The 1970 riots

[danensis]

Reading the Toxteth thread, and seeing the picture of Eddie Murphy, reminded me of the 1970 riots in Grafton Street area. As I remember the council had some sort of quota system going to ensure that new housing schemes had a racial mix, but this was considered discriminatory, so it was abolished, and of course all the families at the top of the housing list were black, so the folks who were already in the new houses got a bit upset.

After two days the police turned up to remove the barricades, and Ed Murphy came out and said "Where the (expletive deleted) have you been for the last two days" and promptly got arrested for threatening behaviour.

[chrismarsden]

I didn't know about this.
Living in Lodge Lane during the 70's and 80's I thought I might of heard about it.

[Waterways]

I didn't know about this.
Living in Lodge Lane during the 70's and 80's I thought I might of heard about it.

St Nathanial St around Myrtle Gardens not Grafton ST. 1972. It went on for number of nights. All the new houses with the blacks in had all the windows smashed and the kids locked horns. Then the blacks smashed the windows of the whites.

Taken just after:
http://www.britishpathe.com/images//...0/00086718.WMV

[lindylou]

Yes, I saw some of it !

I was in a house on the Falkner estate when the front window was smashed we had to sit with the lights out until the rabble went away.

[Waterways]

Yes, I saw some of it !

I was in a house on the Falkner estate when the front window was smashed we had to sit with the lights out until the rabble went away.

It kicked off on the Friday night. On the Saturday morning I went there to commission some new heating systems in the new houses. There was bricks and large objects all over the roads and windows smashed everywhere. The police couldn't handle it the first night and beat it for a while. Whole families were scared stiff and emotions were very high.

The Liverpool Echo never reported it. Only when the nationals did, the Echo did.

[Chris48]

If these are the same riots, they were known as "The Berkeley Street Riots" within the Police.

[Waterways]

If these are the same riots, they were known as "The Berkeley Street Riots" within the Police.

They were a way from Berkley St, so probably a different skirmish.

[lindylou]

Don't know about Berkley st having any connection to it.

it was to do with the re housing of L8 residents as already stated.

[Waterways]

Don't know about Berkley st having any connection to it.

it was to do with the re housing of L8 residents as already stated.

Berkley St was probably the late 1950s early 1960s. The white boys from Park Rd and around Sussex Gardens would lock horns with the new Caribbean immigrants who lived around Berkley St/Upper Parli/Arnold St. Some of it was quite violent indeed (chains being used). As a kid I witnessed a bit of it as the blacks did one of their occasional reprisal sorties into the white part where we lived. They soon stopped it after being hammered.

Because of this, the black population spread north up Upper Parliament St, not south, leaving Park Rd/Mill St 100% white. Then they hit white Lodge Lane and in 1972 that erupted too.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi all

I am speaking out of ignorance here but were there riots in Toxteth in early 1970's in addition to the famous riots in Toxteth in 1981 or is there some confusion here? Thanks, someone, for clarifying.

Chris

[John(Zappa)]

With the Toxteth riots there was "Mini" riots. The shops inBroadway Norris green took a little battering.Am sure there was a few other small ones about.

[lindylou]

With the Toxteth riots there was "Mini" riots. The shops inBroadway Norris green took a little battering.Am sure there was a few other small ones about.

yes, we had discussed it a long time back in another thread somewhere. The riots spread to other areas like Norris green and Cantril Farm - I've forgotten all the other areas involved, but apart form Liverpool there were riots spreading throughout other places in UK.

[Waterways]

yes, we had discussed it a long time back in another thread somewhere. The riots spread to other areas like Norris green and Cantril Farm - I've forgotten all the other areas involved, but apart form Liverpool there were riots spreading throughout other places in UK.

All major cities except Newcastle - maybe they were too dumb to riot Even High Wycombe in Bucks erupted when the blacks and Asians had a go at each other and the police.

The most severe was Liverpool. The level of the ferocity and the length of the fighting went on and on for days on end. The level of violence in Liverpool shocked the government so much they appointed Hesseltine the unofficial Minister for Liverpool.

The media was putting across it was a black against police affair to prevent predominantly white cities from erupting. The fact was in Liverpool, only 25% of those involved were black or coloured. The city, and the deprived inner city areas had had enough.

Many of the kids in other districts would go to Toxteth to "help out".

[Waterways]

Hi all

I am speaking out of ignorance here but were there riots in Toxteth in early 1970's in addition to the famous riots in Toxteth in 1981 or is there some confusion here? Thanks, someone, for clarifying.

Chris

To me a riot is anti-establishment thing. The Toxteth riot in 1981 was one - 100% anti police. Nothing racial in it, as most of the rioters were white.
The 1972 "riot" was racial between mainly ethnic groups - against a housing policy if anything.
The late 1950/early 60s Berkley St riots were pure racial. Just anti black, and the blacks anti white.

[lindylou]

Berkley St was probably the late 1950s early 1960s. The white boys from Park Rd and around Sussex Gardens would lock horns with the new Caribbean immigrants who lived around Berkley St/Upper Parli/Arnold St. Some of it was quite violent indeed (chains being used). As a kid I witnessed a bit of it as the blacks did one of their occasional reprisal sorties into the white part where we lived. They soon stopped it after being hammered.

Because of this, the black population spread north up Upper Parliament St, not south, leaving Park Rd/Mill St 100% white. Then they hit white Lodge Lane and in 1972 that erupted too.

Yes, I know about how it was. I have had a lot of contact with the Liverpool born black population and I have studied their history.

The local white thugs of the day - the equvilent of todays hoodie thugs - gave black people a hard time. The case of Charles Wooten (spelling) being terrorised and chased to his death is a well known example. There were many more similar stories and I have been told them first hand by the older generation who witnessed them.