First as Tragedy, second as Farce

This is Stuart Potts, who has been imprisoned today for 16 weeks for disrupting Sunday’s Remembrance Day silence by setting off fireworks.

After his actions he was mobbed by bystanders -according to the BBC “a crowd of angry veterans gathered outside the pub window in Church Street shouting, “Get him out!” and tried to break the door of the pub down, while others attempted to climb up to the window.”

In this picture you can see them throwing traffic cones at his window.

In his defence he claimed “”sincere and genuine remorse for his actions”.

He may not be aware, but his deed echoes an event that happened in the City of London, on the 11th November 1920 – 99 years ago.

At this time, just two years after the Great War, militant communists led by the radical Suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst were publishing their newspaper “The Workers Dreadnought” from an office at 152 Fleet Street right in the middle of the City of London.

They also disrupted the Remembrance Day commemorations with very loud noises.

Ironically this is now occupied by a branch of McDonalds – I went there today.

The site rear.

The newspaper was billed as the “Organ of the Communist Party” and was full of fiery rhetoric.

Contemporary reports of the events state:

“A party of angry men and women raided the premises and inflicted rapid revenge on the persons stated to be responsible. eye witness said two or three girls the office created a disgraceful scene. They were singing, shouting, dancing, and banging tin cans. The crowd remained perfectly still and quiet until the two minutes’ silence was over, and there was rush for the premises. The noise made by the girls gave a shock to everybody in the vicinity, and it completely spoiled the whole spirit of the ceremony in this locality.”

The women’s reported defence might have been useful for Mr Potts instead of his “regret”.

“One of the girls concerned, interviewed, said we were dusting the office: we certainly made some noise, and we did not dream of people outside hearing it. Went on dusting the place, because we were not interested, we don’t believe it. Workman must have told the people we were the Workers Dreadnought,” and a lot of people rushed upstairs. A workman said “are there no women in the crowd,” and then some girls knocked about. They kept on hitting us until the police came.”

Here is the paper itself just a few weeks later, making its opposition to Remembrance Day absolutely clear.

Even if they didn’t own up to it, it’s clear they had a very strong belief in the perceived injustices of the system represented by Remembrance Day.

Unlike the farcical Mr Potts, who perhaps should have claimed he thought he was lighting some candles.