The picture is from 1977 and on the day of the attack I was wearing these exact shirt and jumper
(This article is reproduced from a 2017 Facebook post)
I was part of a group of extended groups of friends who played an important part in keeping Newham and parts of Redbridge and Barking/Dagenham safe in the 1970s. People who know me now may find it hard to believe but I was involved in many street fights, including in Romford in Essex. One night in 1977, probably in June or July, at about 1.30 am, I nearly got killed while going home alone at night from near the Boleyn Cinema Hall, where Green Street and Barking Road meet, to my house near Plaistow Underground Station.
As I walked along Green Street, a big white guy on a bicycle came up to me as I was just approaching the outside of the Upton Park Station, which was long closed for the day. Just a minute or so before I reached the outside of the station, I passed the guy standing with a bicycle at the Selsdon Road-Green Street junction. He came to me and said stop, which I refused, and then he tried to force me to stop. I said, “don’t mess around with me, I have got my brothers over there and they will kill you”. As I did not stop the guy tried to make me stop by force without leaving his bicycle.
I made a quick decision and decided to run back towards Boleyn Cinema Hall where I left many friends who went to watch a late Saturday night black and white Indian film. But the guy started to chase me without getting off his bicycle. I saw many cars passing by, and I tried to run in the middle of the road to get help, but no one stopped. I felt my mouth getting dry and my chest seizing up while I was running, probably because I used to be a heavy smoker at that time.
The guy was much bigger than me and I was not even sixteen years old at that time. He could have easily got out of his bicycle and physically overpowered me but for a reason unknown to me he did not do that. He kept on trying to stop me but without any success. He probably did not know that there was a cinema hall still open at that time. I managed to get to the cinema hall and found the doors closed, lights dimmed and no one was at the reception. I started to panic and began to bang hard on the glass windows, shouting for help but could see no one coming. As I knew there were still people inside, this was my only chance for survival so I persisted. That’s when the guy left his bicycle and came towards me and a struggle had started. I lost a degree of sense of what was happening and do not remember everything that happened. Then, suddenly, I heard a loud noise and felt some of the large glass windows coming crashing down. Several people then ran out of the cinema hall and the guy who attacked me ran away. Some people ran after him but he disappeared.
The police were called, and they saw that I had glass cuts on several places on my hand and wrist, and they put dressings on my wounds. The police took some details and about seven to ten days later they came to my house to see how I was and to get more information from me. They did not manage to catch the attacker.
My friends who went to see the film were shocked to see what had happened to me. Later some of my friends walked me to Dacre Road/Plashet Road junction, halfway to my house, and then gave me two empty milk bottles to defend myself while walking home alone for the rest of the distance. I was surprised and felt sad that the police did not take me home after such a savage attack. It may be that the police thought that my friends would take me home or some of my friends told the police that they would take me home. I really do not know or remember. I was very disappointed that none of my friends took me home and the two friends who accompanied me halfway only gave me two milk bottles to defend myself.
Earlier that day, about ten of us were in Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square selling green luminous necklaces and bracelets on the streets until about 11 pm. Several of us carried reasonably sized lock knives. After finishing selling and dividing the profit, we ate some food at the local Burger King and walked to a bus stop to take number 15 to East Ham. Then when we saw some police coming towards us I and two friends went around the corner and dropped our knives. When we were searched by the police, they did not find anything on us, and they advised us to go home. When we got to the Boleyn Cinema Hall we got off the bus. Except for me, all my friends wanted to finish the evening by watching a black and white Indian film. As we were late and the film had already started, the ticket office agreed to a discounted ticket of 50p. I wanted to save 50p and decided not to join the others but head home. That evening I made £7.50 from selling luminous necklaces and bracelets in Picadddily Circus. Everyone made a different amount based on the amount they sold.
At that time, I thought when the guy came to me outside the Upton Park Station, I wish I still had the knife because I could have defended myself. But now I think, maybe, I am lucky that I threw the knife away before the incident as anything could have happened.
That incident had a big impact on me for quite a long time. I was afraid to go out for a long time. When it would become late afternoon, I would start heading home, fearing that something could happen when it becomes dark. It took many years before the main fear slowly went out of my system, although I think there is still a residue of that after more than forty years.
There must be so many stories like this.
Facebook comments in 2017
MK
Oh.. I was searching for these sorts of personal stories. Thanks
Muhammad Ahmedullah bhai
NK
I am sorry to hear that happened to you, as a child. What you needed then was lots of hugs and reassurances. These kinds of experiences do have a traumatic impact. No need to apologise. In sharing it your letting go of it, it’s power. And in my (audiences) hearing and witnessing of it, you are re-authoring your experience, in it being acknowledged and validated. This is a healing process. And I agree with you, the loss of knife was a blessing in this case.
NK
And so sending lots of hugs and positive healing energy to you.
SC
All of us growing up in the ’70s have a story to share. My most profound moment was having Altab Ali die in front of me at the bus stop directly adjacent to what is now Altab Ali Park. Only being 15 years old and seeing the death that close up was devastating. More so than having lived through the Bangladesh War of Independence. At least there (even though I was only 8 at the time) death was expected. How was it that a man going about his daily routine was savagely stabbed within walking distance from my home?
Even today, I can recall every second of those few minutes so clearly, it has never left my memory.
Our anti-racist movements that grew out of it is a legacy that we owe so much to Altab Ali. His death was our wake up call. Every bit of equality that has been won in Tower Hamlets has its roots in those minutes.
BS
It can’t have been pleasant. But why were you carrying a lock knife?
BS
Sorry didn’t mean to post without adding- what advice would you give to a 16-year-old today? I was a police officer, but not in London, in the 1970s.
MUHAMMAD AHMEDULLAH
As a young teenager, I was foolish to become involved with other young people who used to spend too much time doing nothing or stupid and silly things. It started with mutual support/protection against dangerous streets. I carried a knife, which was bought by one of our friends who used to steal money from his father’s shop. We did not have much money, but one guy used to have lots of money.
When you are young you can get yourself involved in silly things and get sucked into things which can be very dangerous sometimes. Many of my friends from that time went into criminality and spent time in jail. I was lucky. Maybe because of the early support and directions from my family I managed to resist many temptations and I knew that I was going to study.
That night could have been very dangerous, but luckily I survived. I know how many young people can get into situations which are not good for them. Spending until 11 pm in Piccadilly Circus when you are under 16 it’s not a good idea and walking home alone in that part of the world at 1.30 pm was also not a good idea. Anything could have happened. For today’s teenagers, they should try to understand how people can get themselves into a dangerous situation so they can avoid getting into my situation.
The police were very helpful and supportive, but they did not take me home when I was terrified of walking alone. My friends did not take me home either as by that time it was about 3 am and they wanted to go to sleep. The police visited our house after 7 or ten days, which was helpful.
My main advice to young people is that do not mix with people who spend too much time doing nothing or silly things and do not spend too much time late at night going out. Only mix with good people and do not take silly risks because it can very dangerous.
BS
Thank you for your very honest comments. I was brought up in Croydon, now a London Borough but before 1974, in the county of Surrey. At about your age, I too used to see friends in evenings at weekends, but mainly our time was spent in each other’s houses, sometimes (?) after going to a pub. But I could walk home in safety and never feared for my welfare. However, I had visited central London on my own from the age of ten. I used to cycle up there to go to museums etc. But places that appear safe during the day can change dramatically in the evening and at night? It is difficult to put a wise head on young shoulders but you have said how important the guidance and support of your parents were. Parenting is not easily taught? It tends to be a repetition of what the parent experienced as a child, whether that worked or not, and experience gained with later children as they come along?
Interesting story. I had similar experience in Peckham in 1988 when coming from a party around 1am. These 2 layabout skin heads came from nowhere and started unleashing all kinds of swear words, with the N one being prominent. I had to flee back onto the high street, they had knives and who knows whatever else. The other one occurred in Finsbury Park around that time, but this time it was in a secluded place (at the back of the police station on Hornsey Road). Big mistake for him, he was alone, and I took him on. He fled after whacking him with a piece of wood I managed to find…