| In 1981 a group of women, angered by the decision to site Cruise Missiles (guided nuclear missiles) in the UK, organised a protest march from Cardiff, Wales to Greenham Common Air Base near Newbury, Berkshire. Here they set up what became known as the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. Between 1981 and 1983 the protesters attempted to disrupt construction work at the base, methods included blockading the base and cutting down parts of the fence. |
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In December 1982 more than
30,000 women gathered at Greenham to join hands around the base at the 'Embrace
the Base' event.
Despite the efforts of the protesters, the first Cruise Missiles arrived at Greenham in November 1983. The protest against the missiles, however, continued throughout the rest of the 1980s. Many women faced court cases, fines and sometimes imprisonment for their actions. Newbury District Council tries many times in vain to close the camp by evicting protesters. Numbers dwindled but the camp remained. In 1987 US President, Ronald Reagan and Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which paved the way for the removal of Cruise Missiles from Greenham. Between 1989 and 1991 all missiles sited at Greenham were removed. The United States Air Force left the base in 1992 and were soon followed by their British counterparts. The Peace Camp, however, remained as a continuing protest against nuclear weapons. Today Greenham no longer belongs to the military. Part of it is in the process of being converted into a business park, while the rest will be common land, open to all. The last of the Greenham peace women left the base in September 2000, 19 years after they first arrived. There are plans to commemorate the Peace Camp at the site. |
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