A MARCH through Oxford by striking horse-drawn tram crews and their supporters led to violent scenes on the city streets.

As we recalled last week, the 56 drivers and conductors employed by the Oxford Tramway Company walked out in March 1913 in a pay dispute.

Manager Arthur Tyler, his two sons and two stablemen helped keep some services running.

Trouble flared when local hooligans joined a protest march from The Plain to the city centre on March 31.

As the parade reached Magdalen Street, the Walton Street tram turned the corner from Beaumont Street and some youths in the crowd thought it would be a good idea to stop it.

Their mood was still fairly jovial and after some jostling and barracking, they eventually let it through.

The same thing happened a few minutes later when it came into view on its return journey.

However, the mood of the crowd began to get ugly when the driver of the Woodstock Road tram whipped his horses and forced his way through and then the driver of the Banbury Road bus followed suit – urged on by the cheers of the top-deck passengers.

Windows were smashed in the trams and destination plates torn off. Some services had to be suspended.

A handful of youths were arrested. One called Franklin was fined £10 by Oxford magistrates for trying to apply the handbrake of a tram.

As the dispute dragged on, there were more violent scenes on May 12.

The Oxford Times reported: “For four hours, disorder reigned supreme in the centre of Oxford. The police were unable to keep the immense crowd in hand and were roughly handled and had to defend themselves with their batons.”

Several trams were damaged and four people were arrested.

More on the tram dispute next week.