CND Stand Together

CND Stand Together, 1983

Poster by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) advertising an action intended to blockade nuclear bases at Burghfield, Aldermaston and Greenham Common on 31 March and 1 April 1983.

Founded in 1957, CND initially brought together religious activists, intellectuals, and left-leaning politicians. Its influence grew in the 1980s when NATO deployed nuclear missiles in Europe, leading to large-scale protests organised by the movement. In June 1982 around 200,000 took part in a CND organised march in London during a visit by President Ronald Reagan.

CND advocates for unilateral nuclear disarmament, arguing that the UK should abandon its nuclear weapons independently of other nations’ actions.

This particular action was to demonstrate opposition to both the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), which consists of two key sites: AWE Burghfield, where nuclear warheads are assembled, maintained, and decommissioned, and AWE Aldermaston - the UK’s primary center for nuclear weapons research, design, and component fabrication - and RAF Greenham Common, which previously housed the US ground-launched cruise missile system during the Cold War.

Between 1981 and 2000 there was a peace camp at Greenham Common, initially to protest against the installation of American cruise missiles at the site, attracting tens of thousands for regular demonstrations and actions including invading the base and pulling down the fences. From early 1982 onwards it was decided that the camp should be women only. The site of the peace camp is now a memorial to the nuclear disarmament movement.