It is a mistake to conflate the Fascist government of Mussolini's Italy with the National Socialist government of Hitler's Germany. They were quite distinct. But, when Mussolini opportunistically decided to join the war on the Nazi side on June the 10th, 1940, the good people of Irvine could be forgiven for lumping them together.
The treacherous nature of the Italian decision to join the war, following the German breakthrough in France, created especially bad ill-feeling, something that was unfortunately directed at Irvine's small Italian community of hard-working cafe owners and shop keepers.
This account from the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald tells much but not all of the story of that fateful night:
Regrettable scenes in Irvine
Nine shops wrecked
In the long history of the royal and ancient burgh of Irvine, there are very many incidents recorded of which its citizens have every reason to be proud, and for generations they could congratulate themselves on being regarded by their neighbours as a community consisting to a very large extent of kindly respectable folks. This week, however, most of them admit that their pride in this respect has received a very nasty jar, and that it will be a long time before they are able to forget the regrettable scenes of Monday night.
The only excuse that can be put forward for the happenings in the main streets of the town on that night is that the townspeople were knocked off their normal mental trim by very natural feelings of anger at the part which the powers that be in Italy have played in recent months, and especially by the culminating stab in the back which Italy's declaration of war aimed at France and Britain at the present critical stage in the war with Germany.
News of the Declaration Of War reached Irvine at an unfortunate hour -- six o'clock in the evening. It spread rapidly throughout the borough at a time when the majority of the townspeople had finished their day's work and were free to gather in groups to discuss it. It was the dominating item in the mind of practically everyone and there could be only one opinion regarding it. That opinion was expressed freely in varying forms by all classes of the community, and feelings of keen resentment became more pronounced as the matter was discussed.
Crowds in the streets increased in size as the evening wore on. The atmosphere became more tense and the tenseness was sensed by some of the less responsible elements in the crowds, who realised that the foolishness of throwing a stone through the plate-glass window off an Italian ice cream merchant's shop would have sufficient approval among the crowd to let them get away with it without detection by the two or three policeman on duty at each of the centres of congregated humanity. Stones were thrown, and when they found their mark on the plate glass the effort was greeted by encouraging laughter and occasionally by cheers.
This was followed later by foolishness on a much more serious scale. Between 10 and 11 the crowds at more than one centre increased to four figure dimensions. The entire front of several shops were smashed and large numbers of men crushed into the interiors of the premises and wrecked and plundered them. Goods were heaved out through the spaces where doors and windows had been a few minutes earlier and were carried off by large numbers of men, women and children.
A very big percentage of those present took no active part in the work of destruction or plundering, but most of them seemed to regard the proceedings as good fun, and those who thought otherwise at this time were evidently afraid that any expression of their opinions might be misinterpreted as showing sympathy with the enemies of their country. There were, however, quite a number who in a quiet manner expressed to their neighbours their disapproval of the proceedings.
Before midnight some three or four shops were wrecked and plundered, and matters seemed to be quieting down. Another wave of destruction, however, broke out, and at about one in the morning the total number of shops occupied by Italians or people of Italian extraction in the town which were raided was raised to nine, and only one shop in London Street, remained practically unmolested. This was the one satisfactory spot in a very unfortunate night's work. In the house attached to this shop there was an old woman whose health was in a critical state. With commendable courage a gentleman residing in the locality faced the group of men who approached this shop, explained the circumstances to them and pleaded with them to leave the place alone. Several women who were present supported him in his plea. Better instincts in the breasts of the leaders of the group of men won over their irritation, and the shop was spared.
The police, it may be noted, were not nearly in sufficient strength to deal by forceful means with the situations which had arisen at various points in the town simultaneously. For them the announcement of Italy's declaration of war was very unfortunately timed. Had news of it reached the people here at, say, sometime in the early hours of the morning, there would, in all probability, have been time for making arrangements that would have prevented disorderly scenes from developing to the extent to which they did develop on Monday night.
The sympathy of all right thinking people is with the policeman who are on duty in very small numbers at the various points of disturbance.
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