Snowball Atrocities #6: Snowballs over Glasgow October 24, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
In Beach’s long and passionate searches through the annals of snowballing, he has come across many descriptions of mass snowball fights. However, this, from February 1865, is perhaps his favourite. It combines reckless youth, police brutality (to not from), and significant property damage: in short it is the essence of the Victorian snow-balling.
Glasgow has been the scene of disgraceful disturbances, caused by students of the University. During the forenoon of Thursday (says a local contemporary) groups of students assembled from time to time at the entrance to the University, pelting pedestrians with snowballs, and one little girl received such a blow with a snowball that she was felled to the ground as if she had been struck by a bullet.
At this point the police intervene.
One constable received most violent blow from a snowball. Sergeant Sinclair detected the assailant, and collared him. The students immediately surrounded the two unlucky officers, and by sheer force drove them into the College-square, and then closed the gate. The constables were then subjected to the most cowardly treatment, the sergeant having been seized by the collar of his coat, his body repeatedly kicked, and his face pounded with snowballs till his cheeks were swollen and partially discoloured. Ultimately one of the professors came to the rescue, and the officers were let out of the College square by a side door.
Snowball fights often see the police getting hurt in the nineteenth century: the mob conditions mean that unless there are a large number of constables, then, the police will be outnumbered and hunted down. Snow seems, meanwhile, to bring out saturnalia in some normally sensible people.
A large body of the students then proceeded to the College-green, and commenced throwing snowballs at three churches and schoolhouse, and before the police could put a stop to their riotous procedure nearly 100 panes of glass were smashed. After a severe struggle ten of the ringleaders were captured and locked up.
Interestingly after this punch up, the student body went to the local newspaper office and ‘groaned’ outside while burning some newspapers. Presumably they did not agree with the version of the facts put down here.
Any other notable 19 century snowball fights: drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com
