A blog by an historian, Pagan and fanfiction writer, with left-wing leaning politics. In short, I could be waffling on about anything.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Photographs: Damage/Aftermath Wolverhampton Riots August 9th 2011

These pictures were all taken on the morning of August 10th, 2011, after the Wolverhampton riots the night before. I was there because I was part of the riot clean up. click on the pictures for full size.




Bit of context on the above picture. The gentleman in grey is the owner. His window was already smashed and the door was jammed. I don't know if it was because of debris inside or the lock had been damaged. He was trying to remove more of the glass in order to give himself room to climb through and gain access. The police officer assisted with his baton to help shatter the window. Then a couple of officers helped the owner get inside.


I could have cried for this lady. I think her name is Mrs Sharma, but I'm not sure. (Partial deafness + crowds makes name hearing difficult.) The shop is Sunitek, in Broad Street, Wolverhampton. It's an independently owned, family-run electrical repair shop, which also stocked items like laptops and televisions. It and Le Monde were two of the most ransacked businesses in the city. She looked shattered. Ill. The shop behind her was devoid of goods, but completely smashed up. She's lost it all. This is the human face of the riot damage.








I have 210 pictures, so these are just a selection. I think they're fairly representative though.

PS I love this story about Louise Johnson, a grandmother, who stood in front of her shop with her arms open, guarding it from the rioters. She succeeded too.

PPS All of the latest information about the Wolverhampton Riots is being kept up to date, on Tumblr, by Mandip Sandhu. Here is the link.

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