July 19, 1919
In Luton, about 30 miles north of London, veterans were outraged by lavish public banquets and ceremonies celebrating the end of World War I for which they were taxed but not invited. They blamed wartime food shortages on government profiteering, and, post-war, they either could not find work or found only low paying menial jobs. Pensions for the maimed, crippled and disfigured men were meager and no programs to integrate them back into society were in place. As public ceremonies began for Peace Day, veterans began to jeer officials and then to riot, burning down the Luton Town Hall and dragging pianos into the street for music and singing. Bonfires were started and when the town hall was burning rioters cut the firemen’s hoses.
