KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING: PEACE DAY IN LUTON, 1919

Abstract

In Britain immediately after the First World War there were widespread social and political challenges to the old liberal order. In the face of these tensions, Peace Day celebrations designed to demonstrate national consensus were arranged throughout Britain in July 1919. In Luton, Bedfordshire, Peace Day ended in a riot during which the Town Hall was set ablaze. The riot has been portrayed as an ex-servicemen’s protest, but closer analysis based on court records, government intelligence briefings and newspaper reports indicates that wider grievances were important such as housing, unemployment and the post-war position of women. Similar concerns were shared nationally, but in Luton conflict was sparked by the council’s exclusion of a variety of local groups from the official events and its refusal to countenance alternative communal activities. This study throws light on the relationship between public spectacle and public disorder, demonstrating how festive events can be occasions for social conflict as well as consensus.