Close-up of book cover. Photo: Michael Waugh.
‘Peace Camping: A history’ by Michael Waugh
Review by Rita March
In his many years of campaigning against nuclear weapons, Michael Waugh has taken part in a large number of Peace Camps, some well known and some barely known beyond the activist community. He has established a reputation for encyclopaedic knowledge of the peace movement, which has led him to put his experiences into print. He covers briefly the pacifist gatherings of the late 1930s, important in that they established the principle of nonviolent direct action. His book is an outstanding tribute to the determination of an ever-increasing group of indomitable individuals, intent on bringing to public notice the expansion of the so-called ‘defence’ industry with its growing reliance on nuclear arms.
Michael brings us through the most uneasy times of the last century. The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the movement to ban nuclear weapons, culminating in the birth in 1958 of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; although this involved people from all walks of society it was not universally welcomed, and the first Aldermaston protest was greeted by scorn and derision in many quarters. There were many who maintained that the balance of power was the better course. Nevertheless, CND grew in numbers, with Quakers to the fore. Those of my generation saw the escalation of the power struggle come to a head in October 1962, when the Cuban missile crisis had us wondering if we would live to see the light of day. This, in the wake of the establishment of the US submarine base in Holy Loch, described by Michael as promoting the first concerted protest camp, undoubtedly gave further impetus to the peace movement.
The book itself is a series of accounts of Peace Camps large and small, presented in alphabetical order, from Alconbury to Waddington – those in which Michael took an active part, and those he supported from a distance. He tells of friendships made and the strength of purpose in the face of opposition from both police and military forces, and the ensuing court cases – not always to the detriment of the defendants. One of the many which will resonate with Quakers is the Cruise Watch campaign at Greenham Common during the 1980s, with emphasis on the Greenham Women’s running battle with police and press in 1983, celebrated in the Leaveners’ evocative choral production The Gates of Greenham. It was as a participant in this protest that I first became acquainted with Quakers.
But this is more than a trip down nostalgia lane. Michael has produced a remarkable document. Enhanced with hand-drawn maps, diagrams and cartoons, and with the occasional glimpse of his quirky sense of humour, this is a very readable book. As Michael says in his introduction, ‘I have seen history being made’. He ably chronicles the tireless effort, the risks run, and the determination of those working for peace in our recent past; it is a worthy tribute to those dedicated campaigners, and as such it merits a place on our bookshelves.
