40th Anniversary of Peace Blockade of USAF Upper Heyford

Event Date: 2nd June 2023
Location: USAF Upper Heyford 12 noon

All

This is now the plan for 2nd and 3rd June when hopefully I will see you at one time or another. 

Friday 2 June

• 12 noon - walk the perimeter of the fence (7.5 miles) starting at Ardley – meet outside the White Lion pub just off Junction 10 of the M40. NB please contact the organisers if you require directions and/or help with transport. 

Saturday 3 June 2023

• 10:30 for 11 – reunion and meeting “Looking back, looking forward” at site of old Peace Camp (Portway, off Camp Road) – please bring chairs 
• 12 noon – walk to Heritage Centre which includes some displays about the camp (arrive 12:30 and leave approx. 13:30)

What has still not been decided is where (if?) to meet Friday evening – suggestions welcome.

Also if you have any ideas where people could possibly stay that would be welcome. I know Anne from Denmark is looking for a space and I will be and so might Adrian (although presumably we could stay at a travel lodge of similar – suggestions welcome).

For information the article below is going in Oxford CND newsletter (subject to Nigel’s editing) and CND nationally have already advertised the events – see here https://cnduk.org/events/

Finally, I am planning to launch an archive website about the former Upper Heyford Peace Camp on June 3rd. If you have any old photographs or written material please do send them to me by email. 

All for now – any questions at all please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

All the best

Steve

PS Please do pass this information on if there are others you think will be interested

Join Activities to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Four Day Peace Blockade at USAF Upper Heyford 

Between the 31st May and June 3rd 1983 one of the largest ever set piece civil disobedience demonstrations took place at USAF Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire. This was then home to six F1-11 planes armed with live nuclear weapon always on standby in what was called the Quick Response Area. 

Organised by the Peace Camp that was set up in 1982 to support the women’s camp at Greenham Common by providing a site for mixed NVDA, more than 5,000 people took part in trained affinity groups in six shifts over the four days. At its conclusion 752 people had been arrested – one of the highest numbers of people ever detained at a peace protest.

As we know the airbase has since been mothballed – USAF Lakenheath being the preferred F1-11 base in the 1990s when the ‘peace dividend’ meant one of the two were to be shut. However, the spirit of idealism and protest, which the camp represented, and the message that peace is always the preferable option, very much remain relevant. 

With the current nuclear sabre rattling by Putin, nuclear rearmament taking place across the five Nuclear Weapons States and the Doomsday Clock advancing to 90 seconds to midnight, these imperatives will be remembered and discussed  on June 2nd and 3rd. In particular, what can be done to get the world back on the path to nuclear disarmament rather than rearmament? 

A  number of activities are planned by former peace camper Steve Barwick, now Chair of the Nuclear Education Trust,  and some of the peace camp’s former supporters including Annie Tunnicliffe, a previous Chair of Campaign Atom (Oxford CND). Please do join them:

Friday 2 June

• 12 noon - walk the perimeter of the fence (7.5 miles) starting at Ardley – meet outside the White Lion pub just off Junction 10 of the M40. NB please contact the organisers if you require directions and/or help with transport. 

Saturday 3 June 2023

• 10:30 for 11 – reunion and meeting “Looking back, looking forward” at site of old Peace Camp (Portway, off Camp Road) – please bring chairs 
• 12 noon – walk to Heritage Centre which includes some displays about the camp (arrive 12:30 and leave 13:30)

Steve is also planning to launch an archive website  about the former Upper Heyford Peace Camp on June 3rd. If you have any old photographs or written material please email him at the address below. 

For more information please contact [email protected]