The Gordon Riots – 1780
The 4th Light Dragoons were stationed in Canterbury when the Gordon Riots broke out in the summer of 1780. The riots caused considerable panic and for a few days, London was in peril. Lord George Gordon was the president of the “Protestant Association” an organisation for resisting any relaxing of the laws against Roman Catholics.
At the beginning of June 1870, Parliament was considering amending the restrictions against the Catholics and the Protestant Association marched to Westminster, led by Lord George Gordon, to present a petition.
At that point, the riff-raff of London, a considerable proportion of the population in those days, raised the traditional cry of “No Popery!” and seized the opportunity to run amok. Houses were looted and burned, and London was in the grip of a reign of terror which lasted seven days.
Troops were urgently called to London, and Colonel James Hugonin received orders on the night of 5th June to march his regiment to London with all possible speed.
This order was acted on with such good effect that the 4th Dragoons marched the fifty-six miles from Canterbury to London, fully equipped, in one day and were on duty at nine o’clock in the evening of 6th June.
This reflected great credit on the readiness and efficiency of the regiment, the King warmly commended it and often mentioned the achievement on subsequent occasions. The troops called up to London were encamped in Hyde Park, St James’s Park and Blackheath.
It was one of the ugliest weeks in London’s history. The situation was wildly out of control, and the rioters burned and looted in a lawless orgy. Public opinion was so strong against military control, and the law so severe against officers who used force to quell riots without the proper civil authority, that commanding officers dared not order their men to fire without the formal permission of a magistrate.
For the same reason, the magistrates were very loath to commit themselves and it was difficult for an officer to produce a magistrate when he wanted one. This made the restoration of law and order extremely difficult and gave the rioters every chance for their orgy.
The hideous week came to an end with the arrest of Lord George Gordon on 9th June, by which time 285 of the rioters had been killed by the troops, the 3rd and 4th Dragoons accounting for 101.
This was the end of the regiment’s only active service in sixty years, an unpleasant but necessary duty. When the regiment returned to its quarters in Canterbury, Colonel Hugonin received a warm letter of congratulations from the King.
