The interesting British ruling class obsession with the number Six
Six is the number of people currently allowed to meet together inside or out in England. It is also the maximum number of people who can go together on a protest (separate multiples of six probably being ok).
In July 1797 the London Corresponding Society-which supported the French Revolution-held a well- attended demonstration at St Pancras. It was dispersed by magistrates and six speakers were arrested.
On January 1831 a rural revolt led to the conviction of 40 or more at Winchester with ‘six left for execution’
In February 1803 the revolutionary Edward Despard was executed for treason as were six fellow conspirators
In 1817 six Luddites were executed at Leicester and two sentenced to transportation
All from E P Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class
Postscript
Thanks to those who have added some more examples of ‘six’. There were of course six Tolpuddle Martyrs although no doubt more could have been found by the authorities. In recent times the code of picketing introduced in the 1980s limited numbers to six pickets. Something which is still on occasion enforced
I know there is a rule of thumb in any discussion that if anyone introduces German Nazism, you head for the metaphorical door – but bear with me in terms of the Rule of Six. If Germany had invaded in 1940, we would have been run by the appointed German resident – and this would have been a certain Dr Franz Six. He was undoubtably a war criminal in any case, even if he didn’t get to the UK and begin the round up of lefties, Jews et al. He never got topped mind – he ended up in the West German secret service and thus an Allied little helper. On this occasion Wiki gives the bare bones of what this rule of six would have been like; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Six