Post by Catsmate on Jun 23, 2014 13:13:04 GMT
Churchill had a fascinating life, and given that the Who EU has already had people tampering with his life in the Boer War, the Abdication Crisis, WW1 France, the Battle of Britain and more I've chosen a different spot to kill him off.
What would later be known as the Sidney Street Siege began two weeks earlier with a failed attempt to break into a jeweller's premesis in Houndsditch. Detected, the robbers (allegedly part of 'the Flame' a Bolshevik front organisation) fired on a group of unarmed police officers, fatally wounding three. During the shooting the leader of the group (George Gardstein) was also fatally wounded.
Before dawn on the 3rd of January the London Metropolitan police, acting on information supplied by an informant within the loose anarchist community in the East End on London, surrounded a terraced house, 100 Sidney Street. More than two hundred police were involved led by an Inspector Wensley of the Whitechapel district. Some were armed, as resistance was expected both from the gang and from other anarchist groups in the area.
At daybreak the police knocked on the door and called for those inside to surrender; there was no reply so (apparently believing they were asleep) pebbles were thrown at the upper windows to attract attention and repeated the call.
Those inside fired on the police and the siege proper began as the Latvians refused calls to surrender. The other residents of the house (fourteen in all) were evacuated safely.
The police found themselves outgunned. Having only small numbers of inaccurate Webley revolvers, and limited ammunition, they faced a group armed with Mauser and other pistols and seemingly unlimited ammunition (hundreds of shots were fired).
Reinforcements were called for (eventually 1,500 police were involved) and additional weapons sought (from police stations, gunsmiths' and eventually the Tower of London). Troops were also called for, and this involved Churchill who, as Home Secretary was required to authorise such deployments.
Churchill decided to go to the siege, a decision he later regretted; it certainly proved a controversial one that garnered criticism from many. Despite having no official standing in operational matters he became involved, making a number of suggestions, including deploying artillery to blast the house.
However by noon smoke was visible coming from the house and it was soon engulfed in fire; no-one attempted to leave (though one of the men was show while leaning out) and two bodies were eventually recovered. Six hours after it began, the siege was over.
Churchill survived, uninjured (alas his hat was hit), though his political credibility took a few knocks.
But what if he hadn't survied? Certainly in his Astrakhan coat and top hat he was a very visible target...
Visiting London in early 1911 the time travellers read a newspaper reference to the death of the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, who'd controversially become involved in the direction of the police operation against the anarchists. There's a brief obituary, mentioning his political career and his time as a journalist in South Africa. Something has Gone Wrong...
The changes from this will probably be highly significant; Gallipoli, Persian Gulf oil, WW1 (interestingly he may well have accidentally prevented the fall of Calais and Dunkirk to German forces), the Anglo-Irish War, the Gold Standard, British actions in WW2 will probably be rather different (not necessarily better or worse). A little research, on the internet or history books if the adventure starts later, will find a reference to Churchill's death and put the travellers on the right track.
So who killed Churchill?
Options:
Complications.
Who was 'Peter the Painter' (Wiki) the supposed leader of the Latvian anarchists? He was probably just an anarchist émigré from the Baltics who'd settled in London after the revolution of 1905 failed and organised a number of robberies for revolutionary funds but he disappeared rather effectively despite a substantial effort to find him.
Was he a time traveller? Alien? Renegade Torchwood operative?
References.
Wiki.
Contemporary account in The Guardian.
Video:
British Pathe 1
British Pathe 2 (both are period and silent0
Scene from 1960 film (somewhat inaccurate, especially the anarchist weapons)
What would later be known as the Sidney Street Siege began two weeks earlier with a failed attempt to break into a jeweller's premesis in Houndsditch. Detected, the robbers (allegedly part of 'the Flame' a Bolshevik front organisation) fired on a group of unarmed police officers, fatally wounding three. During the shooting the leader of the group (George Gardstein) was also fatally wounded.
Before dawn on the 3rd of January the London Metropolitan police, acting on information supplied by an informant within the loose anarchist community in the East End on London, surrounded a terraced house, 100 Sidney Street. More than two hundred police were involved led by an Inspector Wensley of the Whitechapel district. Some were armed, as resistance was expected both from the gang and from other anarchist groups in the area.
At daybreak the police knocked on the door and called for those inside to surrender; there was no reply so (apparently believing they were asleep) pebbles were thrown at the upper windows to attract attention and repeated the call.
Those inside fired on the police and the siege proper began as the Latvians refused calls to surrender. The other residents of the house (fourteen in all) were evacuated safely.
The police found themselves outgunned. Having only small numbers of inaccurate Webley revolvers, and limited ammunition, they faced a group armed with Mauser and other pistols and seemingly unlimited ammunition (hundreds of shots were fired).
Reinforcements were called for (eventually 1,500 police were involved) and additional weapons sought (from police stations, gunsmiths' and eventually the Tower of London). Troops were also called for, and this involved Churchill who, as Home Secretary was required to authorise such deployments.
- Bizarrely, but in that stereotypically British manner, life went on even close to the besieged house; the pub on the corner did a roaring trade, as did a nearby tea shop, the doctor's surgery in the street continued as usual (though
occasionally interrupted by someone needing urgent treatment), post was delivered to houses in the street though the nearby brewery was plagued by absenteeism. - Eventually the crowd of onlookers reached an estimated two hundred thousand people
Churchill decided to go to the siege, a decision he later regretted; it certainly proved a controversial one that garnered criticism from many. Despite having no official standing in operational matters he became involved, making a number of suggestions, including deploying artillery to blast the house.
However by noon smoke was visible coming from the house and it was soon engulfed in fire; no-one attempted to leave (though one of the men was show while leaning out) and two bodies were eventually recovered. Six hours after it began, the siege was over.
Churchill survived, uninjured (alas his hat was hit), though his political credibility took a few knocks.
But what if he hadn't survied? Certainly in his Astrakhan coat and top hat he was a very visible target...
- This was an excellent opportunity for someone meddling in history to stage an assassination of Churchill, a
chaotic scene, plenty of buildings offering good vantage points and
pretty good historical data to plan from.
Visiting London in early 1911 the time travellers read a newspaper reference to the death of the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, who'd controversially become involved in the direction of the police operation against the anarchists. There's a brief obituary, mentioning his political career and his time as a journalist in South Africa. Something has Gone Wrong...
- Alternatively the time travellers could discover this at some later point in history; perhaps a World War 1 ending in 1915 or a relatively unchanged modern day where they gradually notice differences, the lack of statue in Parliament Square for example.
The changes from this will probably be highly significant; Gallipoli, Persian Gulf oil, WW1 (interestingly he may well have accidentally prevented the fall of Calais and Dunkirk to German forces), the Anglo-Irish War, the Gold Standard, British actions in WW2 will probably be rather different (not necessarily better or worse). A little research, on the internet or history books if the adventure starts later, will find a reference to Churchill's death and put the travellers on the right track.
So who killed Churchill?
Options:
- The simplest, the deliberate act of a time traveller. Find him/her, stop them killing WSC, remove their time machine (if any) and other anachronisms and dispose of them in whatever manner your game used for such nuisances. Hopefully they don't have access to much firepower or things could get messy
- An accident caused by a time traveller. It's an interesting incident, books have been written about it, so someone with access to a time machine (academic, tourist whatever) pops along to document the incident properly. Getting close to Churchill wouldn't be that hard, and someone seeking to record exactly what he did might try this (rather than rely on micro-cameras, parabolic mics, lasers and tiny drones). Ooops, Churchill is shot and history starts unravelling... If the party arrive in 1911 shortly after the siege they may find the panicking researcher, now stranded in the past.
- Time twist. The party were responsible for Churchill's death. Accidentally, while trying to prevent it.
- Local assassin. Someone from the period with a desire to kill Churchill takes the opportunity to shoot him. Either relying on his visiting the siege or coincidentally nearby. Previously their plan failed but because of some earlier interaction with the party they now have the chance.
Complications.
Who was 'Peter the Painter' (Wiki) the supposed leader of the Latvian anarchists? He was probably just an anarchist émigré from the Baltics who'd settled in London after the revolution of 1905 failed and organised a number of robberies for revolutionary funds but he disappeared rather effectively despite a substantial effort to find him.
Was he a time traveller? Alien? Renegade Torchwood operative?
- This is another opportunity for a time travelling researcher to screw things up; observing Peter he makes a mistake and the anarchists gain access to inadequately secured equipment. Probably not much weaponry but future information could be very dangerous...
References.
Wiki.
Contemporary account in The Guardian.
Video:
British Pathe 1
British Pathe 2 (both are period and silent0
Scene from 1960 film (somewhat inaccurate, especially the anarchist weapons)