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Last updated Jan 2012.

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The Release report .

Appendices : Statements of Festival attendees

EXTRACTS FROM STATEMENTS RECEIVED
1. 'Monday 26th. We go into Slough for shopping purposes, on the return journey we are stopped and searched three times. First time we were asked if we knew what we were being searched for. We answered "Yes". At no time were we given reasonable explanation under the terms of the act for the resultant vehicle and body search. Nothing was found .... Second search .... Subjected to vehicle and body search, again with no reasonable grounds being given .... Third search .... we protest about the number of searches in the last mile .... Tuesday 27th .... Subjected to vehicle and body search again without reason being given.'

2. 'I am convinced that searches were random with no thoughtgiven to reasonable suspicion , I had proof of identity but was still searched - when I asked what reasonable suspicion the officers had they said a constable down the road radioed them to search the car. They all but admitted this was a lie and accepted our contention that any such P.C. was himself lacking in reasonable suspicion.'

3. 'After the car had been thoroughly searched we then had a discussion with the officer ... this was clearly a random search and there was no authority for it ... The police officer said to me that we couldn't prove it but the clear intonation of the conversation was that the search was entirely random.'

4. 'Police power to grant bail was not exercised in individual cases - a blanket refusal was given to cover all cases.'

5. 'I was detained without charge for more than 24 hours. I was arrested 3.30 am 27th August and charged after 8.00 am 28th August.'

6. 'During the 27 hours in which I was in custody, I continually requested to use a telephone to contact a solicitor. This request was continually denied.'

7. ' Having identified myself as a social worker using my warrant card issued by the County Council of the County of Lanark, I asked if I could accompany the two boys into the Barracks. The officer told me that he had orders not to allow anyone in especially lawyers and social workers.'

8. 'despite requests the police refused to disclose where defendants were being held once they had been removed from the Army barracks and access there was not available to lawyers.'

9. 'At one point a person from whom I was actually taking a statement prior to his appearance in court was removed from the cell despite my protests.'

10. 'On many occasions, individuals would be taken to appear before the court before I had finished advising them.'

11. 'There was a lot of difficulty to be gone through obviously with no real reason - before a comparatively respectable looking non-lawyer, like me, could gain access to the defendants.'

12. 'At this point he denied access (to the Barracks) on the grounds of 1, security (the Army) and 2, lack of facilities.'

13. 'Refusal of access to Barracks to anyone - lawyers, friends.'

14. 'I understand that all the defendants had been photographed by the police. I have not looked into the rules about this, but I seem to remember that the police are not allowed to photograph defendants without their permission. In no case was such permission asked for.'

15. 'No justification for mass photographing.'

16. 'I was taken to the army Barracks where I was searched,finger-printed, photographed etc. I was at no time advised about my rights concerning these activities, or about seeing a solicitor.'

17. 'A lot of people were taking photographs, but the police would come up and arrest them, or rip their cameras out of their hands and expose the film. They would smash the cameras.I had my Zeiss smashed - it was worth about £60.'

18. 'Police came across the field in one big wave, pulling out tent pegs and ripping tents. They didn't care who was inside them - there were some families with young children - and they were pushing everyone.'

19. 'Many of the defendants had in fact lost their belongings and tents, some of which had been destroyed by the police and there were rumours that there had been a big fire burning all these things.'

20. 'Willful damage to property - cameras were confiscated and smashed and the films destroyed by the police. The pulling up of tents without the owners consent or being present.'

21. 'I was approached by three uniformed officers after taking eight shots who took my camera, tore the film out of it,and then dropped the camera, telling me not to take any photographs, because it was illegal.'

22. 'The police formed a long line and walked towards the bandstand. They smashed down everything in their path, including all the tents and shelters that had been built.'

23. 'As I approached within approximately 20 feet of the stage, I witnessed police rushing into the crowd and hitting people with truncheons. One uniformed police officer was hitting individuals with a piece of wood about four feet Long and 2-3" in diameter. I saw no blows struck by the Festival people against the police.'

24. 'I saw a lad just waiting by the fence. A copper came up and just banged him across the head with a truncheon. It split his head right open. There were an awful lot of people hit on the head with truncheons. We have pictures of police wielding truncheons all over the place. We have reels and reels of this.'

25. 'There were a couple of baton charges and young parents with small children found themselves in the front line of the battle'.

26. 'He (plainclothes policeman) was standing with his back to us with his arms folded, then he swung round and belted my girl in the mouth knocking her unconscious and breaking one of her teeth.'

27. 'A small child of nine years was hit in the face by a police officer, came back to where his mother was and became unconscious. One man was bodily lifted away after having been punched in the face, blood running down hIs face as he was carried away in a prayer or submissive position.'

28. 'I was leapt on, punched kicked and generally brutalised, then carried to a transit van where I was sat on, kicked, kneed and struck repeatedly to the fontenelle (the soft part of the head above the temple).'

29. 'We were pushed to within four feet of the police line. At that moment a police officer kneed me in the groin. X came to my assistance and was kneed in the stomach. Both lines had become stationary, but I saw instances of police punching individuals. X was seven and a half months pregnant.'

30. 'I took some photographs of the fighting behind the stage. A policeman took my camera and hit me several times with a clenched fist and kicked me backwards. He kept my camera.'

31. See Extract No. 17.

32. 'During this incident a police car deliberately swerved on the grass roadside verge and ran over my sister's foot, she was later treated for injuries at the Edward VII Hospital in Windsor.'

33. 'I was walking down the road, when without any warning, a police Ford Transit, Reg.No. PPP340M, hit me from behind. This knocked me on the ground; the driver did not stop to see how I was.'

34. 'My main complaint is firstly that my name and address was taken after protest with the threat that I would be taken to the station if I failed to give it. (This occurred after a search was made in which no controlled substances were found.)'

35. ' cans were being thrown by the crowd in front of the stage at the police on the stage. There were no cans being thrown at the stage from the rear, it was very cool, until I saw one 30 year old dressed in blue denims and a red tee-shirt throw a can at the officers on the stage. I then dived in and reasoned with him. He then left the vicinity of the stage. (I later saw this man sitting in the front seat of a black maria on the road talking to police officers. He was in no way restrained and had on a checkered arm band. From this I deduced he was a pig.)'

36. 'When I mentioned that I had seen a number of long haired people in jeans wearing arm bands being among those who seemed to be intent on an open confrontation witn the police and that I had personally seen some of them throwing eggs, tins of vegetable and fruit at the police, he (a police officer) stared at me for a moment and very embarassedly said "Those were our own men".'

37. 'I went to Windsor myself, when I got out of the station some cat came up to me and he said 'I'm from Release". Then he said if I had any drugs, to get rid of them because he said that the pigs were just outside the station. When I'd done this, this Release? cat approached me and said "I'm D.S."...

38. 'When I saw X he looked extremely ill and he told me he had been asking the police for a doctor all day and was told one would be coming sometime but never did. When I finally bailed X out he was in a very bad state.'

39. 'When I saw X he was weak, febrile and had grossly inflamed tonsils. I treated him with penicillin. ... In my opinion X should have been allowed to see a doctor while being held in custody.'

40. 'Defendants stated that they had received no food for up to twenty-four hours, and were taken into court without being given facilities for washing.'

41. 'The sleeping accommodation was grossly inadequate ... there were between four and six people in each cell ...'

42. 'The lavatory accommodation was grossly inadequate considering the amount of time people had to spend at these particular cells.'

43. 'There was no privacy for interviewing defendants.'

44. 'The use of a telephone, even to clear up queries requested by the court, was not extended to defence solicitors.'

45. 'There were no toilets for female lawyers'.

46. 'Failure by the police authority to provide lists of defendants or even the order in which they were placing the papers before the court proved exceptionally hampering to the legal personnel appearing for defendants'

47. 'I tried to help in one case by getting information forms so that a man could take out cross summonses against the police for assault. After about two hours waiting and prodding, it eventually appeared that there were no such forms in the court building and that the staff left in the main clerk's office further up the town were unable to find any there.'

48. 'There weren't nearly enough Legal Aid forms available.'

49. 'Insufficient importance was given by the police to notifying sureties in custody as quickly as possible and obtaining their willingness.'

50. 'The court were granting bail but only with sureties acceptable to police. Until about 10 pm, the police were insisting on sureties from householders. This meant delays while parents were contacted. Later, friends were accepted as sureties.'

51. 'Many of those arrested had travelled far to get to the Festival and for them to provide sureties "acceptable to the police" (i.e. any friends who had accompanied them to the festival were excluded) was onerous.'

52. 'The surety office was manned by one constable with a single telephone, who was responsible for telephoning sureties and for typing the appropriate forms. On the one occasion when I visited the office, the officer had an appalling backlog.'

53. 'No facilities available to contact sureties.'

54. 'Originally the prosecutors objected to bail in a number of cases but after there were a number of lengthy bail applications the prosecutor subsequently made no objection to bail in most cases.'

55. 'Bail was opposed in one case, on the grounds that he was of no fixed abode, having resided for several months at Stonehenge'.

56. ' I approached the policeman to ask what was going on.The policeman refused to speak to me, so I then asked the individual whom the policeman was escorting. Before the individual had a chance to answer me, the policeman kicked me in the crotch and in the leg. I tried to free myself, but the policeman kept hold of me.'

57. 'I saw some people, including children, being kicked and thrown bodily off the stage, and in general, being given no opportunity to leave the stage peaceably.'

58. 'Many who had apparently committed no offence were snatched as they tried to stage sit-down protests. Several police were restrained by senior officers as they bundled fans away.'

59. 'Between the road and the fence a police inspector approached me, while I was walking back towards stage C area. He instructed me to leave the site and pointed down the road. I said "It's a free park and belongs to thepublic and you can't take me off the site". He looked around to ensure no one could see and kicked me in the back of my legs. I dropped to the ground and from behind me he put his foot on top of mine. He then said: "Fuck off now or you'll be arrested". He then moved off.'

60. During lunch we occasionally talked to police ourselves, gaining the distinct impression that they were unsure of their legal position or their validity .

61. 'August 29th. I was awoken by a policeman kicking me in the leg, and he told me I had five minutes to pack up and leave the site.'

62. 'There was certainly some provocation, but I have never seen police react to people in this way before. I was in Groevenor Square when the police were being charged by demonstrators carrying scaffolding. I was outside the Chinese Embassy when the police were attacked with hatchets and iron bars. But even in those circumstances they never acted as they did today. It was a form of mass hysteria which seemed to affect all the policemen.'

63. 'I saw a police officer kick with his knee, then grab by the hair a man who was not provoking any force necessary for his removal'.

64. 'A plain clothes policeman turned round and lashed out and hit X in the mouth with the back of his hand. She fell down and went unconscious. The policeman left the site quickly.'

65. 'I saw a group of about 10 police officers standing round the tent watching another officer kicking someone who was trying to crawl out from under the tent which had collapsed. Those who were watching were laughing and jeering and encouraging the officer who was engaged in the kicking.'

Free Festival links.

• More about the aftermath of Windsor at the Watchfield Festival site.
• Free festivals of the 1970s - index of all known free festivals and links to all major sites ,photos ,links , etc
• Jezaland. -a fantastic archive of photos from various festivals of the 70s , go see !
• Alan Lodge photographer - One Eye on the Road.
• Dice George's - Stonehenge site .
• Hard Core Carvers- festival archive and info on contemporary festivals in the UK

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