Llanelli riots of 1911
| Llanelli Riots | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Great Unrest and National railway strike of 1911 | |||
1911 Railway Strike fatalities plaque, Llanelli | |||
| Date | 18–19 August 1911 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | National railway strike of 1911 | ||
| Goals | Railway workers' rights, opposition to strikebreaking | ||
| Methods | |||
| Resulted in | Strike settled by negotiation; troops deployed; fatalities occurred | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
Richard Squance (strike committee chairman)
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| Number | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Deaths | 6 total (2 shot by troops, 4 killed in explosion) | ||
| Injuries | Multiple injuries from rioting | ||
| Damage | Railway infrastructure, magistrates' homes attacked | ||
| Buildings destroyed | Railway trucks set on fire | ||
| Highlighted tensions between labour and state during Great Unrest | |||
The Llanelli riots were a series of events precipitated by the national railway strike of 1911 at Llanelli, Carmarthenshire in Wales. Mass picketing action at Llanelli railway station was brutally suppressed by the police, resulting in the deaths of two men, shot dead by troops of the Worcestershire Regiment. Rioting followed and magistrates' homes were attacked and railway trucks were set on fire, resulting in an explosion which killed a further four people.
The incident was highly politically sensitive, as the Great Western Railway through Carmarthenshire, southwestern Wales, was the main route between England and Ireland. The Riots occurred during the period of frequent strikes referred to as the Great Unrest and involved prominent figures on the international scene such as David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, King George V, and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.