Battle of George Square - Riot

Riot

The fierce fighting between the City of Glasgow Police and protesters began while a Clyde Workers' Committee deputation was in the Glasgow City Chambers meeting with the Lord Provost of Glasgow. On hearing the ensuing riot that was taking place in George Square, CWC leaders David Kirkwood and Emanuel Shinwell moved outside in an effort to quell the riot. Before they could reach the crowds outside however, Kirkwood was knocked to the ground by police and he, William Gallacher and Shinwell were arrested and charged with "instigating and inciting large crowds of persons to form part of a riotous mob". Sheriff MacKenzie's attempts to read the Riot Act proved unsuccessful as the crowd tore his copy of the Act from him as he was in the process of reading it.

The exact cause of the riot has been disputed – some sources indicate it was caused by an unprovoked baton charge by the police, while others indicate that strikers attempted to stop trams traveling through the square. Pitched battles took place between police and strikers in the streets around the square. Iron palings were pulled up and used as a defense against the police truncheons, while bottles were mobilized from a passing lorry to serve as missiles. The police's efforts to disperse the crowd from the Square were unsuccessful. Eventually there was a re-grouping and the workers began to move off from George Square to march towards Glasgow Green. Police were again unsuccessful in their attempts to disperse the strikers.

For the rest of the day and into the night, further fighting took place throughout the city. Many people, women and children among them, were injured. More than a dozen strikers were taken to Duke Street Prison and later tried at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh.