Battle of Fordsburg

The final stand of the Rand Revolt took place in the Fordsburg Square where strikers held out in the Market Building. Trenches were dug across the square and the SA Airforce was brought into action, but bombed the Presbyterian Church in Mint Road instead. The public lavatory, bearing the first coat of arms of the Town Council of Johannesburg, served as a block house with snipers firing from the windows and being shelled by government troops. Strike leaders, Fisher and Spendiff, committed suicide in the Market Building. All told, 219 people died in this battle and 4 750 were detained.