The Green Owls

Book excerpt: When twelve-year-old Dusty decides to shave his head and become a “Skinhead”, his mother actually approves of his new look. But it’s 1971 in Leeds, England, and the Skinhead movement is not yet one of white supremacy as it is today. For Dusty, who recently lost his father, it’s an attempt to find his place in the world and fit in on the social housing “estate” where he lives. In doing so, he finds a new “family” in the form of the Seacroft Green Owls, a local teenage gang. Although fighting for territory and football hooliganism becomes part of his life, he also finds support, companionship, and even his first romantic encounter in the Green Owls. Dusty enjoys life in the gang along with his friends with nicknames like Duke, Cogs, Ibbo, Jonno, and Jamaica. However, things take on a darker side when a “copper” gets stabbed by a Skinhead outside a Leeds United and Manchester United football match. As the cops begin mass pickups of Skinheads, the Green Owls must find their way home, across Leeds, without taking public transportation. To do so involves evading police patrols and rival gangs and becomes a night never to be forgotten. Although fictional, The Green Owls skillfully re-creates a fascinating time and locale when football matches often lead to street violence and UK street gangs ruled. In addition to offering an exciting, fast-paced plot, this book allows readers to immerse themselves in the slang, fashion, music, and lifestyle of a movement that still influences parts of our culture today.