RIOTS IN ARMY PRISONS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24815, 4 March 1946, Page 5

RIOTS IN ARMY PRISONS

BRITISH WAR OFFICE INVESTIGATING

CLASH WITH GUARDS IN FRESH OUTBREAK

u un, iviarcn i. “The Scotland Yard of the War Office—Mls—is investigating what is believed to be a national plot to incite simultaneous rioting among 2362 servicemen held in Britain’s eight ‘glasshouses’,” says the “Daily Mail.” “The War Office is convinced that in spite of the rigid regulations governing military prisons a handful of men at the root of the trouble have a secret communication system. Special investigators familiar with the methods of communication used by Allied prisoners of war in German camps are trying to discover how prisoners separated by hundreds of miles are able to communicate with one another. The prisoners are not allowed newspapers, telephone calls, or telegrams, yet within an hour of the Aidershot riot, men hundreds of miles away had full details of the incident. “The War Office has ordered extra guards and a general tightening up of regulations to prevent further riots.” Rioting broke out to-day at the North Allerton military prison, but the War Office said that the riot was well in hand late in the afternoon. The National Fire service used hoses to quell a fire and also to attempt to restrain the rioters. Unarmed troops were unable to approach the prisoners, who took to the roof of the barracks block, tore up tiles, and threw them at the guards. The rioters taunted and jeered at the guards, calling: “Come and get us.” The troops made a move but a barrage of stones and broken roofing forced them to beat a hasty retreat. Troops cordoned off the buildings but were forced to stand by helplessly and listen to the sounds of the rioters wrecking the interior.

A Northern Command statement said that the riot was confined to about 70 prisoners lodged in one hall. The rioters broke into the barracks stores and started a fire. Fifty soldiers were called in from a nearby depot. None of the rioters came from Aidershot. One missile thrown from the roof injured a guard warrant officer. Seven drenched men who held out for nine hours in possession of the main building in the barracks surrendered, thereby bringing resistance to an end. The guards’said they were disgusted at the rioters’ wanton behaviour. They had itched to take offensive action against them, but were under orders not to do so. The Press Association recalls two mass escapes from North Allerton early in January, when prisoners broke parades and rushed the gates. Trials at Singapore.— The* War Crimes Court sentenced to death three of six Japanese naval officers charged with murdering nine Burmese, who tried to escape from the Andaman Islands. Six of the Burmese were bayoneted and the remainder executed with swords. Three of the Japanese were acquitted. They included Vice-Admiral Teize Hara, commander of the Japanese fleet based on the Andamans.—Singapore. March 2.