It was all going so well... until the scythe came out

As the First World War raged across Europe, a ferocious conflict took place in a Dundee suburb. It became known as the Battle of Fairmuir and featured scores of Travellers brawling in the summer sun. The party had spent time in the city centre before retiring to Fairmuir for an afternoon of relaxation and refreshments and to allow their ponies to graze.

However, the cordial atmosphere that August day in 1916 was shattered when two women clashed over their supposed sword dancing prowess. To settle the dispute, makeshift swords were laid out on the muir and the well-refreshed ladies gave an unsteady display of their skills.

As each took a turn at dancing, the other stood screaming curses from the sidelines.

It was not long before profanities turned to punches. Our archive presents a picture of the women scratching and biting with the venom of vixens. The male Travellers eventually separated the opponents and the party retired to loll about the grass with their bottles.

Peace did not last long. An argument broke out which resulted in a woman taking a scythe to a man’s head. The weapon missed its target but drew blood from the victim’s neck. This was the catalyst for a fullbodied battle which attracted hundreds of spectators from the surrounding area. Although the police were called, one special constable who had the misfortune to be passing, was propelled on to the muir to try to stop the fighting.

Our report noted that the noise of battle was so frightening a pony pulling a cart up Strathmartine Road lay down and refused to go any further. Police eventually rounded up some of the combatants and they were sentenced to between five and seven days in jail.

In the sheriff court, Procurator Fiscal David Dewar read one eyewitness statement as follows: “The participants were all under the influence of alcohol. They disregarded somewhat the recognised rules of warfare, fighting more or less promiscuously one with the other, with more regard for results than as to who was friend and who was foe.”

They disregarded somewhat the recognised rules of warfare