The London Mural Preservation Society website (visit
link) tells us about the 17m x 18m mural:
"The events depicted in this mural epitomise
the fight against fascism and far-right activism in London; sadly, the creation
of the mural itself demonstrates that this struggle is an ongoing one.
It can be found in a part of London probably most synonymous with immigration,
firstly of Huguenots in the 17th Century, followed by the Irish, Ashkenazi Jews
and most recently Bangladeshis. Back in 1936, as now, immigrants were easy
scapegoats for the country’s problems, and with the rise of anti-Semitism in
much of Europe at the time, Cable Street’s Jewish population were an obvious
target for a demonstration by Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists on 4th
October 1936. An estimated 300,000 Jews, Irish Dockers, Communists, Labour Party
Members, Trade Unionists and residents of the East End came together to oppose
the Blackshirts of the BUF, united by a common call, echoing that of
anti-fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War: ¡No Pasarán! – They Shall Not
Pass! In reality the Battle was with the Police who tried to remove the
barricades erected by the anti-Fascists to allow the march to go ahead, but
Mosley’s troops had already scuttled off to Hyde Park, tails between their legs.
The mural depicts the events of a very physical confrontation between police and
protesters in stunning detail: anti-fascist protesters proudly carrying banners;
punches being thrown; a barricade of furniture and an overturned vehicle across
Cable Street manned by residents of all ages and ethnic backgrounds; a chamber
pot being emptied from a first floor window onto BUF members below; marbles
being thrown under the hooves of horses being ridden by baton-wielding police; a
fascist, with a startling resemblance to Adolf Hitler, looking very alarmed in
just his underwear and socks; a police autogyro overhead observing events.
Work on a commemorative mural began back in 1976 when Dan Jones, Secretary of
the Hackney Trades Council saw a mural under the Westway in west London and
asked the artist, Dave Binnington, if he would like to undertake a project at
Cable Street. An Arts Council grant allowed Dave to set up in the basement of St
George's Town Hall, from where he undertook extensive research into the events
of October 1936, examining photographs and news reports, viewing newsreel
footage and, perhaps most importantly, consulting and interviewing local
residents, some of whom were later depicted in the mural.
This initial stage of the project culminated in a public meeting on 18th October
1978 at which the final design, depicting the events of the Battle using a
fish-eye perspective, was presented to local people, most of whom were
supportive. However, one letter to a local paper described it as 'a political
graffiti' while another writer asked: 'Do we need a reminder in the form of a
large picture of violence being perpetually re-enacted?' Dave Binnington's
response to such comments was that '...I'm a realist, and life isn't normal and
happy, even today, with people being knifed and bottled just like in those far
off pre-War days. I want this mural to be colourful and attractive, and to tell
a story too without just being part of the Thirties nostalgia boom. I hope it
will also be a monument to our ability to overcome oppression'.
With further funding in place from the Greater London Arts Association, the E
Vincent Harris Fund for Mural Decoration, the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Leonard
Cohen Trust, Greater London Council and the Royal Academy, work to finally paint
the mural, on 3,500 square feet of the recently re-rendered wall of St George's
Town Hall, using 150 gallons of paint, and at a cost of £18,000, began in late
1979. Dave was hoping that the mural could be completed by 4th October 1980, the
44th anniversary of the Battle.
But work was much delayed by technical problems, and by the sheer scale of the
task ahead, and came to a halt at the end of 1981. Then on May 23rd 1982,
far-right activists vandalised the incomplete mural, daubing it with slogans
such as 'British Nationalism not Communism', 'Rights for Whites' and, somewhat
ironically, 'Stop the Race War'. Exhausted and frustrated, Dave Binnington
resigned from the project.
An attempt was made by volunteers, including local Councillors Graham Allen,
Asheek Ali and Joe Ramanoop, to clean up the damage using white spirit but this
was unsuccessful. Then in July 1982, Paul Butler, who had been discussing the
project with Dave Binnington, got in touch with Ray Walker and Desmond Rochfort,
and the three of them decided to take up the challenge of completing the Cable
Street mural. The top section was completed largely along the lines of Dave
Binnington's original design, then the vandalised lower section was
sand-blasted, re-rendered and primed. Each artist then carried out research and
produced drawings, Walker for the left hand section, Butler for the middle, and
Rochfort for the right hand third; the result utilised a different perspective
to that of Binnington's original fish-eye design, much apparent from the
finished mural.
Work continued on the mural until it was finally completed in March 1983 and on
7th May that year it was officially opened by Cllr Paul Beasley, Leader of Tower
Hamlets Council, accompanied by Jack Jones (former General Secretary of the
Transport and General Workers Union), Tony Banks (Chair of the Greater London
Council Arts Committee) and Dan Jones.
It would be nice if the story of the Cable Street mural ended there. But sadly
it was vandalised again a number of times, most notably in June 1993 when it was
attacked with paint bombs. The damage caused then was repaired at a cost of
£19,000 (of which £18,000 came from Tower Hamlets Council and £1,000 from the
Cable Street Group) by Paul Butler at a time when tensions were high due to
forthcoming elections in which the British National Party were standing. As well
as a swaying scaffold tower caused by strong winds, Paul had to contend with
intimidation from far-right activists who poured paint on his car and slashed
its tyres.
The mural has avoided the attentions of its adversaries since then and it is
hoped that the presence of a CCTV camera and a pledge by Cllr Denise Jones in
1994 that '...the Council are committed to restoring the mural whenever it is
damaged' will ensure its long-term future.
UPDATE 2011 During the summer of 2011, after much preparatory work, the Cable
Street mural was restored by Paul Butler , one of the original artists.
Initially a conservation team injected a seal to glue the render firmly onto the
building wall. Then the piece was generally re-worked from top to bottom with
focus on re-painting some areas more than others. Some more information about
the restoration can be found here.
Condition
The mural is in excellent condition, thanks to recent restoration work."