Lloyd George escapes at Birmingham Town Hall

Description:On 18 December 1901, giving a characteristically trenchant pro-Boer, anti-war speech at Birmingham Town Hall, Lloyd George was practically lynched by a patriotic mob and had to escape from the building disguised as a policeman.

David Lloyd George and his family were subjected to many attacks for his opposition to the war. Margaret, his wife, was snubbed and insulted by both friends and strangers in London and Cricieth. Richard, his eldest son, had to leave his preparatory school on account of the bullying due to his father's stand on the war. The worst attacks came with the riot at Birmingham in December 1901 when Lloyd George tried to address a meeting opposed to the war. Lloyd George was then a 38-year-old Liberal radical, and for him to take his opposition to the Boer War to Birmingham was to attack one of the architects of Britain’s colonial policy – Joseph Chamberlain – right on his own doorstep. Chamberlain was Colonial Secretary in Lord Salisbury’s Conservative government.

To the accompaniment of chants of "Traitor! Traitor! Bloody traitor! Pro-Boer! Kill 'im! Kill the bloody traitor!" the crowd rioted, he did not give his address and had to escape dressed as a policeman. The police had to break up the crowd. After the riot about forty people had to be treated in hospital and one man, Harold Curtin, was killed after being struck by a baton.

The cartoon here is from a Birmingham paper called the Town Crier and clearly shows the strength of feeling towards him.