''Peace News'' (''PN'') is a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campai ...

magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the

Peace Pledge Union The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determin ...

(PPU), and from 1990 to 2004 was co-published with

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 30 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 unde ...

History

Founding and early days

''Peace News'' was begun by Humphrey Moore who was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

and in 1933 had become editor of the

National Peace Council The National Peace Council (NPC), founded in 1908 and disbanded in 2000, acted as the co-ordinating body for almost 200 groups across Britain, with a membership ranging from small village peace groups to national trade unions and local authorities. ...

's publications. Working with a peace group in

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a m ...

, London, Moore and his wife, Kathleen (playing the role of business manager), launched ''Peace News'' with a free trial issue in June 1936. With distribution through Moore’s contacts with the National Peace Council, the new magazine rapidly attracted attention. Within six weeks, Dick Sheppard, founder of the Peace Pledge Union, proposed to Moore that ''Peace News'' should become the PPU’s paper.Harry Mister
"Humphrey Moore 1909-1995"
, ''Peace News'' No. 2395.Harry Mister and Stephen Moore, "Brave Fighter for Peace" (obituary of Humphrey Moore). ''The Guardian'', September 1995, p. 16. Early contributors to this new organ of the PPU included

Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1929–31, he spe ...

, and illustrator Arthur Wragg. ''Peace News'' also had a large number of women contributors, including

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

Storm Jameson Margaret Ethel Storm Jameson (8 January 1891 – 30 September 1986) was an English journalist and author, known for her novels and reviews and for her work as President of English PEN between 1938 and 1944. Life and career Jameson was born in ...

Rose Macaulay Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, (1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer, most noted for her award-winning novel '' The Towers of Trebizond'', about a small Anglo-Catholic group crossing Turkey by camel. The story is seen as a spiritu ...

Ethel Mannin Ethel Edith Mannin (6 October 1900 – 5 December 1984) was a popular British novelist and travel writer, political activist and socialist. She was born in London. Life and career Mannin's father, Robert Mannin (d. 1948) was a member of the S ...

, Ruth Fry, Kathleen Lonsdale and Sybil Morrison. Some contributors were so sympathetic to the grievances of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

that one sceptical member found it difficult to distinguish between letters to ''Peace News'' and those in the newspaper of the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...

. The historian

Mark Gilbert Mark David Gilbert (born August 22, 1956) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 2015 to 2017. Gilbert played for the Chicago White Sox in 1985.Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

refugees from Nazism. The fact that some PN contributors were supporting appeasement and excusing Nazi actions caused PN contributor

David Spreckley David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

to express fears that "in their scramble for peace", they were gaining "some questionable allies". Sales of ''Peace News'' peaked at around 40,000 during the so-called

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...

between September 1939 and May 1940. In that month in the face of demands in parliament for the banning of the paper, the printer and distributors stopped working with ''Peace News''. However, with help from the typographer

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cr ...

Hugh Brock Hugh Brock (1914–1985) was a lifelong British pacifist, editor of '' Peace News'' between 1955 and 1964, a promoter of nonviolent direct action and a founder of the Direct Action Committee, a forerunner of the Committee of 100. ''Peace News'' H ...

and many others, Moore continued to publish ''Peace News'' and arrange for distribution around the UK. Humphrey Moore’s emphasis on ''Peace News'' having a single-minded anti-war policy was increasingly being challenged. Others wanted greater emphasis on building a peaceful society once hostilities ended. In 1940 the PPU asked Moore to step aside in the post of assistant editor (which post he held until 1944), and appointed John Middleton Murry as editor."Peace News" in Peter Barberis, John McHugh & Mike Tyldesley (eds), ''Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations''. Continuum, 2005, (p. 344). By 1946 Murry had abandoned pacifism and resigned.

took on the role of assistant editor of Peace News in 1946 and became editor in 1955, lasting until 1964. During his period of tenure the magazine separated from the PPU as it had widened its focus into areas not directly related to absolute pacifism. ''Peace News'' in the 1940s published material from American journalist

Dwight Macdonald Dwight Macdonald (March 24, 1906 – December 19, 1982) was an American writer, editor, film critic, social critic, literary critic, philosopher, and activist. Macdonald was a member of the New York Intellectuals and editor of their leftist mag ...

and

Maurice Cranston __NOTOC__ Maurice William Cranston (8 May 1920 – 5 November 1993) was a British philosopher, professor and author. He served for many years as Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, and was also known for his pop ...

(later to become a noted philosopher). From the 1940s on, ''Peace News'' began to take a strongly critical line towards British rule in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The magazine also established links with African

anti-colonial Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence ...

activists

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An ...

and

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...

, and "''Peace News''′ close involvement with the anti-apartheid struggle...led to the banning of the paper in South Africa in 1959". During the 1950s, ''Peace News'' contributors included such noted activists as André Trocmé,

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 18926 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem " First they ca ...

, Fenner Brockway, A. J. Muste,

Richard B. Gregg Richard Bartlett Gregg (1885–1974) was an American social philosopher said to be "the first American to develop a substantial theory of nonviolent resistance" based on the teachings of Mohandas K. Gandhi, and so influenced the thinking of Martin ...

Alex Comfort Alexander Comfort (10 February 1920 – 26 March 2000) was a British scientist and physician known best for his nonfiction sex manual, '' The Joy of Sex'' (1972). He was an author of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a gerontologis ...

Donald Soper Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper (31 January 1903 – 22 December 1998) was a British Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist. He served as President of the Methodist Conference in 1953–54. After May 1965 he was a peer in the House of Lor ...

, Michael Scott,

Leslie Hall Leslie Merritt Hall (born November 15, 1981) is an American satirical rap artist and front-woman for the band Leslie and the LY's. She also operates a "gem sweater museum". She is best known for the YouTube hits like "How We Go Out" and "Tight P ...

, M.P., Muriel Lester,

Emrys Hughes Emrys Daniel Hughes (10 July 1894 – 18 October 1969) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, journalist and author. He was Labour MP for South Ayrshire in Scotland from 1946 to 1969. Among his many published books was a biography of his father ...

, M.P.,

Wilfred Wellock Wilfred Wellock (2 January 1879 – 22 July 1972) was a socialist Gandhian and sometime Labour politician and MP. Life He was imprisoned as a conscientious objector in the First World War. He was elected at Member of Parliament (MP) for Member ...

, and Esmé Wynne-Tyson

1959 to 1969

In 1959 a gift of £5,700 from Tom Willis enabled ''Peace News'' to buy 5 Caledonian Road, London, N1. This became its office and printing press and was also shared with Housmans Bookshop. It was at the ''Peace News'' office that the

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nuclea ...

peace symbol A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph b ...

was adopted. Describing the British pacifist tradition in the 1950s,

David Widgery David Widgery (27 April 1947 – 26 October 1992) was a British Marxist writer, journalist, polemicist, physician, and activist. Biography Widgery was born in Barnet and grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He contracted polio as a child and ...

wrote "at its most likeable it was the sombre decency of ''Peace News'', then a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

tabloid with a

emphasis on active witness". The magazine campaigned against

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

, often working with the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

. During this period Brock brought to ''Peace News'' "a staff of writer-activists committed to developing

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalis ...

nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

action in the anti-militarist cause", including

Pat Arrowsmith Pat Arrowsmith (born 2 March 1930) has been a prolific English author and peace campaigner. She was a co-founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1957. Early life Arrowsmith was born into a clerical family in Leamington Spa as the youn ...

Richard Boston Richard Boston (29 December 1938 – 22 December 2006) was an English journalist and author, a rigorous dissenter and a belligerent pacifist. An anarchist, toper, raconteur, marathon runner and practical joker, he described his pastimes as "s ...

April Carter April Carter (born 22 November 1937) was a British peace activist. She was a politics, political lecturer at the universities of Lancaster University, Lancaster, Somerville College, Oxford and University of Queensland, Queensland, and was a Fellow ...

Alan Lovell Alan Charles Lovell (born 19 November 1953) is a British businessman, formerly chief executive of the British construction company Costain, and currently chairman of Interserve. Early life Lovell is the son of a farmer, and was educated at Win ...

Michael Randle Michael Randle (born 1933) is an English peace campaigner and researcher known for his involvement in nonviolent direct action in Britain and also for his role in helping the Soviet spy George Blake escape from a British prison. Early life Born ...

, Adam Roberts and the American

Gene Sharp Gene Sharp (January 21, 1928 – January 28, 2018) was an American political scientist. He was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, and professor of pol ...

. Brock's successor in 1964 was Theodore Roszak. In the same year, a Caribbean Quaker and ''PN'' writer,

Marion Glean Marion Patrick Jones (16 August 1931 – 2 March 2016) was a Trinidadian novelist, whose training was in the fields of library science and social anthropology. She is also known by the names Marion Glean and Marion O'Callaghan (her married name). B ...

, "contributed to a series of statements by post-colonial activists on 'race' in the run-up to the 1964 election, published by Theodore Roszak, editor of ''Peace News''."Kalbir Shukra, ''The Changing Pattern of Black Politics in Britain''. Pluto Press, 1998, p. 20. After the election, Glean helped bring together several activists, including David Pitt,

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are i ...

and

Ranjana Ash Ranjana Ash (6 December 1924 – 10 August 2015) was an Indian-born writer, literary critic, academic and activist, who was a leading advocate of south Asian and African writing. She moved in the 1950s to England, where she married American-born ...

to form the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination. Throughout the 1960s, ''Peace News'' covered issues such as opposition to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and the Biafran issue in the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

. The magazine's coverage of the Vietnam War was notable for its support for the protests of the Vietnamese Buddhists, who it argued could become a nonviolent "Third Force" independent of both the Saigon and Hanoi governments. ''Peace News'' also ran lengthy analysis of

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

thinkers, including E.P. Thompson's two-part study of

C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual journals, and ...

and Theodore Roszak's assessment of

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a w ...

1970 to 2014

In 1971 it added to its masthead the words "for nonviolent revolution". In 1974, the paper moved its main office to Nottingham, where it remained until 1990. In 1978, one worker at Housmans was injured after a bomb was sent to the ''Peace News'' offices, (allegedly by the

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...

organisation Column 88) as part of a series of attacks on left-wing organisations (similar attacks were made on the Socialist Workers Party and

Anti-Nazi League The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups i ...

offices before this occurred). ''Peace News'' suspended publication at the end of 1987, intending to relaunch after a period of rethinking and planning. In May 1989 the paper resumed publication, but quickly ran into financial difficulties. In 1990 it became linked to

and was co-published as a monthly until 1999, then as a quarterly with a British-orientated ''Nonviolent Action'' published in the intervening months. ''Peace News'' came out strongly against the Iraq War while at the same time condemning

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

. In 2005, ''Peace News'' resumed monthly publication, as an independent British publication and in a tabloid format. In June 2014, ''Peace News'' ran an article calling for a "Yes" vote in the

Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side wo ...

2015–present

In the

2015 United Kingdom general election The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first and only general election held at the end of a Parliament under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Loc ...

, ''Peace News'' endorsed voting

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

as "the default position for folk who’re willing to vote at all – unless you’ve got a sitting left-wing Labour MP like

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

described ''Peace News'' as "a paper that gives us hope...(it) should be widely read". In the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote ...

, ''Peace News'' endorsed voting Green, Labour or

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

. ''Peace News'' continues to be published in

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid an ...

size print media and as a website by Peace News Ltd. It describes its editorial objectives as: to support and connect nonviolent and

anti-militarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (esp ...

movements; provide a forum for such movements to develop common perspectives; take up issues suitable for campaigning; promote nonviolent, antimilitarist and pacifist analyses and strategies; stimulate thinking about the revolutionary implications of nonviolence. It is currently edited by

Milan Rai Milan Rai (born 1965) is a British writer and anti-war activist from Hastings. He is co-editor with anti-war artist Emily Johns of the magazine '' Peace News''. Along with fellow activist Maya Evans, he was arrested on 25 October 2005 next to ...

and Emily Johns. The ''Peace News'' archives are held at the Commonweal Collection in the J.B. Priestley Library,

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

Campaigns, trials and stance

''Peace News'' opposes the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

and "seeks to oppose all forms of violence". It also opposes the UK's "retention and renewal of

in the shape of

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

". It states that it "draws on the traditions of pacifism,

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

and

green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It be ...

– without dogma, but in the spirit of openness." ''Peace News'' has been associated with initiating numerous campaigns, and a number of its staffmembers have been arrested for taking part in peace actions. In November 1957 Hugh Brock was one of three founders of the

Direct Action Committee The Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War or the Direct Action Committee (DAC) was a pacifist organisation formed "to assist the conducting of non-violent direct action to obtain the total renunciation of nuclear war and its weapons by Br ...

Against Nuclear War, which was run from the ''Peace News'' office and involved many ''Peace News'' staff. The DAC produced the first badges with the Nuclear Disarmament/Peace symbol, and organised various actions of civil disobedience against nuclear weapons and also the first of the

Aldermaston Marches The Aldermaston marches were anti- nuclear weapons demonstrations in the 1950s and 1960s, taking place on Easter weekend between the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire, England, and London, over a distance of fifty- ...

in Easter 1958. In 1971 ''Peace News'', together with

, initiated a nonviolent direct action project, Operation Omega, to challenge the Pakistani military blockade of then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

. In the same year ''Peace News'' criticised the attempt to ban the sex education book ''

The Little Red Schoolbook ''The Little Red Schoolbook'' ( da, Den Lille Røde Bog For Skoleelever; en, The Little Red Book For School Pupils) is a book written by two Danish people, Danish schoolteachers, Søren Hansen (author), Søren Hansen and Jesper Jensen (author), ...

'', and reprinted extensive extracts from the publication in the magazine. In 1972 ''Peace News'' co-editor Howard Clark, after meeting activists from the Canadian Greenpeace boats, initiated the group that became London Greenpeace, at first campaigning against French nuclear tests. In 1973 ''Peace News'' played a central role in launching the British Withdrawal from Northern Ireland Campaign (BWNIC) and in supporting the "BWNIC 14", fourteen activists, including a member of the ''Peace News'' collective, charged with "conspiracy to incite disaffection" via a leaflet "Some Information for Discontented Soldiers". After an 11-week trial, a jury acquitted the BWNIC 14 in 1975, although two members of ''Peace News'' collective were fined for helping two AWOL soldiers go to Sweden. In 1974, together with

Nicholas Albery Nicholas Bronson Albery (28 July 1948 – 3 June 2001) was a British social inventor and author, was the instigator or coordinator of a variety of projects aimed at an improvement to society, often known as the alternative society. Early life and ...

BIT The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...

Information Service, ''Peace News'' began publishing the

Community Levy for Alternative Projects BIT was an information service, publisher, travel guide and social centre founded, in 1968, by John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It pre-dated the Internet as a free service that would try to find any information asked for, but post-dated library reference desk ...

, an invitation to supply funds for, generally, fledgling alternative projects, partly targeting shops and businesses that identified with counter-cultural ideas and aspirations. In August 1974, ''Peace News'' published a special edition revealing and printing in full Colonel

David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...

's plans to establish a strike-breaking "private army", "Great Britain 1975". By arrangement ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' led with this story on the day of publication, ''Peace News'' won the 1974 "Scoop of the Year" award from

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

. In 1978, ''Peace News'', together with ''

The Leveller ''The Leveller'' was a British political magazine, collectively produced in London from 1976 to 1982 by a shifting coalition of radicals, socialists, marxists, feminists, and others of the British left and progressive movements. It was published ...

'' magazine revealed the identity of Colonel B, a witness in the ABC Trial. ''Peace News'' fought its conviction for "contempt of court" right up to appeal in the House of Lords, where the Lord Chief Justice's "guilty" verdict was finally overturned. In 1995, ''Peace News'', together with

Campaign Against Arms Trade Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is a UK-based campaigning organisation working towards the abolition of the international arms trade. It was founded in 1974 by a coalition of peace groups. It has been involved in several high-profile campai ...

, was sued for libel by the Covert & Operational Procurement Exhibition (COPEX) for repeating allegations that the exhibition was serving as a meeting place for buyers and sellers of torture implements. The High Court struck out the case when COPEX failed to show in court and the peace groups were awarded costs. "In 1995/96, PN successfully fought off a libel case brought by COPEX, a British high tech and arms exhibition organiser." "10.3. Peace News" i
''War Resisters' International Office Report 1994-1998''
1998

Publications

The following is a partial list of ''Peace News'' publications.

1940s

* ''How the War came'' by Philip Kerr, Marquess of Lothian, c. 1941. * '' Muslims of India and the Muslim League''. Howard Whitten, c. 1942. * ''The Unknown Soldier'' by

Harry Emerson Fosdick Harry Emerson Fosdick (May 24, 1878 – October 5, 1969) was an American pastor. Fosdick became a central figure in the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy within American Protestantism in the 1920s and 1930s and was one of the most prominen ...

,(Reprint) 1943. * ''The Economics of Peace'' by John Middleton Murry, 1943. * ''Victory for Humanity. An American proposal for constructive peace'' by Albert Wentworth Palmer, 1943. * ''Youth Registration and Education. A comment on first reports of the 1941 registration. Donald Tait and Marjorie Tait, 1943. * ''Liberty in the War'' by Denis Hayes, 1943. * ''Pacifists over the World'' by Harold F. Bing, 1943. * ''Forced Labour in the Colonies'' by J.W. Cowling, 1943. * ''Food Relief in the Second World War'' by Roy Walker, 1943. * '' Citizens in Jail'' by Roger Page, 1943. * ''Negotiation in Practice. Some facts about international communications in time of war'' by Humphrey S. Moore, 1943. * ''Gandhi and the Viceroy. Extracts from the letters which led up to Gandhi's twenty-one day's fast in February'', by

(reprint) 1943. * ''Big Powers and Little Powers: A Parable'' by

Laurence Housman Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London. He was a younger brother of the poet A. E. Housman and his s ...

, 1944. * ''"I work to outlaw war" '' by Henry Hilditch, 1944. * ''Law Versus War'' by

, 1944. * ''Non-Violence now'' by Roy Walker, 1944. * ''Pacifism on the doorstep'' by Michael Lee, 1944. * ''Versailles to Munich'' by John Scanlon, 1944. * ''Science, wisdom and war'' by Alexander Wood, 1944. * ''A Problem for the Gentiles: On Anti-Semitism'' by James Parkes, 1944. * ''Laugh it off!: war-time buns from the gutter'' by "Owlglass" 1944. * ''Are Pacifists Mistaken?'' by Patrick Figgis, 1945. * ''Military Conscription After the War?'' * ''The Indian problem'' by

A.K. Jameson AK and A.K. (but not Ak) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''A.K.'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Chris Marker * AK (radio program), a weekly program produced by Alaska Public Radio Network from 2003 to 2008, later a segment on ''Alaska N ...

, 1945. * ''Non-violence goes Latin'' by

Devere Allen Devere Allen (1891–1955) was an American socialist and pacifist political activist and journalist. Allen is best remembered as the main editor of ''The World Tomorrow'' following the departure of Norman Thomas from the magazine in 1922. Alle ...

, 1946. * ''Humbug for Hodge'' by John Middleton Murry, 1946. * ''The Deeper Challenge of the Atom Bomb'' by Alexander Wood, 1946. * ''Peace and Disobedience'' by

, 1946. * ''The Police Idea'' by Stuart Denton Morris, 1946. * ''America's great social problem'' by Sydney Dawson Bailey, 1947. * ''Facts About Atomic Energy'' by Kathleen Lonsdale, 1947. * ''India Gets Her Freedom'' by Samar Ranjan Sen, 1948. * ''Pacifism and the free society : a reply to John Middleton Murry'' by

Edgar Leonard Allen Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

, 1948. * ''Over to Pacifism'' by

Garry Davis Sol Gareth "Garry" Davis (27 July 1921 – 24 July 2013) was an international peace activist best known for renouncing his American citizenship and interrupting the United Nations in 1948 to advocate for world government as a way to end nation ...

, 1949. * ''The Right Thing to Do: Together with The Wrong Thing to Do'' by Alex Comfort, 1949. * ''East and West'' by Heinz Kraschutzki, 1949.

1950s

* ''Power or Peace : Western industrialism and World leadership'', by

, 1950. * ''Pacifism and the political struggle'' by Donald Port, 1950. * ''The challenge of our times :annihilation or creative revolution?'' by Wilfred Wellock, 1951. * ''Guns for the Germans? The arguments for and against German rearmament'' by

Basil Davidson Basil Risbridger Davidson (9 November 1914 – 9 July 2010) was a British journalist and historian who wrote more than 30 books on African history and politics. According to two modern writers, "Davidson, a campaigning journalist whose fi ...

, 1951. * ''Japan for Peace or War?:The Case Against Remilitarising Japan'' by Basil Davidson, 1951. * ''Gandhi : the practical peace-builder'' by John S. Hoyland, 1952. * ''Social responsibility in science and art'' by Alex Comfort, 1952. * '' That which essentially belongs to man'' by Stuart Morris and

Reginald Reynolds Reginald Arthur Reynolds (1905 – 16 December 1958) was a British left wing writer, poet, a Quaker and an anti-colonial activist who collaborated with M.K. Gandhi and Horace Alexander. A Quaker, he was General Secretary of the No More War M ...

, 1952 (published with War Resisters International). * ''Plain words on war'' by Sybil Morrison, 1952. * ''Defence without arms : a psychologist examines non-violent resistance'' by Dorothy Glaiste, 1952. * ''Far Eastern time fuse : the Japanese Peace Treaty: what it says and what it really means'' by the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World War ...

and Peace Pledge Union; distributed by ''Peace News''. 1952. * ''Empire in crisis : a survey of conditions in the British colonies today'' by Fenner Brockway, 1953. * ''Iron hand and wooden head: British Guiana; an indictment of Mr.

Oliver Lyttelton Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts. Background, ed ...

'' by

, 1953. * ''Egypt: cross-road on a world highway'' by Hugh Joseph Schonfield, 1953. * ''Neutrality: Germany's way to peace'' by Canon Stuart Morris, 1953. * ''The Problem of Peace'' by

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

, 1954. * ''The Camp of Liberation'' by Abraham John Muste 1954. * '' The Third Camp'' by

John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to: Politics and law *Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament * John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania * John Gray Banks (18 ...

, 1954. * ''Waging peace: The need for a change in British policy'' by

Richard Acland Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland, 15th Baronet (26 November 1906 – 24 November 1990) was one of the founding members of the British Common Wealth Party in 1942, having previously been a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP). He joined the Labour P ...

, 1954. * ''Security through disarmament'' by Sybil Morrison (1954) * ''The "Peace News" story: Pioneering in pacifist journalism, with a practical guide for propagandists'' by Harry Mister (1954) * ''Freedom for Cyprus'' by

Christopher Lake Christopher Lake ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the District of Lakeland No. 521 and Census Division No. 15. The village lies in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, 2 km south and ...

, 1956. * ''Truth About Kenya: An Eye-Witness Account'' by Eileen Fletcher, 1956. * ''Nato : a critical examination of the North Atlantic treaty organisation'' by Roy Sherwood * ''What is happening in Vietnam?'' by John Chinnery, 1956. * ''Bechuanaland. What Seretse's exile means'' Edited by G. Sharp. Published with the

Movement for Colonial Freedom Liberation (founded as the Movement for Colonial Freedom) is a political civil rights advocacy group founded in the United Kingdom in 1954. It had the support of many MPs, including Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle and Tony Benn, and celebrities such ...

, 1956. * '' It Isn't True : some popular fallacies about pacifism and war'' by Stuart Morris and Sybil Morrison. Foreword by Vera Brittain, c. 1956. * ''The Arm of the Law : the United Nations and the use of force'' by Canon Stuart Morris, 1957. * ''Hazards of nuclear tests'' by Dr. Lionel Sharples Penrose, ( with the Medical Association for the Prevention of War) 1957. * ''Unarmed. Some consequences of total disarmament''. by Standing Joint Pacifist Committee, 1957. * ''Bertrand Russell introduces Labour and the H-bomb'' by

and

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...

, 1958. * ''Tyranny could not quell them : how Norway's teachers defeated Quisling during the Nazi occupation and what it means for unarmed defence today'' by Gene Sharp, 1958. * ''From Arrows to Atoms : a Catholic voice on the morality of war'' by Ciaran Mac an Fhaili, 1959. * '' Towards a non-violent society : a study of some social implications of pacifism'' by J. Allen Skinner, 1959.

1960s and 1970s

* ''1 in 5 must know'' by

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

, c. 1960. * ''Race Relations in Great Britain'' by

Vernon Waughray Vernon may refer to: Places Australia *Vernon County, New South Wales Canada *Vernon, British Columbia, a city *Vernon, Ontario France * Vernon, Ardèche *Vernon, Eure United States * Vernon, Alabama * Vernon, Arizona * Vernon, California * ...

, 1961. * ''Some psychological aspects of disarmament'' by Hildegard Forres, 1961. * ''The Truth about Polaris'' by Adam Robers, c. 1961. * ''Direct action'' by April Carter, 1962. * ''Political prisoners in Greece'' by Christopher Lake, 1962. * ''Nuclear testing and the arms race'' by Adam Roberts, 1962. * ''The Common Market : a challenge to unilateralists'' by April Carter, 1962. * ''The Century of Total War'' by Hugh Brock, 1962. * ''Nonviolent Resistance : men against war'' by

Nicolas Walter Nicolas Hardy Walter (22 November 1934 – 7 March 2000) was a British anarchist and atheist writer, speaker and activist. He was a member of the Committee of 100 and Spies for Peace, and wrote on topics of anarchism and humanism. Background ...

, 1963. * '' On the duty of civil disobedience'' by

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and h ...

, (Reprint: Introduced by Gene Sharp) 1963. * '' Letter to a Hindu'' by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

(Reprint), 1963. * ''Civilian Defence'' by Adam Roberts (foreword by

Alastair Buchan Alastair Buchan (born 16 October 1955) is a British neurologist and researcher in stroke medicine. His main research interest is how to make neuroprotection a reality in the clinic. From October 2008 until January 2017, he served as the Dean of ...

), 1964. * ''The anatomy of foreign aid'' by Sidney Lens, 1965. * ''To Keep the Peace; the United Nations peace force'' by Geoffrey Carnall, 1965. * ''Peace is Milk: Peace News Poets'' by

Adrian Mitchell Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's Ca ...

, 1966. * ''Vietnam, the political case for military withdrawal'' by

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in ''Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, o ...

, 1967. * ''Wichita Vortex Sutra: Peace News Poets'' by

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, 1969. * ''A Message to the Military Industrial Complex'' by

Paul Goodman Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the arts, civil rights, decen ...

, 1969. * ''Revolution and Violence'' by Mulford Q. Sibley, 1969. * ''On War, National Liberation, and the State'' by Nigel Young, 1971. * ''The Buddhists in Vietnam: Reality and Response'' by Laura Hassler, 1972. * ''War Games'' by

Nigel Gray Nigel Gray (1947 – 30 July 2016) was an English record producer. His album credits include '' Outlandos d'Amour'' (1978), '' Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979), and '' Zenyatta Mondatta'' (1980) for the Police, '' Kaleidoscope'' (1980) and '' Juju'' (19 ...

and

Ken Sprague Kenneth Ray Sprague (born July 14, 1945) is an American bodybuilder, businessman, author and school teacher. He is best known as the owner of the original Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, which he owned and managed between the years 1972 and ...

, 1974. * ''Making Nonviolent Revolution'' by Howard Clark, 1977 (1st edition), 1981 (2nd edition), 2012 (3rd edition). * ''Taking Racism Personally: white anti-racism at the crossroads'', by Keith Motherson ''et al.'', 1978.

1980s to present day

* ''From Protest to Resistance: the direct action movement against nuclear weapons'' edited by Ross Bradshaw, Dennis Gould and Chris Jones, 1981. * ''The Anti-Nuclear Songbook'' by Anonymous, illustrated by Pat Gregory, 1982. * ''It'll Make a Man of You: A feminist view of the arms race'', Penny Strange, 1983, co-published with Mushroom Bookshop. * ''Preparing for Nonviolent Action'' by Howard Clark, Sheryl Crown, Angela McKee and Hugh MacPherson, 1984 (a joint publication of ''Peace News'' and CND). * ''Too Much Pressure: Cartoons'' by "Brick", edited and designed by Kathy Challis, 1986. * ''Against All War: Fifty Years of Peace News, 1936-1986'' by Albert Beale, 1986. * ''How Britain was sold : why the US bases came to Britain by

Andy Thomas Andrew "Andy" Sydney Withiel Thomas, AO (born 18 December 1951) is an Australian and American aerospace engineer and a former NASA astronaut. He has dual nationality; he became a U.S. citizen in December 1986, hoping to gain entry to NASA's a ...

and

Ben Lowe Ben Lowe (born 13 March 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played his whole career with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He primarily played lock and second-row, but could also fill in as a centre. E ...

, 1987. * ''Children Don't Start Wars'' by David Gribble, 2010. * ''Toward a Living Revolution: A five-stage framework for creating radical social change'' by George Lakey, 2012. * ''The March that Shook Blair: An Oral History of 15 February 2003'' by

Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He was a government minister under six prime ministers, and later Speaker of the House of Representative ...

, 2013.

Editors

References

External links

''Peace News'' home page
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