Introduction

Bill Fishman was born and raised in the East End. His dedicated research into the history of nineteenth-century East London resulted in publications which led to his being widely acknowledged as the leading authority on that area. Bill is widely recognised as the historian of a particular quartier and especially the streets of Whitechapel and Stepney. Fishman's sense of humanity meant his work noticed the outcast, the rejected, the problem individuals who lived out their lives in East London. The young Fishman was present there to witness the action. Myths and legends surround the "Battle" and Daniel Tilles's essay weaves through the competing accounts, supplementing the claims of contemporaries with later evidence in an attempt to reach a conclusion on the significance of the event. Fishman was himself serving in the British Army at the time. But stereotypes are hard to shift; they sleep lightly.