The East London Pioneer, a pre-war Blackshirt paper, made a brief re-appearance in the early 1960s. One edition featured reminiscences about the Battle of Cable Street and other events on Sunday, October 4, 1936. It is the only known public record of Jimmy Sowerbutt. No copies of the resurrected Pioneer are held by public archives or libraries. A handful of yellowing copies are in the possession of private individuals.
Here is what Sowerbutt had to say.
"The lads and I in my I-Squad section were run off our feet. Fights all over the place in Whitechapel and Shadwell as the march was on and off and on again and off. We were working hard to protect our side when I got word some Reds were looting near my mate, Jack Shakes' shop, God rest his soul. We doubled down there and put a cordon around the shop, the stoppers were nowhere to be seen. The Reds had thrown rotten vegetables and mud at the shop when we arrived. After cracking a few ribs and blacking some eyes, the Red thugs backed off. I remember shouting, 'This shop is off-limits, you expletive.'
"Later, we went up to Shoreditch where the Reds were starting what they called a Victory march after persuading the stoppers to call off the Cable Street lot. Well, we weren't going to allow any Victory nonsense. Several of the I-Squad sections got stuck in. I remember seeing WO, another dear departed friend and a great fighter, in the thick of it.
"The lads and I had coshes and we used them. The Reds were trying to take over our streets and it was not on. Some were local boys, most were outsiders. We look after our own in my manor. We always have." http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Lemon-Surrender-1940-ebook/dp/B008USR7FA
Here is what Sowerbutt had to say.
"The lads and I in my I-Squad section were run off our feet. Fights all over the place in Whitechapel and Shadwell as the march was on and off and on again and off. We were working hard to protect our side when I got word some Reds were looting near my mate, Jack Shakes' shop, God rest his soul. We doubled down there and put a cordon around the shop, the stoppers were nowhere to be seen. The Reds had thrown rotten vegetables and mud at the shop when we arrived. After cracking a few ribs and blacking some eyes, the Red thugs backed off. I remember shouting, 'This shop is off-limits, you expletive.'
"Later, we went up to Shoreditch where the Reds were starting what they called a Victory march after persuading the stoppers to call off the Cable Street lot. Well, we weren't going to allow any Victory nonsense. Several of the I-Squad sections got stuck in. I remember seeing WO, another dear departed friend and a great fighter, in the thick of it.
"The lads and I had coshes and we used them. The Reds were trying to take over our streets and it was not on. Some were local boys, most were outsiders. We look after our own in my manor. We always have." http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Lemon-Surrender-1940-ebook/dp/B008USR7FA
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