In August 1921, the Bath Races meeting up at Lansdown became the site of appalling violence and assaults inflicted by gangs from Birmingham on men from London. This was ‘The Racecourse War’ for the control of book-making at race-courses across England, which lasted some months from March 1921 until the end of the summer.
The Birmingham men were led by the infamous Billy Kimber. There was an entrenched feud between them and the London bookies who included Alfie Solomon and his clerk Charlie Bild. The gang warfare forms the background to Peaky Blinders written by Steven Knight.
On Wednesday 17 August 1921 Kimber orchestrated and led vicious attacks on the London men in Bath city centre and at the Race Course.
First, a bookie’s clerk from Brighton was assaulted as he walked up the hill to the race course; he was set upon from behind by an unknown assailant and sustained scalp wounds, a broken finger and cuts to his hand. He ran down the hill and was picked up a passing lorry driver who took him to hospital; it was thought that the scalp wounds were inflicted by hammer blows.
Soon after at around 10.30am in Stall Street just outside the Pump Room Hotel, Alfie Solomon and Charlie Bild from London were both viciously attacked with hammers, resulting in scalp wounds and abrasions to their knees. Bild said “a big man” came up to him, “seized him by the lapel of his coat and then hit him with a violent blow on the head with a hammer”. Then other men hit him and one of them pushed a sandbag into his face. He reckoned there were about 100 men in this group (other witnesses put it at more like 50).
Bild managed to escape to the Pump Room Hotel where a maid bandaged him up before he was taken to hospital. Crucially, he gave police the names of the two men who had assaulted him and said he knew them well: they were from Birmingham and part of a notorious gang of “roughs”. Alfie Solomon was knocked out and couldn’t remember much about what happened, other than that he was hit by a heavy hard weapon; he also was taken to hospital. With a large crowd of onlookers gathered and much confusion, the attackers seem to have got away.
Meanwhile up at the Race Course, Solomon’s brother Harry was also chased by a gang of Birmingham men. Terrified, he drew a revolver but it was knocked out of his hand by the assailants; he too was hit on the head with a hammer. The Chronicle reports “he also had in his pockets a razor and a life-preserver, so evidently he was prepared for an emergency”.
Hooligans in Motor Coaches – Pedestrians Attacked on the way to Lansdown – A Formidable Weapon said the headlines.
Three drivers of charabancs (motor-coaches) reported that their passengers forced them to stop at the top of the hill by St Stephen’s Church, whereupon they got out, “set about” various race-goers walking up the hill, assaulted them, and then got back in the coaches to proceed on their journey. “One of the drivers noticed on a seat of the charabanc a formidable weapon which he described as a policeman’s truncheon, lined with lead and studded with horse nails”.
Charlie Bild had identified and named Billy Kimber and one of his associates: they were charged with unlawful wounding. But the case collapsed; Bild was not well enough to leave hospital to attend court and his solicitor did not turn up, so no prosecution could be heard and the case had to be dismissed – although the magistrate said pointedly that this didn’t mean the alleged wounding had not taken place. Kimber’s solicitor promised “no more trouble of this kind”: there had been a resolution of sorts. It was agreed at a summit meeting between the rival gangs that the country would be divided into two areas of control for ‘racecourse protection’ – racecourses in the north, midlands and west country would be controlled by the Birmingham gangs and those in south and East Anglia by the London gangs. It was an uneasy truce, and further violence broke out the following year.
The quotes are from Bath Chronicle & Weekly Gazette 20 August 1921 (page 15). There are follow-up reports on 24 September (page 13) and 8 October (page 7). You can read the full reports – well worth it – on Find My Past which can be accessed for free at Bath Record Office.
This article also draws on Peaky Blinders: The Real Story by Birmingham historian Carl Chinn (John Blake Publishing, 2019)
Ann Cullis , Research Volunteer
February 2025