Siege of Sidney Street

Soldiers from the Scots Guards open fire in Sidney Street

The Siege of Sidney Street, popularly known as the "Battle of Stepney", was a notorious gunfight in London's East End in 1911. It ended with the deaths of two members of a politically-motivated gang of burglars supposedly led by Peter Piaktow, a.k.a. "Peter the Painter", and sparked a major political row over the involvement of the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill.

The Houndsditch Murders

On 16 December 1910, a gang of Latvian revolutionaries attempted to break into the rear of a jeweller's shop at 119 Houndsditch, EC3, working from 9, 10 & 11 Exchange Buildings in the cul-de-sac behind. An adjacent shopkeeper heard their hammering, informed the City of London Police (in whose area the shop was), and nine unarmed officers - three sergeants and six constables (two in plain-clothes) - converged on Exchange Buildings.

Sergeants Bentley and Bryant knocked at No. 11 Exchange Buildings, unaware that the first constable on the scene had already done so, thus alerting the gang. The gang's actual leader, George Gardstein, opened the door, but when he did not answer their questions they assumed he did not understand English and told him to fetch someone who did. Gardstein left the door half-closed and disappeared. The house consisted of a single ground-floor room, into which the front door directly opened, with a staircase leading to the upper floors on the left, and a door to the open yard at the back on the right. It was later deduced that Gardstein must have moved towards the staircase, since if he had gone out the yard door he would have been seen by one of the plain-clothed officers standing outside, who had a clear view that side of the room. Growing impatient, the two sergeants entered the house to find the room apparently empty, before they became aware of a man standing in the darkness at the top of the stairs. After a short conversation, another man entered through the yard door, rapidly firing a pistol, while the man on the stairs also started shooting. Both officers were hit, with Bentley collapsing across the doorstep, while Bryant managed to stagger outside. In the street, constable Woodhams ran to help Bentley, but was himself wounded by one of the gang firing from the cover of the house, as was sergeant Tucker, who died almost instantly. Sergeant Bentley also sadly died as a result of his injuries (on his wedding anniversary. His wife had given birth to a baby boy on the Wednesday last).

The gang then attempted to break out of the cul-de-sac, their actual leader George Gardstein being grabbed by Constable Choate almost at the entrance. In the struggle Choate was wounded several times by Gardstein, before being shot five more times by other members of the gang, who also managed to hit their compatriot in the back. They then dragged Gardstein three-quarters of a mile to 59 Grove Street, where he died the next day. Constable Choate and Sergeant Tucker died in separate hospitals the same day. An intense search followed, and a number of the gang or their associates were soon arrested..

Winston Churchill (highlighted) at Sidney Street, 3 January 1911

The Siege of Sidney Street

On 2 January 1911, an informant told police that two or three of the gang, possibly including Peter the Painter himself, were hiding at 100 Sidney Street, Stepney (in the Metropolitan Police District). Worried that the suspects were about to flee, and expecting heavy resistance to any attempt at capture, on 3 January two hundred men cordoned off the area and the siege began. At dawn the battle commenced.

The defenders, though heavily outnumbered, possessed superior weapons and great stores of ammunition. The Tower of London was called for backup, and word got to Home Secretary Winston Churchill, who arrived on the spot to observe the incident first hand, and to offer advice. Churchill authorised calling in a detachment of Scots Guards to assist the police. Six hours into the battle, and just as the field artillary piece that Churchhill had authorized arrived, a fire began to consume the building. When the fire brigade arrived Churchill refused them access to the building. The police stood ready, guns aimed at the front door, waiting for the men inside to attempt their escape. The door never opened. Inside the remains of two members of the gang, Fritz Svaars and William Sokolow (both were also known by numerous aliases), were recovered. No sign of Peter the Painter was ever found.

Aftermath

All the fatal shots in what became known as the "Houndsditch Murders" came from the same Dreyse pistol belonging to Jacob Peters, but as he had left it with the mortally wounded Gardstein to be found by the police, it was assumed to be his and that he was the killer. This was despite the fact that Gardstein had completely different calibre ammunition for a Mauser C96 pistol both on him when he died and in his lodgings, but none at all for the Dreyse. Gardstein's "guilt" was further compounded by the mistaken belief that it was Gardstein who had opened fire at 11 Exchange Buildings from the yard door, on the grounds that it was he who had opened the front door to the police shortly before they were shot.

Of seven supposed members of the gang captured by the police, five men - including Peters - and two women were put trial, but they all either had the charges dropped, were acquitted, or had their convictions quashed. Peters later returned home, and after the October Revolution served as deputy head of the Cheka. He perished during the Great Purge in 1938.

Detectives inspect the house at 100 Sidney Street at the conclusion of the siege

The role Churchill played in the Sidney Street Siege was highly controversial at the time, and many, including former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, accused him of having acted improperly. A famous photograph from the time shows Churchill peering around a corner to view events. Balfour asked, "He [Churchill] and a photographer were both risking valuable lives. I understand what the photographer was doing but what was the Right Honourable gentleman doing?"

The outgunning of the British Police led to them dropping their Webley revolvers in favour of Webley semi-automatics in London.

On film

Much of the siege was captured by newsreel cameras, including the moment a gunman's bullet passed through Churchill's top hat, coming within inches of killing him. This footage was later shown at the Palace Theatre, London under the billing, "Mr Churchill in the danger zone".

The siege was the inspiration for the final shoot out in Alfred Hitchcock's original 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, although not his own 1956 remake. The events were depicted directly in the 1960 film The Siege of Sidney Street.

Books

• The Houndsditch Murders and the Siege of Sidney Street, Donald Rumbelow, ISBN 0-491-03178-5
• The Battle of Stepney, Colin Rogers, ISBN 0-7091-9146-4

External links

• The Churchill Centre: The Siege of Sidney Street
• The Shimans in Sidney Street, 1911
• The Siege of Sidney Street at IMDb
• [[[Memorial Card of three policmen killed]