Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Thursday, February 9
    Trending
    • This Day in History on February 9th
    • History Short: Famous Marches
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through February 8th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on February 8th
    • History Short: Off With her Head!
    • What Grade Would You give President Biden’s Second State of the Union Address?
    • This Day in History on February 7th
    • History Short: When Was the First Untethered Space Walk?
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»July 19, 1919: Peace Day Riots: British Veterans Burn Down The Town Hall
    Crime

    July 19, 1919: Peace Day Riots: British Veterans Burn Down The Town Hall

    Major DanBy Major DanJuly 19, 2016Updated:September 12, 201948 Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Peace Day Riots

    A Brief History

    On July 19, 1919, England celebrated Peace Day in honor of winning World War I.  Unfortunately, her veterans were not so thrilled, and expressed their unhappiness by rioting and burning down the Luton Town Hall.

    Digging Deeper

    British commoners were drafted to fight in World War I, for low pay and under horrible conditions.  Treated like cannon fodder by politicians and generals that did not understand modern warfare, they died and suffered en masse.  Soldiers with trench foot, pneumonia, and other serious illnesses were treated with contempt at recovery centers and were made to engage in physical exercise even though it was bad for their recovery.  The thought was to make rehab bad enough that slackers would want to go back to the front.

    Upon release from the military, soldiers found mass unemployment at home, and little appreciation for their sacrifice.  Many had lost girlfriends and wives to men that did not serve, their previous jobs taken and they found that businessmen got rich while workers remained as poor as ever.  Owners of businesses and stores tried to treat the veterans like children or slaves, but the warriors had a taste of a hard life and were not to be pushed around.  The veterans were outraged by the lavish public extravaganzas planned while they either could not find work or found low paying menial jobs.  Many of the protesting veterans had been maimed, crippled or disfigured during the war.  Pensions for these disabled men were meager and no programs to integrate them back into society were in place.

    As public ceremonies began for Peace Day, veterans began to jeer officials and then to riot, burning down the Luton Town Hall and dragging pianos into the street for music and singing.  Bonfires were started and when the town hall was burned rioters cut the firemen’s hoses.  The mayor and his contingent cowered in his house, protected by police.  Order was finally restored around midnight, but only with help from London police that had been sent for.  The mayor left town in fear for his life, and stayed gone.

    Only a few arrests were made, despite the town looking like a war ravaged battlefield.  Fearful of provoking new violence, perhaps directed at officials, the court handed out remarkably light sentences for those charged with rioting.

    Luton was not the only place in Britain where veterans expressed their displeasure.  It was obvious that the generation that had been blooded in the Great War demanded to be treated with respect.  Change came slowly, though, and the working poor remained that way for a long time to come.

    Returning American servicemen suffered during the depression and marched on Washington, D.C. to demand early payment of bonuses promised to them, only to be attacked by federal troops led by Douglas MacArthur.

    Hopefully, people in Britain and the US have learned something since World War I and veterans will not be treated so callously in the future.  The Veterans Administration scandal unfolding today does not cause optimism to run rampant. 

    Question for students (and subscribers): How do you think veterans should be treated?  We know what we think, but please let us know what you think in the comments section below this article.  

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Craddock, Dave.  “Where They Burnt the Town Hall Down”.  The Book Castle, 1999.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph from 1897 of Luton Town Hall uploaded by GazMan7 at English Wikipedia, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

    You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous Article10 Extraordinary Airplanes: Head Turners and Mind Benders
    Next Article 20 Great Arab-Americans
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: Famous Marches

    February 9, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through February 8th, 2023)

    February 8, 2023

    History Short: Off With her Head!

    February 8, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on February 9th

    February 9, 2023

    History Short: Famous Marches

    February 9, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through February 8th, 2023)

    February 8, 2023

    This Day in History on February 8th

    February 8, 2023

    History Short: Off With her Head!

    February 8, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.