VE-Day Riots in 1945

Discussion in 'Canada' started by GeeDubayou, Oct 15, 2011.

  1. GeeDubayou

    GeeDubayou Member

    Word of Germany's surrender, ending the Second World War was met by celebrations all over Canada, and the world, but in the city of Halifax, the celebrations quickly turned to riots.
    For two days, May 7-8 1945, the streets were filled with military personnel and civilians roaming the streets, drinking, smashing windows, looting businesses, and setting fires.
    Halifax was a major North American port, and the city had doubled it size during the war from 70,000 to about 130,000 people. Over-crowding, scarce food, and inadequate facilities led to a buildup of tensions between military personnel and the permanent residents of Halifax.

    The planning for VE-Day in Halifax was poor. In meetings before VE-Day there had been an agreement that the navy, army and air force would look after their own personnel and the Halifax city police force would take care of civilians. In reality, the military and civilian police could not handle mobs of mixed military personnel and civilians, and nobody could control 25,000 servicemen on leave who wanted to celebrate, but had nothing to do, and nothing to drink.


    Summary of events of the VE-Day Riots in Halifax.


    • When the news of the German surrender was announced on radio on Monday morning May 7, 1945, people in Halifax, as in many other Canadian cities, ran into the streets to celebrate.
    • Restaurants and liquor stores in Halifax were closed to let workers celebrate. There were no taverns in Halifax.
    • The navy wet canteens opened around noon and closed at 9 pm that evening. When the canteens closed, thousands of sailors streamed into the streets of Halifax, joining the throngs of civilians and other servicemen.
    • A group of sailors wrecked a tram car. When the police arrived, the sailors smashed the police van.
    • By midnight the Halifax liquor stores were being hit by rioters.
    • On the second day, VE-Day, it started all over again at about noon.
    • Civilians and other servicemen joined the mob as vandalism and looting broke out and spread.
    • A mob broke through the police cordon at the brewery - some even carted beer out in trucks. When the city and army police arrived, the mob had grown to thousands of civilians and military personnel, and the looting of the brewery went on unchecked.
    • Admiral Leonard Murray marched a parade of servicemen downtown to set an example for the looters. The marchers were jeered and shoved, and many joined the rioters.
    • Systematic destruction and looting continued as restaurants were looted and burned and all the businesses in the Halifax downtown district were looted and smashed.
    • Admiral Murray and Halifax Mayor Butler drove through the downtown wreckage of Halifax using a loudspeaker to announce an 8 pm curfew.
    • By midnight it had begun to rain, and the riots faded.
    3 people died from the riots, 2 people died of alcohol poisoning while the one is believed to have been a homicide. More than 500 businesses were damaged, over 200 shops were looted, thousands of cases of beer, wine and liquor were looted, and Admiral Leonard Murray was forced to retire.


    This info was retrived off CanadaOnline after I was researching about the riots here.
     
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  2. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Never heard of this before and am suitably surprised.

    In complete contrast to events in London, as reported in the media and read by those of us who were still overseas at the time.

    Ron
     
  3. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I watched a period film in the last 12 months about a Canadian soldier returning home after being wounded. He had a English wife he met whilst being in the UK and she travelled to Canada - For the life of me I can't remember the name of the film, I think she was expecting glitz and glamour but when she arrived his home was a run down farm in the middle of no where and all she got was rejection from his family and friends :confused:

    I'm sure there was a riot in that when they celebrated the end of the war. He was posted home just before the war ended because he was wounded in Europe. Quite a good film IIRC.
     
  4. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    It made it into at least one newspaper here in Australia - a riot around the same time in Adelaide was a bit more benign
     

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  5. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

  6. Vitesse

    Vitesse Senior Member

    The Halifax riots were reported in The Times.

    [​IMG]

    They also reported VE Day riots on Cape Breton:

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Live and learn !

    For whatever reason, this had escaped my notice prior to reading about it on this thread and I repeat that I am suitably surprised.

    Ron
     
  8. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    Interesting to hear from local Halifax folk. I assume by the reports this was 'bible belt' country. No Inns,bars or public houses. 1976 and we discovered the odd rules on alcohol in the Calgary area. No drink on Sunday, unless you bought a meal and then you could purchase alcohol to a value linked to the cost of the meal. Jocks sitting in pizza places with 24 inch pepporoni mountains in boxes. Buy a bottle of wine and it was wrapped up like a mummy taped up too- if you were stopped with a bottle or can exposed or open it was an offence. Memory is telling me that there was a wine on sale - surely known throughout the great wine countries of the world - Baby Duck. If my memory is at fault - I shall hand myself in first thing Monday morning! Before the Jocks were allowed out for R and R we had a lecture from a RCMP Inspector who said - if you are 'invited' to stop by an officer - please do so, this (he held up a pistol) will remove a leg! I can only imagine there was a desire to overturn the rules and go on the beer on VE day!


    Crikey that was a shocker I began to doubt it!


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  9. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    There we were, all thinking Canadians were such nice people that didn't do that sort of thing.
    ;)
    I must say I'd never heard of it either.
    Cheers.
     
  10. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

  11. GeeDubayou

    GeeDubayou Member

    Jeez...Look at what we do if the Canucks dont win the cup...Thats proof enough we are crazy!!! This is why that no one, has ever gone to war with us :)
    lol and to stay on track...
    Ron, glad I was able to teach ya something new :) I found a few pictures from the riots.
    If you wanna take a peek...Here ya go.
    VE-Day The Halifax riots
     
  12. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

  13. Wow, such a sad thing that a few imbisiles can ruin a joyious occation.
     
  14. Alan Allport

    Alan Allport Senior Member

    There were also major riots by Canadian troops in Aldershot in July, 1945. Alanbrooke records in his diary an "abusive" Cabinet meeting discussion with Churchill concerning the disturbances:

    "'Why could we not keep better order? Had we no British troops to call in to restore order? Where was our military police? Were we going to let these wild Canadians break up the homes of these poor inoffensive shopkeepers?' etc. etc.!! In most of his suggestions he was drastically wrong! It is only as a very last resort that I should order British troops to rough handle Canadians who are giving trouble. It would be the very best way of starting real bad troubles."

    Recently demobilized British servicemen had themselves rioted in Luton and other towns and cities in 1919.

    Worth bearing this in mind when we start describing latterday rioters as feral monsters to be culled, etc. The Greatest Generations of the past were responsible for their own share of public disorder.

    Best, Alan
     
  15. GeeDubayou

    GeeDubayou Member

  16. GeeDubayou

    GeeDubayou Member

    There were also major riots by Canadian troops in Aldershot in July, 1945. Alanbrooke records in his diary an "abusive" Cabinet meeting discussion with Churchill concerning the disturbances:



    Recently demobilized British servicemen had themselves rioted in Luton and other towns and cities in 1919.

    Worth bearing this in mind when we start describing latterday rioters as feral monsters to be culled, etc. The Greatest Generations of the past were responsible for their own share of public disorder.

    Best, Alan

    Thanks for sharing Alan!
     
  17. Rav4

    Rav4 Senior Member

    And here's me thinking that the present generation should be more like we were. :confused:
     
  18. woapysittank

    woapysittank Member

  19. Peccavi

    Peccavi Senior Member

    Recently demobilized British servicemen had themselves rioted in Luton and other towns and cities in 1919


    And Haig had wanted to shoot the ringleaders but was dissuaded from doing so by a certain Mr Winston Churchill.
     
  20. Alan Allport

    Alan Allport Senior Member

    And Haig had wanted to shoot the ringleaders but was dissuaded from doing so by a certain Mr Winston Churchill.

    I think the event you're referring to here was the mutiny by RAOC personnel in Calais in January 1919.

    Best, Alan
     

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