London under Siege: Churchill and the Anarchists, 1911

To commemorate the centenary of the Siege of Sidney Street and Houndsditch Murders, this exhibition sets the murders and the siege in their historical and social context, looking at immigration at the time and the then Home Secretary Winston Churchill's role during the siege. The Houndsditch Murders took place on the night of December 16, 1910, when a group of armed Latvian revolutionaries attempted to break into HS Harris's jeweller's shop in Houndsditch. Three City of London policemen were fatally shot and two were disabled for life. The Siege of Sidney Street took place two weeks later on January 3, 1911. Over 200 armed police and a detachment of Scots Guards laid siege to 100 Sidney Street in Stepney where two of the Houndsditch gang were hiding. On display are objects from the trial of suspected gang members, as well as guns from the crime scene, safe-breaking equipment, an ammunition belt, cap, gloves and a dagger, the overcoat that Churchill wore on the day of the siege, and an order of service from the funerals at St Paul's Cathedral of the murdered policemen.