London

Beatrice Orwell (Beatty), 89
At the time of Cable Street, I was 17 and a member of the Anti-Fascist Committee. It was dangerous being Jewish. Jewish shop windows were being smashed and synagogues vandalised and anyone who looked Jewish was being beaten up on the streets. We thought that the situation for the Jews could become the same as in Germany. We thought Mosley could turn into another Hitler. On the day of the battle, my friend and I pushed through the crowd to Gardiner’s Corner. The crowd was shouting, ‘They shall not pass!’ [the cry of the Republican defenders of Madrid] and when we got to Cable Street there was a big lorry overturned. We headed for Royal Mint Street. When we got there and saw all the fascists my blood was boiling. At the time I wasn’t scared because I was in the middle of it, but afterwards I thought it was a wonder I didn’t get hurt. Eventually we heard that Mosley’s march was called off. It was wonderful. We walked to Victoria Park singing, ‘They shall not pass.’ Afterwards we went to Curly’s café, where a cup of tea was a penny, and we probably checked out the boys! When I look back I feel proud about what we did, but we are living in a more crucial time today, with anti-Semitism on the rise again. We fought for what was important. Feature continues

Fay Stone, 86
I was in a salt beef shop buying sausages when I suddenly heard a big noise outside. In the East End at the time we all knew what was happening with the attacks on Jews and the rise of the blackshirts. Instinct made me go into the crowd. I just felt that this was something I had to do, I had to stop the fascists marching. At one point, there was a lot of fighting around me, and I whacked someone who I thought was a blackshirt – although afterwards I was never sure if it was.

Professor William Fishman, 85
On October 4, I took a 253 bus from Hackney where I lived, to Mile End. It was about 1pm and as I got off the bus I heard this amazing sound – the growing noise of feet, marching from the alleyways, roads and sidestreets around me. Hundreds of people were surging forward, with banners emblazoned with ‘They Shall Not Pass’ and red flags. Young, middle-aged and old, everyone was chanting, ‘Mosley shall not pass!’ and ‘One, Two, Three, Four, Five, We Want Mosley Dead or Alive,’ and ‘Down with Mosley!’ I made my way to Gardiner’s Corner where we had planned to confront Mosley. I was almost 16 and an active member of Hackney League of Labour Youth, which had a very mixed membership, especially of Irish and Jewish working people. I got as far as Whitechapel Art Gallery and stood on the steps and watched the crowd.

At about 2pm, there was a sudden bang of drums and sound of hooves and I could just see through the crowd, two or three columns of blackshirts, surrounded by a far greater column of police. Leading them was Mosley. There was an impenetrable mass on the corner of Commercial Street and suddenly this tram stopped in the middle of the street. The driver got out and just left his tram there to act as a barrier.

Kids started throwing marbles under the police horses and I remember seeing rearing hooves as they fell. Mosley had stopped at Gardiner’s Corner, unable to move further, and Phil Piratin had started calling people to go to Cable Street as that was the only access through to the East End. We all charged towards Cable Street. At the bottom end, an overturned lorry was used as a barricade and we blocked the road – Hassidic Jews with little beards and great strapping Irish dockers all standing together. People began to throw down their mattresses to block the street and a mass onslaught on the police ensued with two officers even being taken hostage. It all came to an end about 5pm when Mosley did an about-turn. I headed to Dubowzky’s pub on Cannon Street Road, where everyone was embracing.

The message of Cable Street for today is anti-racist. The East End has ended up a very multi-cultural place but today George Galloway [MP for Bethnal Green and Bow] is using the area in a manipulative way – which would be a sad legacy for Cable Street.