obstructing police and fined £5, however several of the ringleaders were found guilty of affray and sentenced to 3 months' hard labour. The Battle of Cable Street was a major factor leading to the passage of the Public Order Act 1936, which required police consent for political marches and forbade the wearing of political uniforms in public. This is widely considered to be a significant factor in the BUF's political decline prior to World War II.
