An Gof
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An Gof was a militant Cornish nationalist group suspected of a series of attacks in the 1980s. The name was also used by a group in 2007. The organisation's name is Cornish for "The Smith", and takes its name from the trade of
Michael An Gof Michael Joseph (died 27 June 1497), better known as Michael An Gof, was one of the leaders of the Cornish rebellion of 1497, along with Thomas Flamank. Background The rebels marched on London to protest against King Henry VII's levy of a t ...
, a leader of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497.


1980s

In December 1980, a group calling itself An Gof 1980 exploded a bomb at the courthouse in
St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...
. In January 1981, they claimed responsibility for a fire at a
Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
hairdressers (the business was mistaken for the
Bristol and West Bristol & West (B&W) was a former Mutual organization, mutual building society in the United Kingdom (UK), one of the first to be Demutualization, demutualised to become a Public limited company, publicly traded bank in 1997. Bristol & West ha ...
Building Society). Later in the decade, An Gof claimed responsibility for a number of fires, including one at the Zodiac
Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...
Hall in
Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...
. They also claimed responsibility for an attempted explosion at Beacon Village Hall in
Camborne Camborne ( kw, Kammbronn) is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove. Camborne was formerl ...
and placing broken glass under the sand at
Portreath Portreath ( kw, Porthtreth or ) is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) northwest of Redruth. The village extends along both sides of a str ...
Beach in 1984, "to deter tourists". Some commentators believed the group were claiming unrelated acts as their own.


2000s

A group claiming to be An Gof stated on 12 March 2007 that it wanted to destroy all
English flag The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...
s in
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
. A statement made by a spokesman for the group was faxed to the Cornish Branch of the
Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...
by an unknown person who withheld his or her telephone number and reads as follows:
Out of respect for many of the decent and honourable
Cornish people The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons w ...
present today, we have asked our membership to remain inactive. We are aware that reputations were placed on the line by moderate Cornish Nationals who have been subject of death threats from the far right as well as threats of action by the police. However, we wish to make this point very clear: any attempts from hereon to fly the hated and oppressive
Flag of St. George The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...
of England which we know as the blood banner in this our Country will result in direct action by our organization. For those who question our motives, we refer them to the events of 1497 and 1549 and the years of English Imperialistic repression which has followed. We shall not show the tolerance of those standing Vigil today and our action will be to remove and burn the flags of the English which may cause peripheral damage. An Gof 1497.
In March 2007 a group claiming to be the resurrected "An Gof" committed several acts of vandalism.
This was followed on 13 June 2007 with a declaration by a previously unheard of group called the
Cornish National Liberation Army The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considered to be English, in Cornwall. The orga ...
which claimed to have formed due to a merger of An Gof and the
Cornish Liberation Army The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considered to be English, in Cornwall. The orga ...
and declared the restaurants owned by
Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reache ...
and
Rick Stein Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
to be enemies of the Cornish people. A number of arrests were made.


See also

*
List of topics related to Cornwall The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by ...
*
Cornish self-government movement Cornish nationalism is a cultural, political and social movement that seeks the recognition of Cornwall – the south-westernmost part of the island of Great Britain – as a nation distinct from England. It is usually based on three gener ...
*
Mebyon Kernow Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and s ...


References

{{Use British English, date=May 2014 Cornish nationalism Cornish militarism