Description
Physical description
On a yellow and white background is a mushroom cloud inside which is a palm tree and the name 'Womyn'. Around the mushroom cloud are stick people. Below this is written 'for an Independent & Nuclear-Free Pacific'.
History note
This badge belonged Pat Sanchez who is an anti-nuclear activist. She is a member of the Pennine Women for Peace Group. She has taken part in various protests, including the protest which took place at Greenham Common Air Base during the 1980's.
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 to Greenham Common Air Base near Newbury, Berkshire, where the missiles were to be housed. At Greenham Common, they set up what became known as the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp.
Between 1981 and 1983 the protestors attempted to disrupt construction work at the base. These included blockading the base and cutting down parts of the fence. They used various forms of non-violent protest. In December 1982 this included the 'Embrace the Base' event. This was when 30,000 women gathered at Greenham to join hands round the base .
Despite the efforts of the protestors, the first Cruise Missiles arrived at Greenham in November 1983. The protest agains the missiles, however, continued throughout the rest of the 1980's.
Between 1989 and 1991, after Ronald Regan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, all missiles sited at Greenham were removed. However, the last women to leave Greenham Common Peace Camp went in Spetember 2000, 19 years after they first arrived. After the nuclear missiles were removed the camp remained as a continuing protest against nuclear weapons.
For more information on the Greenham Common Peace Camp see the Imperial War Museum's online exhibition on the website.
Printed
Womyn
For an Independent & Nuclear-Free Pacific