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WE NEVER FORGET
The Martyrs of the Winnipeg General Strike
Who Lost Their Lives in Freedom’s Cause
on Bloody Saturday, June 21, 1919
Blooday Saturday
The Western Labor News, Special Strike Edition No. 32, of June 23, 1919 described events of Saturday, June 21st:One is dead and a number injured, probably thirty or more, as result of the forcible prevention of the “silent parade” which had been planned by returned men to start at 2.30 o’clock last Saturday afternoon…..
On Saturday, about 2.30 p.m., just the time when the parade was scheduled to start, some 50 mounted men swinging baseball bats rode down Main Street. Half were red-coated R.N.W.M.P., the others wore khaki. They quickened pace as they passed the Union Bank. The crowd opened, let them through and closed in behind them. They turned and charged through the crowd again, greeted by hisses, boos, and some stones. There were two riderless horses with the squad when it emerged and galloped up Main Street. The men in khaki disappeared at this juncture, but the red-coats reined their horses and reformed opposite the old post office.
Shooting to Kill
Then, with revolvers drawn, they galloped down Main Street, turned, and charged right into the crowd on William Avenue, firing as they charged. One man, standing on the sidewalk, thought the mounties were firing blank cartridges until a spectator standing beside him dropped with a bullet through his breast. Another standing nearby was shot through the head. We have no exact information about the total number of casualties, but there were not less than thirty. The crowd dispersed as quickly as possible when the shooting began.
Mike Skolowski & Steve Szczerbanowicz
From “Winipeg General Strike…Two Ukrainians Killed”
-by Peter J. Manastyrsky:
Mike Sokolowski (AKA: Sokolowiski) was killed in front of City Hall on what came to be known as Bloody Saturday, shot by the Royal Canadian Northwest Mounted Police during the fighting. Sokolowski was the only person killed in the riot and buried at Winnipeg’s Brookside Cemetery (section 45, plot 450). Mike Sokolowski’s grave was unmarked for over 80 years until June 20, 2003. As part of the Brookside Cemetery’s 125th Anniversary, a donation was made to purchase a headstone for Mike Sokolowski.
On the other hand, Steve Szczerbanowicz (AKA: Sheebaubucz, Schezerbanowicz, Schezerbanowes) after being shot through both legs by a police officer during the Winnipeg General Strike on June 23rd, died due to a gangrene infection. For 96 years Steve Szczerbanowicz was buried at an unmarked grave at Brookside Cemetery but on June 20th, 2015 funds were raised to cover the cost of a gravestone in memory of Steve Szczerbanowicz (section 80, plot 7) victim of the six-week Winnipeg General Strike.
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SOURCES & IMAGES
Western Labor News Strike Edition No 32, June 23, 1919
https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A2758596
“Winnipeg General Strike of June 21, 1919: Two Ukrainians Killed”
-by Peter J. Manastyrsky
https://edmontonsun.com/news/national/winnipeg-general-strike-of-june-21-1919-two-ukrainians-killed/wcm/a4da3cb5-40d9-4d78-8fc3-d42aa9039c67
See also:
Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday June 24, 1919
Winnipeg General Strike News: Mounties and Specials Attack “Silent Parade”
Winnipeg Strike Bulletin: “Bloody Saturday-R.N.W.M.P. Make Gory Debut” Shoot Peaceful Citizens
SOKOLOWISKI (Sokolowski), MIKE, victim of strike violence; m. and had three children; d. 21 June 1919 in Winnipeg.
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sokolowiski_mike_14E.html
“Unknown immigrant [Steve Szczerbanowicz] shot in Winnipeg General Strike to be memorialized”
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Immigrant-shot-in-general-strike-307747561.html
“Bloody Saturday: 1919 strike turns deadly Tumultuous crest of Winnipeg General Strike left two dead, dozens hurt and city under military rule”
By Darren Bernhardt, June 21, 2019
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/bloody-saturday-and-hells-alley
THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE (BLOODY SATURDAY) ACT
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/41-4/b238e.php
WHEREAS, following World War I, labour organizers and unions sought to negotiate for collective bargaining rights and better wages and working conditions;
AND WHEREAS, when negotiations broke down, the labour organizers and unions called for a general strike;
AND WHEREAS, on May 15, 1919, approximately 30,000 workers in Winnipeg took to the streets, halting the operations of factories, businesses and institutions and began what is now known as the Winnipeg General Strike;
AND WHEREAS on June 21, 1919, the Royal Northwest Mounted Police and special constables, armed with guns and clubs, charged into a group of strikers on horseback;
AND WHEREAS two workers, Mike Sokolowski and Steve Szczerbanowicz, were shot and killed and many others were injured, resulting in June 21 becoming known as Bloody Saturday;
AND WHEREAS 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike;
AND WHEREAS observing Bloody Saturday serves to promote awareness of the important Canadian labour reforms which the Winnipeg General Strike helped make possible;
THEREFORE, HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
Bloody Saturday-In each year, the third Saturday of June is to be known throughout Manitoba as Bloody Saturday.
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The Red Flag – Socialist Victory Choir
Lyrics Jim Connell, 1889