At 1:30pm on Saturday,17 July 2010,the The Household Troops Band of the Salvation Army visited Whitchurch again.
A plaque in The Square commemorates The Right to Demonstrate won by The Salvation Army on 1 July 1890.
The band marched from the Gill Nethercott Centre,up Winchester Street,to the forecourt of the Town Hall,where the Mayor,Councillor John Clark,officially welcomed them.
Original sqeeze-box from the 1890s Salvation Army Marching Band in Whitchurch.
The mayor’s speech was followed by a presentation of a picture showing the riots in Whitchurch during the late 1800′s. It is a copy of a picture that hangs in the Town Council chambers.
Then,to the delight of the several hundred residents and visitors that had gathered,they played several songs.
Following this,the band marched back into The Square and led the Whitchurch Festival carnival procession down Winchester Street.
The band peeled off near Micheldever in order to make their way to Andover (not marching!),where they were scheduled to give a concert at 3pm.
The procession continued on to the grounds of the primary school for the annual carnival. News and pictures from the procession and carnival are on the official Whitchurch Town Website here.
The members of the band came individually from all over the United Kingdom. The council put on a light lunch for them at Testbourne before the march.
The Town Council are very grateful to the Sports And Social Club who gave permission for the band members to use their car park,so they could maximize their time in Whitchurch,before heading to their next event.
Below,is the speech given by the Mayor,Councillor John Clark:
Ladies and Gentlemen,I would like to welcome Captain Eardley,Major John Mott,and the Household Troops Band of The Salvation Army to this town of Whitchurch where,120 years ago this year,a very significant part of Salvation Army history was made i.e. the right of citizens to demonstrate and go in procession was established.
The Salvation Army had been formed by William Booth in 1878. In 1889,a band of the Salvation Army were playing in The Square here in Whitchurch,and a number of citizens had gathered in support. This was said to be an unlawful assembly and obstruction. The police arrested 80,who were fined by the local Magistrates. They refused to pay and were sent to prison,being marched to Winchester.
Because of the imprisonment,feelings ran very high in Whitchurch against the Magistrates and the police. This resulted in a Demonstration by 2000 people in the Square,commonly known as the Whitchurch Riots,and were addressed by Herbert Booth,son of William,and a London solicitor.
This demonstration,which lampooned the Justices of the Peace,angered the Magistrates and the police. Both Mr. Booth and the solicitor were arrested for riot,rout,unlawful assembly and nuisance,and indicted before a Grand Jury in Winchester. Fearing that they would not receive a Fair trial,the defendants applied for the case to be tried in London.
The trial was held before Lord Coleridge,the Lord Chief Justice and a Special jury on the 1st July 1890 ,and in his summing up following testimony from many witnesses,told the jury that ”unless they had been satisfied that there had been a real and substantial nuisance,they must acquit the defendants.”
The jury took 2 minutes,without leaving the Courtroom,to return a verdict of Not Guilty. This was a famous victory for the Savation Army,to continue in its passion to help others which is now known throughout the world.
I would like to thank Major John Mott and his band for coming here today,and it gives me great pleasure to present this picture of the Whitchurch Riots,which is a copy of the one hanging in the Town Hall.
