The Stone Bomb monument was erected in 1935 as a protest against the bombing of the Abyssinian people by Mussolini’s invading Italian forces.
It is in Woodford Green a suburb of North East London.
The Stone Bomb sculpture was commissioned by Slyvia Pankhurst and created by the sculptor Eric Benfield.
The monument depicts a falling bomb on top of a concave sided pyramid – a spray of the poison gas the Italian planes dropped on soldiers and civilians.
“… this monument is raised as a protest against war in the air”
The invasion of Abyssinia was reported around the world, with stories being widely syndicated by journalists in Abyssinia. ‘The Sun’, a leading Australian newspaper, gave frontpage coverage to Italian air force attacks Gershai in the Ogaden dessert at the beginning of the war in October 1935. The planes dropped bombs and powdered chemicals which blinded, choked and caused skin burns – the Ethiopian soldiers had no defence against these air attacks.
The commander-in-chief of the Abyssinian troops in the region, Dejazmatch Nazibu, is quoted in ‘The Sun’s’ article as saying “They call us savages, yet this is Italy’s first contribution to the new civilization in Abyssinia.” The fears ignited by the use of mustard gas in the First World War had maintained an undercurrent of concern throughout Europe; then suddenly in Abyssinia the realities of technological warfare were being demonstrated again. The objective of the Italian airforce was very clear; “to inflict upon the enemy attacks of a terrifying nature to which he can in no way react’. (An Italian general quoted in ‘Telegram from Guernica’, Rankin, London 2003. pp45.)
The Abyssinian War
Italian troops invaded Abyssinia in October 1935 taking the capital in May 1936 and forcing the Emperor Haile Selassie to flee the country. During their campaign the Italian command used aircraft not only to attack the Abyssinian army and key centres but they also sprayed chemicals and ‘mustard’ gas widely and attacked civilian and non-combatant targets, acts which had been outlawed as an outcome of the first World War by the League of Nations. When the invasion was won the Italian air-force dropped propaganda leaflets and celebratory flares in the colours of the Italian flag – green, white and red.
The Following Questions and Answers are from Hansard, the official record of the British Parliament at Westminster. They come from the Abyssinia Debate 21 February 1938 – Hansard vol 332 cc1-2 1 – when the government was defending its position on non-intervention.
The use of ariel technology in a systematic manner was witnessed by many journalists including George Lowther Steer – who later reported from Spain on the bombing of Guernica – and Christopher Holmes (of Reuters) who had one report in The Times headlined “Poison Gas in Ethiopia: Eye-Witness’s Account” in an attempt to convince those in Britain who seemingly refused to believe that chemical warfare was being waged.Public interest was very high – and not just in Europe and Africa, but also USA and Australia – the ‘world’ – as is shown by the number of newsreel films made of the preparations for invasion and the aftermath and the constant newspaper reporting for at least two years prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.
To some it was already clear that Fascism was a threat to everyone and that bombing was something that could well be visited on Britain should war come about. A member of the Ethiopian Red Cross warned, “To-day a few thousand peasants in Wallo will be groping their way down the dark years … Wallo is a long way from Charing Cross (London) – yes, but not for aeroplanes. If Mussolini had practiced warfare and ariel technology it seemed that Britain and it’s allies had practiced in-action: both would repeat these strategies during the Spanish Civil War, which began the same year – July 1936.
Red Cross Bombed
As the Italian troops advanced they bombed and strafed Red Cross facilities.
Image of a bombed and strafed Red Cross unit whose tents were clearly marked. Other photographs from the set show the effects of exploding bullets and poison gas on people’s bodies.
Image: Red Cross Archives. 1935 ICRC
At Dolo on 30th December 1935 seven Italian planes attacked the Swedish ambulance killing 27 patients and a Swedish medic. Dr Hylander one of the leaders of the Swedish Red Cross effort was seriously wounded.
A British Pathe newsfilm uses voice-over about the Dolo incident edited to footage of the convoy of red-cross trucks leaving Sweden for Abyssinia to make a report for the newsreels. There were no cameras about to record the incident itself. SWEDISH RED CROSS BOMBED in the British Pathe Archive. 13/01/1936 Film Id 851.30
Swedish Red Cross convoy is bombed in Southern Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The film shows the convoy before it left Sweden; the leader Pastor Svenson, putting his helmet on – and key to the story, the not easy to miss red crosses on the roofs of the lorries and trucks. It finishes with a shot of the chief physician Doctor Hylander, who was later wounded.
Film
Colour film of the war in Abyssinia from the Romano Archives. Available to view on Romano Archives YouTube Channel WARNING! The film shows injuries in close up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq8LjcN0LWw&t=18s.
Mussolini’s Roman Empire
Publishers such as Victor Gollancz (‘Gollancz’ and ‘Left Book Club’) and Allen Lane (‘Penguin’) published books because they believed, in Lane’s words, that in the UK there was “a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price.” Penguin paperbacks were launched in 1935 priced sixpence each and by 1938 were publishing Penguin Specials – books in bright red covers – which gave in-depth coverage of political issues of the day.
In his book G.T. Garratt notes, in words as apposite today as when he wrote them, the consequence of lack of information, “Democracy will fail, and deserve to fail unless those people in Western Europe and America, who still have the free use of their intelligence, will insist on being told the truth by their rulers, … “‘Mussolini’s Roman Empire’ by G. T. Garratt was published in 1938 as the second Penguin Special.
Garratt was a journalist who worked for the ‘Manchester Guardian’ and reported for them on the Abyssinian War – later he spent considerable time in Spain. The book sets out the consistent attempts by Mussolini to extend his power through military intervention – usually against, in military and technological terms, much weaker foes. In the final chapter ‘England’s Betrayal’ Garratt sets out a case against the British Government’s policy of non-intervention: “[England’s] sudden collapse in front of Italian aggression has left millions of people in Europe and the Near East bewildered and uncertain.”
The Internet Archive Library has a free-to-read online copy of Garratt’s book. Mussolini’s Roman Empire
Geoffrey Theodore Garratt (1888–1942) was an administrator, author, journalist and Labour activist. He worked as an administrator in India and supported the cause of Indian independence; in 1934 he co-wrote ‘The Rise and Fulfilment of British Rule in India’ – the first English account giving prominence to an Indian viewpoint. He stood for parliament as a Labour candidate 4 times, failing on each occasion. He covered the Abyssinian war and saw Britain’s raising of sanctions against Italy as “a lunacy”. He was a leading member of ‘National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief’ and worked for relief of the Spanish refugees. In WW2 he joined ‘The Pioneer Corps’ and was killed in 1942 by an accidental bomb explosion in the UK.
Cartoons
Mussolini towering (and powering) over the cowering British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who is shown washing his hands of Spain and Abyssinia.
Image: UK Cartoon Archive
The war between Italy and Abyssinia was followed with intense interest and was widely covered by newspapers, radio and the newsreels and cartoonists commentated on it throughout. While film and photography of the preparation for war was plentiful getting footage of the war and its effects was much more difficult – a situation that the cartoonists, to some extent, could overcome as in this depiction in which Mussolini is shown advertising his new conquest: “Abyssinia is so Bracing! Day trips to the poisonous areas. Splendid view of Italy’s honour.” Mussolini and Poison Gas in Abyssinia David Low, The Evening Standard, 11 Apr 1936.
After the war. David Low in the Evening Standard, 20 Apr 1938: the British position An Anglo-Italian pact was signed in Rome in which Britain agreed to formally recognise Italian conquests in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) as legitimate. Italy, in return, agreed to withdraw Italian troops from Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War a diplomatic trade off that helped neither Abyssinia or Spain. Search the UK Cartoon Archive for ‘Abyssinia’ and by date – 1930/1945 – to see representations and interpretations of the events from British newspapers.
Sylvia Pankhurst in Abyssinia
The British Pathe Archive has several films showing news items and clips about women’s emancipation and the suffragettes such as the compilation Film ID 2261.01. There is also a fascinating film from 1958, showing Sylvia Pankhurst in Ethiopia , in a newly extended hospital. Sylvia Pankhurst had supported the cause of Ethiopia since Mussolini threatened invasion in 1936. Film ID 2924.15. Slyvia Pankhurst in centre background. Photo: British Pathe; Film 2924.15, frame 60.
Abyssinia – Questions in the House: Feb 1938.
§ Mr. W. Roberts asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information to show what proportion of Ethiopia is now effectively controlled and administered by the Italian government?§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir John Simon) I have been asked to reply. The information in the possession of the Foreign Office goes to show that there have been sporadic outbursts of disaffection amongst the native population, especially in Western Abyssinia. The Italian military authorities are understood to be taking steps to deal with these; and to be in general control of virtually the whole country. So far as we are aware, civil administration is established in the main centres of population.
§ Mr. Roberts Would it be right to think that the Italian Government controls, perhaps, half of Abyssinia now?
§ Sir J. Simon I could not add to my answer.
§ Mr. Cocks Can the Noble Lord say what proportion of the British Cabinet is controlled in the same way?
Who they?
:: Roberts = Wilfrid Roberts a Liberal MP and member of the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief and committee for Basque Children Relief. He was often referred to as “The member for Spain”.
:: Cocks = Seymour Cocks an Independent Labour (ILP) MP
:: Simon = Sir John Simon Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Conservative Government.
NOTES
This article was written by Marshall Mateer in 2009/10 and published in Shapesoftime with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. This is an edited (2024) version with many of the original links to resources – now defunct – removed.
Acknowledgements. Photo of the Stone Bomb, Public Monuments and Sculpture Association National Recording Project. :: Patrick Wright. for permission to use articles on Abyssinian Bomb memorial published through Open Democracy. :: Gavin Gatenby for the Australian newspaper image. :: Hansard 21st February 1938 :: UK Cartoon Archive :: Romano [film] Archives :: Red Cross Archives ICRC