New book investigates Epsom Riot of 1919

4:00pm Thursday 2nd September 2010

By Thais Portilho-Shrimpton

An author who investigated the Epsom Riot of 1919 lifts the lid on the events surrounding the death of a police officer in his new book.

In his book - We Are Not Manslaughterers (The Epsom Riot and The Murder of Station Sgt Green) - Martin Knight takes a look at the build-up of the riot and at the real reason behind the unrest between locals and Canadian soldiers, which culminated with the death of Sergeant Thomas Green.

His research into the episode points out that there was something a bit more sinister in the background, rather than it being just a drunken brawl that ignited the flame and drove more than 400 Canadian soldiers to try and overrun Epsom Police Station.

Mr Knight claims Sergeant Green’s death was a major crime. A policeman being killed on duty had never happened in this country before and Mr Knight believes it would have been worthy of extensive media coverage.

In the book, he claims it was “brushed under the carpet” by the powers that be.

Mr Knight, who lives in Ewell Village, said: "When I finished writing my last book I was looking at what to do with the next one and the idea came to research this episode, which is one of the biggest things that ever happened in Epsom, but it’s really not that well-known elsewhere in the country and I was hoping to find out why.

"This always struck me as really weird. He was the only policeman that got killed in his own police station in this country.

"The confessed murderer, Allan MacMaster, carried much guilt, confessing in 1919 as already known, but I also found out he eventually committed suicide.

"He also became a hero back in Canada after bravely saving the lives of colleagues in a mining disaster."

The mob violence that killed the father-of-two is regarded as the most brutal episode known in Epsom. Mr Knight’s book, out today (September 2), reveals half of the soldiers that stood trial for the riot were suffering from an STD among and it was well-known Epsom women had relationships with the Canadian soldiers at the time.

He said: “It follows that some would have become infected and this explains the extraordinary hostility the Epsom men had towards the Canadians and why there was fighting every night on the streets of Epsom in the summer of 1919.”

Mr Knight also uncovered proof that there was a dialogue between King George V and the Canadian authorities over the soldiers that were imprisoned, making it likely that an informal Royal Pardon was arranged to coincide with a Prince of Wales tour of Canada.

We Are Not Manslaughterers, published by Tonto books, features never before seen pictures of Sgt Green and Mr MacMaster.

Martin Knight is the author of Battersea Girl, Common People and George Best’s final autobiography.