Peter the Painter
A notorious character from earlier times in London, England, was Peter the Painter, (not an artist, a house painter). He was reputedly the leader of a Latvian gang of anarchists, all well-known to the police for crimes.
He reputedly masterminded trying to rob a jewellers, from next door, which made a giveaway suspiciously odd, loud banging noise on a quiet Friday night, start of the day of rest in the Jewish East End.
Whent the police went to investigate, three unarmed policemen were fatally shot. An unprecedented number of police deaths. Two more were wounded. When police backups arrived, a policeman grappled with a gunman, who was probably accidentally shot in the back by the two heavily armed robbers trying to defend him.
The two gunment carried away the dying friend. They retreated a house, which became the scene of The Siege of Sidney Street. The Siege, in London's East End in January 1911, was also known as the battle of Stepney.
Next day, they were surrounded by 200 armed police supported by more than 800 members of the army. Two families with children were rescued from the building at dawn by police. Nearby residents were evacuated. The siege lasted all day, more than six hours.
The 36-year-old Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, was involved, running into danger, with the police, although Winston was warned to keep out of the crossfire for his own safety.
The end was captured on film for the news that evening, showing Winston Churchill wearing his top hat.
One of fugitives was shot. Later the building caught fire. To add to the drama, and horror, the building collapsed, killing a fireman. Two bodies were found dead in the building.
Numerous arrests were made. The alleged accomplices, including Jacob Peters, were tried, aquitted and released. Like the Jack the Ripper story, the event involved the alarm of multiple killings, the uncertainly and anxiety of a murderer on the loose, and the enduring mystery. The third man, had escaped. Who was he? What was Peter's real name? And where did he go?
Confusingly, the property had been occupied by somebody called Peter, a member of a revolutionary gang, but another member of the gang was also called Peters. After 1917 a politcally active Latvian 'gangster' named Peter returned to Latvia and was treated as a hero and a statue of him was erected.
Was this the same Peter who caused the trouble in London? Do we have one man, a villain in London but a hero at home in Latvia, or two men - and a third phantom figure, who didn't exist, or three different men, different identities and and different characters and types of people? The anarchists and revolutionaries kept changing their names, living under aliases.
Useful Websites
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ryanair.com
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skyscanner.net/flights another comparison website
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https://www.webcitation.org/6fW0WJTJg?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid
Museum of london
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands
http://spartacus-educational.com/Yakov_Peters.htm
The cheapest flights from London to Riga which I could find were under £40 one way, about £70 return.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my previous post about Latvia. Please share links to your favourite posts with your friends.
A notorious character from earlier times in London, England, was Peter the Painter, (not an artist, a house painter). He was reputedly the leader of a Latvian gang of anarchists, all well-known to the police for crimes.
He reputedly masterminded trying to rob a jewellers, from next door, which made a giveaway suspiciously odd, loud banging noise on a quiet Friday night, start of the day of rest in the Jewish East End.
Whent the police went to investigate, three unarmed policemen were fatally shot. An unprecedented number of police deaths. Two more were wounded. When police backups arrived, a policeman grappled with a gunman, who was probably accidentally shot in the back by the two heavily armed robbers trying to defend him.
The two gunment carried away the dying friend. They retreated a house, which became the scene of The Siege of Sidney Street. The Siege, in London's East End in January 1911, was also known as the battle of Stepney.
Next day, they were surrounded by 200 armed police supported by more than 800 members of the army. Two families with children were rescued from the building at dawn by police. Nearby residents were evacuated. The siege lasted all day, more than six hours.
The 36-year-old Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, was involved, running into danger, with the police, although Winston was warned to keep out of the crossfire for his own safety.
The end was captured on film for the news that evening, showing Winston Churchill wearing his top hat.
One of fugitives was shot. Later the building caught fire. To add to the drama, and horror, the building collapsed, killing a fireman. Two bodies were found dead in the building.
Numerous arrests were made. The alleged accomplices, including Jacob Peters, were tried, aquitted and released. Like the Jack the Ripper story, the event involved the alarm of multiple killings, the uncertainly and anxiety of a murderer on the loose, and the enduring mystery. The third man, had escaped. Who was he? What was Peter's real name? And where did he go?
Confusingly, the property had been occupied by somebody called Peter, a member of a revolutionary gang, but another member of the gang was also called Peters. After 1917 a politcally active Latvian 'gangster' named Peter returned to Latvia and was treated as a hero and a statue of him was erected.
Was this the same Peter who caused the trouble in London? Do we have one man, a villain in London but a hero at home in Latvia, or two men - and a third phantom figure, who didn't exist, or three different men, different identities and and different characters and types of people? The anarchists and revolutionaries kept changing their names, living under aliases.
Wanted poster of Peter the Painter in 1911, although his identity is disputed and some people claim he never existed.
You can go the museum of London and speak to staff about it.
Peter Jacobs / Jacov Peters (Jacov is Jacob) went back to Russia (Latvia was then part of Russia). Peter was the second in command of Lenin's Secret Police, trying to eliminate the enemies of the state. Peter, in turn, was executed in Stalin's show trials of 1938.
And what of Peter the Painter? The mystery remains.
In London's East End you can see a plaque to the three policemen who died. A separate red plaque honours the fireman.
air.baltic.com
wizzair.com
ryanair.com
opodo.co.uk compares flight prices
skyscanner.net/flights another comparison website
tripadvisor.com
https://www.webcitation.org/6fW0WJTJg?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid
Museum of london
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands
http://spartacus-educational.com/Yakov_Peters.htm
The cheapest flights from London to Riga which I could find were under £40 one way, about £70 return.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my previous post about Latvia. Please share links to your favourite posts with your friends.
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