The Battle of Waterloo – 12th September 1992

In late 1992 at a national organisers meeting, Blood and Honour decided an event was needed to gain maximum publicity and bring 28’s profile, message and operation back into the national spotlight. It was unanimously decided to stage a massive concert in London, England’s capital city, the like of which had not been seen before. In the run up to the concert the plan was to use every media outlet available to achieve the initial aims, it was felt whatever happened on the day as long as Blood and Honour raised its profile and got the massive media coverage and advertisement that was envisaged it was a win win situation, as it happened the event and media coverage generated was to surpass all expectations!

The 12th of September was chosen as the date of the concert and immediately efforts were made to advertise the concert on a scale not seen since the Main Event gig in 1990. A massive fly poster campaign was launched with the legend “Skrewdriver Back In London!” emblazoned across them, were put up all over the UK. Blood and Honour units pasted them up everywhere and local media in Newcastle, Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham and even Glasgow ran articles on the coming concert, in London the media went into overdrive. All the main Communist/anti-patriotic groups were informed of the concert by “distressed” members of the public phoning up contact numbers. These distressed members of the public who were in fact Blood and Honour members from Chingford assigned with the task. Others on the phone list included the Good Samaritans, Salvation Army and numerous left-wing councils in London, who were told of fears that the concert was in their area.

To further maximise publicity and confrontation British Rail Waterloo train station in Central London, one of the busiest stations in Europe, was chosen as the redirection point and put in bold letters on the concert posters, in reality most concert goers would be directed to the gig through a series of local regional organisers and pre-arranged phone calls that would direct the firms to the real venue.

It was also planned to send some football firms and security to Waterloo, to direct any freelance concert goers, foreign comrades and those just interested in the concert and to deal with the expected counter demonstration. It had long been a communist tactic in Britain to disrupt patriotic events in our nation by turning up early and occupying the redirection point en mass, this was a tactic Blood and Honour were not only aware of but one they were banking on.

A few days before the event the national press picked up on the story. “Secret Nazi Pop Show Set to Fan Race Hate” proclaimed the Daily Star. Ian Stuart appeared on London LBC radio where he was interviewed by Richard Little-John. Ian with his world famous tongue in cheek humour played down the trouble aspect stating he only wanted to play his music to his supporters and wished that he could be left alone to get on with it. Little-John responded by wishing him well.

The night before the concert on national television the BBC2 “youth current affairs” programme “Reportage” ran a long piece on Blood and Honour and the planned concert using the piece to heavily advertise the planned Communist counter demonstration its meeting point and times.

On the day of the concert the organisers secured the venue, the Yorkshire Grey in Eltham South East London and the British Movement Leader Guard who had been given the job of securing the venue and local area went into action. A Blood and Honour security unit left to face the fire at Waterloo, well aware the media were all ready reporting that a large Communist mob was violently attacking the first skinhead arrivals and a mini riot was in progress. Whether pre-planned or by a stroke of luck the police immediately arrested the B & H Chief of Security Kirk Barker and his unit on their arrival at Waterloo, later charging them with violent disorder charges. Their arrest initially threw everything into chaos.

In another incident on the Friday night while Ian Stuart was sitting in a pub in Nottingham when a black gang walked in and one then proceeded to glass him in the side of the face, inflicting a wound that needed internal stitches and knocked out three teeth and said “Right, the gig’s off you Nazi bastard!”. While this left wing mob might have previously had some luck in intimidating our old and frail with violence and intimidation it only spurred Ian to go on and give what many say was his best ever live performance.

The Communist counter demonstrators had had everything their own way all morning, numbering up to a thousand the police had let them roam the surrounding area of the station picking off small groups of skinheads at will and as the Reds boasted afterwards the police stood by as they threw hundreds of bottles and bricks at the outnumbered skinheads and when they could attack them did so “with anything we could lay our hands on”. By early afternoon the reds had successfully charged the beleaguered skinheads twice forcing them back in a rear guard defensive action that meant if you didn’t stay within the group you were in serious trouble.

But as time passed all the skinheads in the area had slowly become one group and despite many injuries they had managed to keep the massive Red mob at bay. At this point the two hundred police officers on duty that day had been quite content to sit back and watch the disorganised skinheads, most of whom were unfamiliar with the station and its surroundings with many from abroad take a beating while leaving the reds alone, but this was all about to change.

At 3.15 the Reading to Waterloo train came into platform fifteen and on it were two large hooligan firms; West London Blood and Honour comprising skinheads from all over the west side of London and the Chelsea Head Hunters, the arrival of these two groups inside the station and as luck would have it into the very heart of the Communist mob and coincidentally the arrival on Waterloo bridge of the combined force of West Ham, Millwall and Portsmouth football casuals shortly followed by an advance party of the BM Leader Guard was to put to an end to any chance the Anti-Fascists thought they had of physically “beating the fash” that day, far from it. Order was restored in the ranks.

One police officer on duty described the days proceedings as “the demonstrators had it all their own way in the morning but once the skinheads really started arriving, the tables turned and we had to take preventative measures”.

The firms who arrived in the station itself started picking the demonstrators off immediately, suddenly the reds were no longer dealing with small groups of stragglers on unfamiliar territory but with two firms of seasoned street fighters on their own turf, television footage shows main man A.F. and a group of Headhunters offering far bigger numbers of Reds out and when they declined, literally chasing them out off the station concourse.

At the same time the reinforced group on Waterloo Bridge, now organised and as one, charged the lefty mob for the first time of the day, chanting “skinhead, skinhead” and “Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil” as they ran, the reds caught off guard or just in total panic fled, the few that stood their ground were soon surrounded and shown no mercy, that now famous charge accounting for most of the people hospitalised that day, outnumbered, outgunned but victorious! While the police had taken no action after the two red charges once the skinheads attacked and started taking ground they mobilised and moved in to keep the two sides apart, the skinheads and football casuals who had now taken control of the inside of Waterloo station were escorted out and herded into the main force of patriots now numbering about five hundred. All the trains running to and from Waterloo were cancelled. Waterloo Bridge was brought to a stand still during the running battles.

A Policeman on the scene told the media “It was like Custers last stand”. In the battles aftermath, two policemen were hospitalised, thirty three arrests were made for public order offences and offensive weapons, of which most were from the anti-Nazi demonstrators, forty four people were hospitalised, twelve of which were reported as suffering from stab wounds all of whom were demonstrators and two cars were badly damaged.

While two hundred police officers were sent to police the red demonstration and re-direction point during the day, over five hundred in full riot gear were sent to police the venue and the surrounding area. After the days events at Waterloo it was obvious if the one thousand plus strong red demonstrators couldn’t crush a mob of skinheads numbering no more than five hundred at their biggest point, there was absolutely no way they’d venture any where within the radius of the concert. At first the police wanted to try and stop the concert, maybe because of orders from above or at wounded pride from their inability to contain the skinheads from so successfully attacking the red demonstrators during the day. With the red mob now more than content to lick their wounds behind police lines and spend their time chanting most of the skinhead firm began making their way to Eltham, a none to easy task as the police had cancelled all trains from Waterloo to the gig. But in actions that are now legendary in patriotic circles many stayed in the Waterloo area and had “fun” all evening picking off the Communists as they left to go home.

In Eltham the Yorkshire Grey pub with its massive hall more used to international boxing matches was heaving with patriots while search parties travelled in mini buses deep into the night running stranded groups of comrades from various locations around London to the venue. In the aftermath, the police estimated over two thousand skinheads had arrived in London for the concert but due to “fire regulations” which they strictly enforced only eight hundred supporters were allowed in the venue at any one time, many being stranded around town. 

With news the police had ordered the bar to close, the security boarded up all the windows and doorways to the venue and a firm of two hundred or so went outside to face the massed ranks of riot police armed with CS gas, a stand off ensued and a very tense time only ended when the police relented and allowed the bar to reopen and concert to go ahead, the only stipulation being only eight hundred patriots would be allowed in the venue at any one time. The atmosphere was electric in the venue. Three bands were to play that evening Skrewdriver, No Remorse and Dirlewanger from Sweden who had managed to bypass all the security at the British airports and red demonstrators to attend. With five hundred riot police baying to shut the concert down outside, it was decided Skrewdriver would play first and if the police tried to stop proceedings during their set, well it just wouldn’t happen. Taking the stage Ian was in no mood for compromise and immediately opened his set with Back with a Bang a song about the re-emergence of the skinhead scene in London, straight after this opening song Ian began the first of his speeches that are now held in global skinhead folk lore.

Ian shouted to the crowd “Right, last night we were in a pub in Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, a gang of n*****s walked in. The first one glassed me straight in the fucking mouth, three teeth less and a few stitches in the mouth and said “Right the gig’s off you Nazi bastard!”. Is the gig off? – Is it Fuck! And now we’ve got the fucking police outside telling us the gig’s off. Who’s orders are those bastards taking? We’re British and European people here to listen to a fucking concert, while them wankers outside are telling us we cant have one. When down the fucking road Public Enemy are saying kill Whitey – they’re allowed to fucking play. You’ve got The Pogues down the other side of the road saying bomb the British people, up the IRA – they’re allowed to fucking play. So why are the fucking pigs telling us we’re can’t have a gig in our own country? Fuck’em – this ones called Tomorrow belongs to me!”.

Ian was said to have sung that night like it was the last thing he was ever going to do. The entire audience held onto to his every word and between each song Ian gave a running commentary of defiance and pride.

“Right fuck the Old Bill, J***** tools, the fucking silly little boys in blue, are we the J***** puppets or fucking not. Europe Awake!”

“I’d like to dedicate this next number to all the people who went to Waterloo station and managed to get down here tonight, I’d like to also dedicate this song to all the people who went down Waterloo station and did not manage to get here because of this good old democratic society that we live in. Where the boys in blue will do exactly what the Zionist bastards in the Government tell ’em to do and tell our people that their not allowed to go and watch a Nationalist band. Yes, you can go down the road and watch a black power band, yes, you can watch the IRA or a bunch of fucking homosexuals and fucking listen to all that shit that’s against Britain. But if you wanna come and listen to someone who’s for Britain, were not going to allow it! Well fuck you piggy, this number is about you bastards. Right this ones dedicated to all you white street fighters – Streetfight!”

“The inevitability in this country, because they keep sending us these fucking n*****s, they keep sending us these P**i’s, they keep sending us these dirty J****h fuckers. To take over our country. It’s about time people in this country started putting their own people first. So this songs about the inevitability of a race war and it’s called the showdown.”

“That’s a fucking message to the police. You stand up beside us because one day we will have our day. You stand up with the n*****s and you’re out with them you fucking traitorous cunts. Right this song’s called paranoid, and must be about the Chief Constable of London. The fucking J** loving cunt…”

“This one is for everyone here tonight, a old cover song , what we all should be – United. This is for the nationalist party’s in Great Britain to get your fucking act together. Rather than slagging each other off all the fucking time time. The BNP….. This is for the British National Party, British Movement, the National Front, it’s for everybody to fucking join together . Because as one we’re fucking strong, fighting against each other we’re fucking weak and we’re giving the J***s a laugh. So this is what we should all fucking be, and it’s called United!……..Apparently the police are getting ready to storm the place. Fucking hell this is free speech for you! Idiot fucking wankers…….they’re letting the rest of the people in. Looks like we might have fucking won, just because the police have made sure that nobody can have a drink. Aren’t they fucking clever piggy’s. You know what, them fuckers, I’d like to see them fuckers in a butchers shop on a fucking bacon slicer. Right this is called United.”

“I think we’ve won, the bars open, the people are allowed in. Fuck the Old Bill, about time they bowed down to us. Isn’t it about time that the Old Bill let us do something for ourselves. Iam fucking proud of every person here tonight. Fucking great to see you. We know the difficulty you’ve been through to get here. And is it a fucking joke to have to come and see a British band in your own fucking country to have to go through the shit that you’ve been through to get here. Bollocks in it. Them cunts out there have helped towards it. So have a drink on me and this number is for you all…..Our Pride is Our Loyalty.”

“Id like to dedicate this song to people from America. People from the Ku Klux Klan, we appreciate what they doing over there. So I’d like to dedicate this number to them. It started off in the South a long time ago and it grown and grown, like the nationalist movement in this country.”

At the end of Hail the New Dawn Ian asked “maybe not everybody out here tonight might not be a member of a Nationalist party, I‘d like you all to consider to join a Nationalist party in this country, take a choice, read up on them, the literature and decide which party is for you, but do your part for Britain, because otherwise if we don’t do anything its going to get worse this is. The coppers are trying to stop you listening to the bands you wanna listen to tonight, if we don’t do something were gonna be fucked. So basically do something for yourself, and join somebody, decide which one’s best for you and do what you can for the Nationalist movement in this country.”

“This one is for Rudolf Hess, in fact he is probably the hero of the white race. Adolf Hitler died in 1945, but his ideals never died. And the one man to kept those ideals alive more than anyone else. Stayed in Spandau Prison for 46 years, was murdered by the British, them cunts out there! So this number is dedicated to one of the great heroes of the white race.”

“Here’s a number about a country that’s struggling at the moment. You know I read an article in the paper the other week and a few dirty black bastards had been shot by few other dirty black bastards and it made me laugh because these n*****s dont like each other you know. Never mind us not liking them. And in South Africa no fucker likes the n*****s, not even the other n*****s and the ANC which everyone knows is like the black and white minstrel version of the IRA, walking around with their faces pained black chucking spear at everybody. They walk around thinking that they’re some kind of political movement and what’s worse is our government gives them credence. Look on the TV – the ANC says this, the ANC says that, the ANC are willing to compromise. Who fucking wants to compromise with them black bastards they fucking murdering people. You don’t compromise with shit like that. So why are our government telling the South African government that they have to talk to Nelson Mandela. A dirty old terrorist who blows white people up. That would be the same as the South African government turning round to that dibby in 10 Downing Street, John Major and turning around and saying you have to talk to Sin Fein”.

“I’d like to dedicate this next number to the Loyalist Prisoners Aid and recently our government, believe it or not. Our government have found the UDA – the Ulster Defence Association illegal. They don’t find Sin Fein illegal, who blow our people up. They’re not illegal, you’re allowed to go into their fucking offices and vote for them wankers. But the UDA is illegal. Can you fucking believe it?! So we would like to dedicate this number to members of the UDA. Whose first member was, for membership of the UDA, was given 6 years in prison. Our government once again traitors, the J**s that run this country. This is dedicated to the LPA and the UDA and everyone who sticks up for Ulster and Britain and it’s called Smash The IRA.”

The sheer intensity of Ian’s verbal onslaughts were met with the response of Sieg Heil, arms raised in their hundreds to the beat of the drum. Ian played nineteen songs that night finishing on the skinhead anthem White Power with a dedication that summed up the entire episode of the Battle of Waterloo from start to finish from his point of view; with a genuine laugh throughout.

“N*****r n****r out out, n****r out out and fuck off home! And especially to the fucking black bastard who stuck that glass in my mouth last night……I wouldn’t mind but there weren’t even no beer left in it, this ones called White Power!”

The event was featured on television and newspaper reports from the USA to Greece and from Australia to Germany. The British press had the pre-planned field day. The “Battle of Waterloo” was the title of almost every article. Initially the leading reds feebly tried to claim Waterloo as a victory but the facts slowly filtered through with police, other reds and independent eye witnesses all telling another story. Within days no TV programme or newspaper was complete without a paid red complaining about the lack of police protection or savagery of the skinheads. “Something must be done to stop them” was said during a Parliamentary debate on the growing skinhead phenomenon and battle of Waterloo. “This has got to stop before it gets out of hand” said Mick Stone of Anti Fascist Action in the Echo, B&H’s main red opponents on the day. “The fact that they have advertised the concert is a show of the Neo-Nazis increasing confidence”. Jon Heddon, also of the so called pro-violent by any means necessary AFA told the same paper that “there was two hours of chaos. The police presence was badly planned and there was a lot of confusion.” Some Anti Nazi League spokesman claimed “It was a scene of total carnage with Nazis openly carrying knives and stabbing any demonstrator they could get there hands on, people were literally running for their lives, while the police stood by.”

Despite all the odds Blood and Honour successfully advertised and held the biggest ever skinhead concert the capital had ever seen. The event threw up a massive national debate on how to contain the growing skinhead threat on the streets, but more importantly for 28 the whole concept of racist music came into question and the public eye.

Tony Parsons, a long time music critic wrote “Oi! as played by Skrewdriver and their kind is punk without the theatrical overtones, punk without O levels, punk that has never been to art school. This is the genuine voice of council estates. Real working class music. Unlike every musician since Elvis, Oi! bands don’t play with the mythology of danger. They were and are the real thing. It isn’t pretty.”

‘We, the Leader Guard of the British Movement send our congratulations to you, our fellow National Socialist Skinheads and other comrades that joined in the “Battle of Waterloo.” Despite the best efforts of the Red scum that were well-armed, not searched by the Police and allowed to attack as a mob, the gig that they said would never happen went ahead and was a tremendous success.’