Thu. August 25, 2011
1981- 2011 Women’s March from Wales to Greenham
Over the next two weeks, people from across Wales will be commemorating the first Walk to Greenham Common (near Newbury in Berkshire, England) in 1981. The original 120 mile walk, planned by Ann Pettit and Karmen Cutler around a Carmarthenshire kitchen table, was a means of protesting against British Government consent to the USA who, with Prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s help, had announced that they were to base 96 nuclear armed Cruise Missiles there.
Around 40 walkers left from Cardiff City Hall on the morning of August 26th 1981 – amongst the many who walked the first few miles with them were Jill Evans (now MEP), Julie Morgan AM and Jane Hutt AM. Paul Flynn MP and David Morris (later to become MEP for Swansea), met and walked with the group as they passed through Newport.
On arrival at Greenham on September 5th four of the women chained themselves to the US Base main gate, and the peace camp, which would last 20 years was born.
Ordinary women from all over Wales, Britain and across the world supported the peace camp over the years that followed. A group of women kept the protest going despite evictions, persecution and an often venomous press. The slogan ‘Greenham Women are Everywhere’ illustrated that women going about their everyday lives were concerned about the fact that our politicians were seriously planning for a nuclear war, were ‘sisters’ of the brave women who kept vigil at the nuclear base. Women from all over Wales would provide respite, camp at Greenham regularly and people would send provisions and materials.
Thousands also travelled to Greenham to join in the huge, moving and often beautiful protests which took place around and at the Women’s Camp.
The rest, as they say, is history. The world may not be safer, but those nuclear armed Cruise missiles and the USAF Base have gone. In 2002 a commemorative garden was set up to mark the site of the Peace Camp.
On 3rd September 2011 at 1pm many original peace marchers and campers will travel again from Wales to Greenham to attend a commemorative event to mark the 30th anniversary of the first March. Côr Cochion, whose members include original Greenham marcher Sue Lent, will perform. Those attending will also recommit themselves to working to the abolition of nuclear weapons, for although the nuclear Cruise Missiles of the 1980s have gone from Britain by 1992, over 22,000 nuclear warheads remain across the world and the British Government has begun the process of updating its own nuclear weapons system Trident, at a cost of at least £100billion to the taxpayer.
Jill Gough, National Secretary of CND Cymru supported and was at Greenham in the 1980s, she said:
“Nuclear weapons do not give us peace of mind and security.
I raised my children in a climate of fear. Like many other women who had hoped that our children needn’t have to live in a world gripped by the terror, fear, suspicion and bullying that is the language of nuclear weapons and their possessors, I decided to act.”
“While the work of banishing nuclear weapons for ever will take longer than we had hoped, had it not been for the women at Greenham and those all over the world who supported them, the journey to a nuclear free world may have taken even longer **.”
“We should pay tribute to all those women, daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers, who gave up an easy life to try and make the world a safer place for all of us – and our children and grandchildren.”
* From a high of 65,000 active weapons in 1985, there are over 22,000 total nuclear warheads in the world. Many of the decommissioned weapons were simply stored or partially dismantled, not destroyed. Despite the reduction, modern nuclear weapons are better targeted and delivery systems ‘more efficient’ than in the 1980s.
** “Greenham Women have been credited with helping influence the end of the Cold War and were name checked by President Gorbachev as well as galvanising world opinion.”
Commemorative Event Organisers:
Jean Hutchinson t: 01269 824 248
Sarah Hipperson Co-ordinator Greenham Peace Garden t: 0208 989 4819 sarah.hipperson@virgin.net
and Greenham Women
Jill Evans MEP c/o t: 01443 441395 darren@jillevans.net
Jill Gough: t: 01239 85 11 88 heddwch@cndcymru.org
Original Marchers:
Thalia Campbell t: 01646 621 449
Sue Lent t: 02920 493 980 sue@slent.wanadoo.co.uk
Mary Millington (then in Newport now Glasgow) 0141 352 9759
Ann Pettit 01559 384 671 ann@chantecler.co.uk
Helen John: c/o Yorkshire CND 01274 730 795
