As more news about the sinking of the Lusitania arrived, anti German riots break out across Manchester.
Cunard’s offices in Manchester were continually besieged as people clamoured to find more about the sinking of the Lusitainia the previous weekend.
According to the latest information, there were 764 survivors, many in hospital in Ireland while those uninjured were arriving at Birkenhead.
It was announced that all the dead landed at Queenstown would be buried as soon as possible while photographs of those unidentified would be sent to the companies offices in Liverpool.
The question of everyone lips was what would America do now. So far President Wilson had remained silent on the situation, his spokesman saying that the country would not abandon its policy of neutrality while demanding an explanation from Germany.
Anti German riots broke out across the region, a pork butchers shop on Oldham Road owned by a naturalized German was attacked by a mob, a company on Trafford park who employed German labour was forced to close, as was another factory in Pollard Street, where workers had to be smuggled out after women refused to work alongside naturalized Germans.
There was a strike at an Oldham Gas works as employees walked out after refusing to work alongside a German colleague and two shops in Greengate owned by German families were attacked and looted.
Two shops in Ocford Street were wrecked, and in Abbey Hey lane, a crowd said to number over a thousand broke up the contents of a pork butchers shop, the house of a supposed German women was set alight in Gorton and over a dozen shops across Collyhurst Beswick, Ardwick, Rusholme and Clayton were destroyed.
Across the country the scenes were being repeated, the East end of London and Liverpool saw particular riotous scenes.
In Manchester thirty enemy alien shopkeepers were in custody at the town hall after the chief constable announced that he would arrest all enemy alien shopkeepers in the city many had a,today fled their premises and taken shelter with friends.
By the end of the week, 150 had been rounded up and were put on a train from Victoria to an internment camp in Scotland.Crowds arrived at the station to see them off but were directed to the wrong platform to avoid any trouble.
With public anger at the sinking, the Royal Exchange requested that all members of German, Austrian and Turkish birth, although they may be naturalized British subjects, are requested to reform from using the Exchange until further notice and the Corn Exchange followed suit as well as various restaurants and cafes who put up notices refusing to serve naturalize Germans or Austrians .
