It was a clear case of state violence.
On the morning of the 3rd, MBC’s ‘Surprise Mystery Salon’ introduced the ‘Battle of Beanfield,’ a shocking incident involving the indiscriminate assault of citizens by police in the UK.
On June 1, 1985, about 600 citizens in 140 vehicles were heading toward Salisbury Plain in England. Their destination was the ‘Stonehenge Free Festival,’ a free music festival held next to Stonehenge. Since 1974, this had been one of the UK’s representative outdoor festivals, drawing over 30,000 people in 1984 alone.
However, that summer was different. Just 11km away from Stonehenge, 1,300 police officers blocked the citizens’ path. The UK courts had banned the festival that year following reports of nuisance behavior, such as nude bathing, public urination, and illegal logging for camping fires. In 1984 specifically, 1,000 trees around Stonehenge were cut down, costing 20,000 pounds (approximately 130 million won) to restore.
As citizens resisted the crackdown, the situation turned violent, leading to tragic results. Sixteen citizens and eight police officers were seriously injured, and 537 citizens were arrested on charges such as obstructing police duties. The Wiltshire Police claimed they were simply responding after citizens armed with chainsaws, hammers, and Molotov cocktails attacked first.
But the truth was quite the opposite. David Brudenell-Bruce, the Earl Cardigan and heir to a noble family who had provided camping grounds in Seven Acres Wood the day before, revealed that the police attacked the citizens first. He exposed that, under the orders of the Wiltshire Police Chief, officers swung batons at unarmed citizens and set fire to their vehicles. It was even revealed that police assaulted pregnant women and women holding newborn babies.
The police were calculating enough to cover their shoulder patches to hide their identities, which was also ordered by the Wiltshire Police Chief. Following the incident, 24 injured individuals filed a lawsuit against the police and eventually won, thanks to the decisive testimony of the Earl Cardigan. Lee Chan-won noted, “This incident, named the ‘Battle of Beanfield’ after the bean field where the violence occurred, remains the worst dark history in the history of the UK police.”
‘Surprise Mystery Salon’ is a real storytelling talk show that searches for the truth hidden beneath mysteries. It airs every Sunday at 10:40 AM on MBC.
