On the waterfront - Race Riots
Extract from Tough Times and Grisly Crimes
The morning of August 2, 1930, saw huge crowds heading for South Shields beach amid a happy family atmosphere.
Ice cream merchants, balloon-sellers and the local Punch and Judy man all joined the merry throng looking forward to a glorious sunny Bank Holiday weekend. But, down at the docks, the mood was not so peaceful. The long, hot summer had served only to fuel a bitter fight for jobs among the town’s white and Arab communities. Unemployment in South Shields was heading towards 14,000 – four times what it is today – and hundreds of Arab sailors without work were the target of hatred. The Arabs had come to South Shields in the 19th Century and were used as cheap labour on the ships, usually as firemen and stokers because they were thought to be able to cope with the heat.
