100 years ago the thriving port South Shields attracted
tradesmen and seamen of many nationalities; Yemen, Aden, Somalia,
African, Indian and Malaysian.
Foreign seamen had come to South Shields in the 19th Century and
were used as cheap labour on the ship, usually as firemen and
stokers.
1919-1930
During WWI, foreign labour had been used to keep the Merchant
Fleet running, while British seamen were drafted into the Royal
Navy.
In the years leading up to and including WWI there were almost
2000 members of the black and minority ethnic community living in
South Shields.
They were to represent the first significant Muslim communities
to settle in Britain.
After WWI foreign (mainly Arab) seamen found their position was
changed from that of being welcome, to now being seen as unwanted
guests.
The demobilisation of white British seamen and the onset of the
economic depression between the wars resulted in declining
employment and intense competition for jobs.
Racial unrest
1919 saw the first serious street violence and racial unrest in
areas inhabited by foreign seamen, with attacks on Arab Boarding
Houses and cafes.
Throughout the 1920's and 1930's popular feeling in the town
seems to be firmly against the Arabs.
A constant stream of letters to the Shields Gazette on the
subject of the Arab seamen in the town shows the strength of
hostility and racial prejudice.
It was around this time the 'Minority Movement' a left wing
group of black and white workers formed to challenge the National
Union of Seamen and the Shipping Federation, who were
under-representing and failing to defend the welfare of foreign
workers.
The Mill Dam Riots
Throughout 1930, the Minority Movement held public meetings at
the Mill Dam to campaign against a new rota system which they felt
discriminated against the Arabs.
Violence over the dispute erupted in North Shields on April 29,
1930 when 13 Somalis were brought over from South Shields to sign
on as Firemen on a ship.
A large crowd of white seamen tried to stop them reaching the
Union Office. The Somalis were then attacked and, despite drawing
their knives, were severely beaten.
The Arab Riot
On 2 August 1930, South Shields was to gain national notoriety
at the time of the so-called 'Arab Riot' at Mill Dam on the
Quay.
In East and West Holborn, South Shields, the Arabs had their own
community, cafes and boarding houses.
Rumours circulated round Shields that the Arabs used bribery to
get jobs on the ships, thereby "robbing" white seamen of jobs.
The Minority Movement
A large mob of white seamen then roamed the waterfront hunting
for any Arabs and foreigners.
A number of Arab workers gathered outside the Shipping
Foundation Offices at the Mill Dam to hear rousing speeches from
the leaders of the Minority Movement.
Trouble began about noon when four white men were hired for the
steamer Etheralda, and expecting trouble, the police were drafted
into the area.
Ali Hamid, one of the jobless Arabs was heard to shout "They
work, but there is no work for the black man".
There are conflicting reports about what triggered the resulting
chaos, but there was soon furious fighting between a group of white
seamen and the Arab crowds.
Police drew their truncheons and charged, only to be met by a
hail of stones and shouts of abuse.
Once among the crowd, the Arabs drew their knives, stabbing four
Policemen. The Police waded in with their truncheons as the riot
spilled over into nearby Holborn, injuring dozens of innocent
bystanders.
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Arab prisoners on trial
Arabs 'rioters' were imprisoned and then deported
On Monday morning, the public gallery in the Magistrates was
full, with an estimated crowd of 1,000 outside.
Six white men and 20 Arabs were brought from the cells and
accused of causing an affray or riot. A collection of knives,
sticks, chair legs and other weapons was displayed, before they
were released on bail of £10 each.
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A petition signed by 500 South Shields Arabs was sent to the
Home Secretary to voice their grievances, but all to no avail.
Little was done for the Arabs; scores of them had to be admitted
to Harton Workhouse as their money ran out. Nearly 100 Arabs, not
implicated in the riots, were deported.
On November 20, after a two day trial at Durham Assizes, all the
Arab defendants were given sentences of hard labour, ranging from
three to 16 months. After serving their sentences they were to be
deported.
The white Minority Movement organisers got eight months
each.
Divide and Rule
The so-called Race Riot also revealed the solidarity between
conscientious white seamen and their black colleagues. That
solidarity was a threat to the ship owners and unions, who favoured
'divide and rule'. During WWII, servicemen's Boarding Houses were
ethnically segregated
During WWII, many of the 3,000 plus Shields seamen killed were
black, though there is little recognition of this on the town's war
memorials.
By the 1940's, the black community of Shields began to widen
their employment opportunities, opening cafes and restaurants.
There were also a few other settlers who worked as door-to-door
peddlers.
Improper behaviour
In 1945, allegations were made of attempts by the police to
drive away the custom of black owned business.
False claims of undesirable activities such as drugs and
prostitution were made against the cafes proprietors.
Cafe owners were regularly subjected to racial and physical
abuse.
Frank Lambert, a local solicitor, said at the time:
"The coloured population felt itself victimised and hounded
out."
Short of evidence, the police eventually tried to prosecute two
Indian men in South Shields on the grounds of permitting
prostitutes to assemble in the area. They were fined £5 each.
The two men appealed and the hearing was stopped charging all
court costs to the police.
I thought this would be a dead good place to start, from the car
park round the back of the buildings you are looking at what was
the sailmaking lofts, now the rehersal rooms and offices of the
customs house, the bit that sticks out and that is in the photo was
the morgue, if your body had been floating around in the river for
a while this would have been where you would have ended up. Walk
towards the river, at the end of the sailmaking lofts is a
house/offices that housed the police and port health authority,
find the blue plaque on the building
The authority was established (month=A)18FH
go round the corner to the front of the customs house you'll
find another plaque
The customs house was built 1GEB-C
proceed to the corner of the building, look around you, you will
see the remains of the chimney of the Cooksons glassworks, cooksons
where renound for there work, the first in the country to produce
rolled plate glass, they where given the contract make all the
windows for the Crystal palace for the Great Exibition, upon it you
will see a date 186D
N 54 ((A+C)(E+B)). ((C+A+A)(G+A)((C+D)-H))
W 001 ((D-B)(F-A)). ((H-D)(G-A)(F-B))
