SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

The following is reported in Mayhall’s ‘Annals of Yorkshire’ vol 1 published 1861.July 14 1858. “About eight o’clock in the evening of July 14th, about forty or fifty men of the 18th Light Dragoons, stationed at Leeds, made a cowardly and outrageous attack on four policemen in North-street. They afterwards proceeded through the town, assaulting every policeman they met. Police officers Heaton and Bellhouse were seriously injured. None of the soldiers were identified.”The not so good old days eh!

Seen things like that in much more recent times, such as when Police have dished out very good beatings to lads on shore leave. Standard practice is to turn out the yards and take out a bit of reprisal.I know of an occasion when one lad was blinded in one eye in such an attack by the police who were' teaching him a lesson'. Not only did the ships in the yard turn out, all the shore bases did too, which is not a common thing.Squaddies, matelots etc have done this sort if thing on a regular basis when police have become too heavy handed. You can be sure that although this was over 150 years ago, this was a retaliation for some police attempt at 'education'Civvies are generally safe in such situations.