'I was reminded of how different campaigning was in the 1970s.' Photo: Book cover of Peace! Books! Freedom! The secret history of a radical London building, by Rosa Schling
'I was reminded of how different campaigning was in the 1970s.' Photo: Book cover of Peace! Books! Freedom! The secret history of a radical London building, by Rosa Schling
A small group of volunteers has been working on the digitisation of Peace News, a publication with which many Friends will be familiar. Coincidentally, as the run from 1950-1959 was uploaded, a new oral history was published of 5 Caledonian Road, the premises that Peace News occupied in 1959 (and which continues to provide a base for associated radical ventures). The book offers a fascinating and inspirational story. The acquisition of the premises meant that office space could be rented out, providing the means to subsidise the two main projects: Housmans bookshop and Peace News.
London CND was one of the first tenants, of a small room in the basement. In 1971 the Gay Liberation Front took over the tenancy. A few years later, in 1974, the London Gay Switchboard took up residency, remaining there until 1993 when they moved to their own premises. In 1974 the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) was launched, and remained there until the mid-1980s.
The building was also used for various single-issue campaigns. In 1973 the British Withdrawal from Northern Ireland Campaign established its base there. In 1977, it provided space for what was known as the ABC defence campaign, named after three men – Crispin Aubrey, John Berry and Duncan Campbell – who were charged under the Official Secrets Act after the disclosure of a secret spy facility at Cheltenham. Reading the interview material in the book I was reminded of how different campaigning was in the 1970s. There was no access to computers or social media, and it depended on having access to physical space where people could meet and organise, compiling telephone trees, updating mailing lists, dealing with the mail, drafting, printing and distributing leaflets.
In the mid-1980s the building was one of the main meeting points for activists involved with London Greenpeace. They organised the ‘Stop the City’ protests before moving on to target McDonalds for its alleged abuse of animal rights. Two of those involved in the distribution of a leaflet (‘What’s wrong with McDonalds? Everything they don’t want you to know’) refused to apologise despite threats of legal action. Thus began the famous McLibel Case, with the McDonald Corporation suing the two activists (Helen Steele and Dave Morris). It lasted ten years and is said to have been the longest-running libel case in British history.
In 1993 War Resisters International took up a tenancy, where they remained until 2023. Other groups included Voices in the Wilderness, which campaigned first against the economic sanctions and then the subsequent invasion and occupation of Iraq from 1998 to 2003.
5 Caledonian Road is only a short distance from Friends House. Alongside the physical closeness, the ventures associated with ‘Cally Road’ involved activists from the Society of Friends, and addressed concerns shared by many Quakers. To read this stimulating and enjoyable record is to get a real sense of the issues that moved Quakers and like-minded folk in the latter half of the twentieth century.
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