The origins of the firefight that is also known as the Battle of Stepney lay in the Houndsditch murders of December 1910. This saw a gang of Latvian anarchists attempt to rob a jewellery shop, leading to them murdering three policemen and injuring two others.
George Gardstein, the probable leader of the gang, died of a gunshot wound the next day. After the autopsy, a photograph of the corpse helped the subsequent investigation to identify his likely accomplices. Thanks to information from a member of the public, the police tracked suspects Fritz Svaars and William Sokoloff to 100 Sidney Street, an East End tenement building.
Shortly after midnight on 3 January police cordoned off the area and began to clear the residents from the surrounding buildings. Around 7:30am the two men woke, and began firing at the police below. A gun battle ensued in which it soon became clear that Svaars and Sokoloff possessed significantly better weapons than the police. This led the officers in charge to seek permission from the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, to bring in Scots Guards from the nearby Tower of London.
As the shooting intensified, Churchill arrived at the scene to personally observe the operation. Shortly after midday the building had caught fire, and by 2:30pm the shooting had stopped. As it became clear that the men inside were dead, the fire brigade began to extinguish the flames as the building began to collapse. In the aftermath Churchill was heavily criticised for his involvement in the operation, while all but one of those arrested for the Houndsditch robbery were acquitted.
On 3 January 1911 a gunfight known as the Siege of Sidney Street took place in London’s East End.
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The origins of the firefight that is also known as the Battle of Stepney lay in the
Houndsditch murders of December 1910. This saw a gang of Latvian anarchists attempt to rob a
jewellery shop, leading to them murdering three policemen and injuring two others.
George Gardstein, the probable leader of the gang, died of a gunshot wound the next day.
After the autopsy, a photograph of the corpse helped the subsequent investigation to identify
his likely accomplices. Thanks to information from a member of the public, the police tracked
suspects Fritz Svaars and William Sokoloff to 100 Sidney Street, an East End tenement building.
Shortly after midnight on 3 January police cordoned off the area and began to clear the
residents from the surrounding buildings. Around 7:30am the two men woke, and began firing at the
police below. A gun battle ensued in which it soon became clear that Svaars and Sokoloff possessed
significantly better weapons than the police. This led the officers in charge to seek permission from
the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, to bring in Scots Guards from the nearby Tower of London.
As the shooting intensified, Churchill arrived at the scene to personally
observe the operation. Shortly after midday the building had caught fire,
and by 2:30pm the shooting had stopped. As it became clear that the men inside were dead,
the fire brigade began to extinguish the flames as the building began to
collapse. In the aftermath Churchill was heavily criticised for his involvement in the operation,
while all but one of those arrested for the Houndsditch robbery were acquitted.
