Image of the Month

This photograph shows Churchill in the witness box at the inquest into the famous Siege of Sidney Street on 18 January 1911. A gang of burglars had attempted to tunnel their way into a jeweller's shop in Houndsditch, and had killed three policemen who had tried to arrest them. The gang then barricaded themselves into a house in Sidney Street, in the East End, and continued to fire on the police. As Home Secretary, Churchill authorised sending in a detachment of Scots Guards from the Tower of London, as the police lacked the fire power necessary to deal with the gang. Rather more controversially, he then went to Sidney Street in person, thinking it his duty to go and see what was happening, and actually went round to the back of the house to make sure that the gang could not escape. By this time the house was on fire, and as Churchill explained at the inquest, he confirmed the police decision to let it burn, rather than risk sending in the fire brigade, taking full responsibility for this action. Once the fire had burnt itself out, the police found only two bodies inside the house: the leader of the gang, the so-called "Peter the Painter", was never found, while Churchill was severely criticised for his actions, both in the press and in Parliament.