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- The Epsom riot occurred when about 400 Canadian soldiers rioted and attacked the police station in Epsom, Surrey on 17 June 1919, resulting in the death of Station-Sergeant Thomas Green, a British police officer, who died of his injuries the following day. The Canadians were from the nearby Woodcote Camp, a temporary military base that was acting as a convalescent hospital. With the First World War over, discipline at the camp was relaxed. Delays in repatriating Canadian troops had resulted in thirteen riots by Canadian troops in British camps between November 1918 and June 1919. The trouble began when two Canadian soldiers were arrested following a disturbance at a local public house. Between 300 and 800 of their comrades marched on Epsom police station to demand their release. The soldiers began ripping up the railings surroundings the station and used the metal posts as missiles and clubs. During the ensuing fighting, Allan McMaster, a former blacksmith, picked up a metal bar and struck Green on the head. He collapsed, never regained consciousness and died the following day. Seven men appeared in court charged with manslaughter and rioting. They were found not guilty of the first charge, but guilty of the second; they were sentenced to a year in prison, but were released after only a few months. Ten years after returning to Canada, Allan McMaster, one of the men who had been released, confessed to the killing. As he had already been found innocent of manslaughter, he was not returned to the UK. (en)
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- The Epsom riot occurred when about 400 Canadian soldiers rioted and attacked the police station in Epsom, Surrey on 17 June 1919, resulting in the death of Station-Sergeant Thomas Green, a British police officer, who died of his injuries the following day. The Canadians were from the nearby Woodcote Camp, a temporary military base that was acting as a convalescent hospital. With the First World War over, discipline at the camp was relaxed. Delays in repatriating Canadian troops had resulted in thirteen riots by Canadian troops in British camps between November 1918 and June 1919. (en)
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