MUTINY IN GAOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24255, 25 March 1940, Page 6

MUTINY IN GAOL

DARTMOOR OUTBREAK I.R.A. CONVICTS RIOT BUILDINGS SET ON FIRE ORDER QUICKLY RESTORED LONDON, Mar. 23. (Received Mar. 24, at 9 p.m.) On the eve of celebrations in Eire to mark the Easter rising of 1916, a number of extremist I.R.A. convicts mutinied at Dartmoor. They started a riot, and set fire to the block in which all the terrorists were confined. Twelve of the most dangerous members of the I.R.A. were the ringleaders. While exercising they seized and gagged two warders. They then took the keys and released the other members of the 1.R.A., who shouted wildly, collected piles of bedding and set the building on fire. Uproar in Prison One warder was thrust into a cell, given a gasmask, and told to be “ a good boy.” The convicts who were not released yelled through ' the grilles, adding to the pandemonium. Hundreds of residents of Princetown heard wild screams and shouts from the prison, and saw flames and smoke. Special squads of police threw a cordon round the gaol. The governor swiftly summoned all the warders and barricaded the rioters In one section by piling up cement bags in doorways. The ringleaders were overpowered after a short struggle and handcuffed. Slight Damage Order was restored in three hours, after which the warders attended the usual Saturday night dance. The prison brigade quelled the fire in 90 minutes. A large hole was burnt in the roof, but the Home Office stated that the damage was slight. The ringleaders have been placed in separate cells. This is the first attempt at ; mutiny in Dartmoor since the historic fight in 1932.