At that time there was a small national network of "Peace Activists", whose aims & methods were very different to those of CND. This movement began with the setting up of the Women's Peace Camp at Greenham Common Air Base in 1981, where American cruise missiles were soon to be installed. Hundreds of women set up a permanent protest camp outside, living in tents & "benders" (frameworks of long branches tied together, with tarpaulin stretched over). They used tactics of non-violent direct action & civil disobedience - cutting the fence, breaking into the base, blockading nuclear convoys at the gates etc. Large scale actions were organised, to which thousands of women from all over the country would come. Many women were prepared to get arrested, & many were. Actions at Greenham were always given a lot of media coverage. (1)
Inspired by this, peace camps were set up at eight other military bases across Britain. These other camps were not women-only like Greenham was. Other than that, they operated on the same principles, & used the same methods of large break-ins & blockades. Many people who couldn't commit full-time would travel to these camps when large scale actions happened, as would people from other camps. A network began to build up of people for whom protest was becoming a way of life.
Where CND seemed to be only opposed to nuclear weapons, the Peace Activists were pacifists, opposed to all war & violence. They also believed in enacting your principles in all areas of your life. Many started to experiment with alternative lifestyles ( building squatting communities or taking to the road in converted old buses etc) & more radical political beliefs (such as anarchism). People didn't want just to get rid of nuclear weapons or "the government". They wanted a different society altogether, based on a different set of principles. People dropped out of society & banded together with those of like minds, to try to create new societies by creating new communities. The idea wasn't to placate the government or ask for "permission" - the idea was to directly take our lives back for ourselves.
Different countercultures, old & new, started to come together at this point, & there was a lot of crossover. People learned from each other, & there was a sense of a growing "movement", that was progressing very quickly in its ideas. People took the methods & lessons from the peace camps & started to apply them elsewhere. A network of people built up who would blockade nuclear convoys as they moved across Britain, & within the cities themselves people would occupy or blockade "institutions of oppression" such as arms dealers.
Protest would get more daring & more imaginative in this era. In 1983 & 1984, there were two "Stop The City" protests in London at which The Stock Exchange & other financial institutions were blockaded by thousands of activists. People were encouraged to create their own form of protest (from street-theatre to spray-painting to mass sit-ins) in order to catch the police off-guard. The police were used to dealing with an "organised" protest where everyone was in the same place at the same time doing the same thing. "Stop The City" was something completely different - a spontaneous carnival of anarchy & action, erupting in many different places (2). This protest counterculture would continue to grow & reinvent itself for the next few years, until a series of crackdowns & new public order legislation made a lot of these actions impossible.
That was the world into which I was just about to step. I would very soon leave home, become part of that counterculture, & immerse myself in it for the next 3 or 4 years. It was a very significant part of my life, & taught me valuable life lessons that have remained with me ever since.
However, we all have to start somewhere, & back in early 1984, I was a virgin to that world, awaiting my initiation. I'd become disillusioned with CND. I felt their goals were too limited, & their methods were ineffectual - "marching round in circles" as critics said. I'd been reading a lot about anarchism, anti-militarism & non violent direct action. I'd read up on the principles & philosophies of civil disobedience, & knew that I agreed with it morally as a method of action. I was just awaiting a chance to put it into practice.
That chance came in early 1984, when I heard on the anarchist grapevine that there was to be a big action at Faslane Peace Camp. The camp had about 30 residents living in old caravans, & had been there since 1982. It was outside a huge nuclear submarine base on the River Clyde, in the scottish countryside. I had been to Faslane a few months before. At that time, there had been a big CND demo, where we all stood outside the base & waved a few banners. Two friends & I had gone on a coach with our local CND. Being uptight lefties, none of the CND mob wanted anything to do with "those crazy anarchists" at the Peace Camp. We however, were intrigued by the rainbow painted caravans, & wandered away from the demo to go meet the "crazy anarchists". We found a lovely group of open & welcoming people, & spent the rest of the afternoon chatting to them. All three of us fell in love with the place, the people & the life, & within a year all of us would become full time residents.
This forthcoming action sounded very "full-on" - people were going to cut the security fence with bolt-cutters, or climb over it (twelve feet high, metal mesh, with rolls of barbed wire on top). Once inside, you would be chased by police with big dogs, who would inevitably catch you & arrest you. This was scary stuff & I would be really throwing myself in at the deep end. However, I knew I had to do it - overcome that fear, & take that leap.
The action was being organised secretly, by word of mouth only. It was thought that if the police saw everyone arriving at the camp the night before, they would know that something was about to happen, & would be prepared. The idea was to catch them unawares, & so a plan was worked out. People would arrive in Glasgow (about 30 miles from Faslane) the night before, & meet at an arranged meeting point. Friends of the camp who lived in Glasgow would take us to their houses to stay overnight. The next morning we would all get on a train out of Glasgow. One of the main lines ran along a route that would take us right past the base. The line was at the top of a hill only a few hundred yards from the base perimeter fence. At that point we would stop the train, jump off, run down the hill, & get straight into cutting the fence before the police had a chance to respond. So now, not only was I conspiring to break into a military base, but we were going to stop a train to do so ! (Back in those days, the idea that we could be shot for being "terrorists" never crossed our minds).
My two friends & I turned up in Glasgow, were assigned to a hippy called Craig, & stayed overnight at his house. We were so excited about what was to come, we could hardly sleep. The next morning we all arrived at Glasgow station. There were about 40 activists there. We got on the train, & it set off. I had butterflies in my stomach. I didn't know what was going to happen, but it was very exciting.
Just as we were approaching Faslane, a big London punk called Nick stood up in the middle of the aisle. "Ladies & Gentlemen. Please don't be alarmed " - he announced in a very charming & polite manner - "We are about to stop this train. We will be getting off, & then you will be on your way again." Somebody pulled the communications cord, & the train braked to a halt. People opened the doors & jumped down onto the line, then started running down the hill. We could see the peace camp at the bottom, & on the other side of the road from that was the perimeter fence. We ran into the peace camp, threw down any rucksacks & sleeping bags we were carrying, & then accompanied by members of the peace camp, we all ran over the road to the fence.
A line of people were shaking the fence & I joined in. We were all whooping & yelling. I could see people start to climb the fence, & other people pulling & cutting sections of the fence off. I stepped back for a second to get a better look at what was happening, so as to decide what to do next. Suddenly I felt my arms being grabbed, & there was a policeman on either side of me holding them - "You're under arrest!". I hadn't seen any policemen up until then, & I certainly hadn't seen those two coming.
They marched me off to a police van, & opened the door. Inside I saw three or four activists. They smiled at me, & that made me feel safe. The police put handcuffs on me. They were so tight that they were pushing on my wrist bones & causing me pain. They were designed so that the more you moved your hand, the tighter they got. The journey to the police station was agony because of this, but we all kept in good spirits.
We were taken out one by one, to give our details to the desk sergeant before being put in a cell. I stood in front of the desk with a policeman holding me on either side. After I'd given my details, the sergeant behind the desk stood up. "We're the Strathclyde Police. Have you heard of us ?" he growled. "No I haven't" I said with a grin on my face. One of the policemen punched me in the stomach, & the other one kicked me in the bollocks. I doubled over. "Stand up straight!" the sergeant shouted. I stood up straight. "Right ! You have now !" he said (referring to the question of had I heard of the Strathclyde police). The casualness of the violence seemed odd - it was as if that was just their "routine" way of dealing with people. I imagined them shouting "Next Please", then going through exactly the same routine with the next person.
I was put in a cell, in which there were two or three other people. As this was Saturday afternoon, we had to be held till Monday morning till we could be bailed from court, which meant a day and a half in a police cell. I was interviewed & denied the charge of criminal damage (they were charging me with cutting the fence). I also spoke briefly to a good solicitor, who always defended the peace campers. We were supposed to be given "three meals a day" while we were in the cells, but we were only given one "meal" in all the time we were there - a plastic plate with half a bag of crisps & half a tomato on it.
We kept our spirits up. There were three cells, each with 3 or 4 people in them, & we banged on the walls to each other, & all engaged in communal singsongs. I made a great friend of a London punk squatter called Hooley. He had huge paratroop boots (which the police took off him), black eye liner, a permanent cheeky grin & gleam in his eye, & a very big mohican, which stood up all by itself, because of his unnaturally thick & wiry hair. He entertained us all by doing a juggling act with the plastic plates. My cell mates knew this was my first time being arrested, & were very supportive about that. I didn't feel worried about anything anyway - I'd read up, & I'd seen interviews with the Greenham women talking about the experience of being arrested at protest actions. I knew what to expect, & how the law worked, & I was very calm about the whole thing.
On Monday morning we were taken to Dumbarton court, then bailed (when I returned for trial a few months later, I got found not guilty). Outside the court, all the peace camp people were waiting, & cheered us & hugged us. We went back to camp, & had a big communal meal & some bottles of wine. Everyone was in such great spirits, & we sang & danced round the campfire. I felt very good inside.
It didn't matter that I'd not had the chance to do much before I got arrested (though don't blame me for that - blame the police). What I had done was to overcome my fear. Direct action can have a spiritual quality - it gives people a sense of empowerment. I would take part in a lot more direct action over the next few years, & always with that same sense of empowerment.
As I sat by that campfire, I felt that I belonged - that I was now part of this community. I had passed my initiation & I was now one of the tribe.
NOTES
(1) This website, run by "The Guardian" newspaper, contains a fantastic series of short films detailing various aspects of the Greenham Women's Peace Camp. The films of protest actions are incredible - grannies climbing over razor wire fences, women circle dancing on top of the nuclear silos, women dressed as teddy bears breaking into the base, hundreds of women pulling down a mile's worth of fence, & most spectacular of all - thirty thousand women, hands joined, encircling the entire perimeter. These are the most inspiring acts of Direct Action I have ever seen.
http://www.theguardian.com/yourgreenham/video/0,,2070865,00.html
(1) This website, run by "The Guardian" newspaper, contains a fantastic series of short films detailing various aspects of the Greenham Women's Peace Camp. The films of protest actions are incredible - grannies climbing over razor wire fences, women circle dancing on top of the nuclear silos, women dressed as teddy bears breaking into the base, hundreds of women pulling down a mile's worth of fence, & most spectacular of all - thirty thousand women, hands joined, encircling the entire perimeter. These are the most inspiring acts of Direct Action I have ever seen.
http://www.theguardian.com/yourgreenham/video/0,,2070865,00.html
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_original_occupy_wall_street_stop_the_city_1984
Great stuff! Well written and evocative.
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