The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education

The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education

The Queen’s Community Blockades Aldermaston: A Report

Introduction

As part of their preparation for public ministry in the Church of England and the MethodistChurch, The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education requires ministerial candidates to gain experience in actions for social justice. It is hoped that in due course, when they are ordained, these future clergy will be able to offer leadership to the Church in this aspect of Christian mission. Students are invited to make their own choices of activities but the Foundation provides some opportunities in which students may choose to participate. These activities are organised by the Prophetic Witness Planning Group which reports to the Centre for Ministerial Formation. This report describes one such activity, undertaken on 14/15 February 2010.

Background

The Trident Ploughshares movement, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp had organised a blockade of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) to take place on Monday 15th February 2010. The nuclear warheads for the Trident missiles are designed and made at AWE, a 750acre complex near the village of Aldermaston, not far from Reading. This is part of the policy of the UK government to renew and improve the nuclear weapon submarine defence system in spite of the fact that the Non-Proliferation Treatyof the United Nations commits the nuclear weapon countries to the elimination of their nuclear stockpiles. This decision is opposed by most of the leading British churches and is contrary to the policies of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican, and a large number of international bodies.

The purposes of the blockade were to demonstrate to the UK government a substantial level of opposition to nuclear weapons by a symbolic closure of the Establishment, and to influence public opinion through press and media coverage. In the Queen’s Foundation we also intended to support the anti-nuclear war policies of the churches, to show Christian leadership to our various congregations, and to provide an opportunity for experiencing non-violent direct action as part of our support for active citizenship in a democratic society.

The Event

On Sunday 14th February, a group of sixteen people gathered by the Queen’s cross, having formed themselves into the Queen’s affinity group. An additional five members of the group went directly to the site on Monday morning. The group included eight members of the Queen’s community drawn from the governing body, academic staff, support staff, and students, while the remaining members were drawn from local churches, family and friends. Two members of staff of the Student Christian Movement and two members of Trident Ploughshares were also included in the group as were the Chair of the Birmingham Methodist District and the General Secretary of Clergy against Nuclear Arms (CANA).

We arrived at the Church of St. John and St. Stephen in Reading, which was the hospitality centre for participants in the blockade, where we were welcomed with cakes, snacks and coffee. Many of us took part in the 6.30 evening service and an hour later the church hall was crowded with people from most parts of Britain and we got to know each other over supper. Accommodation was provided overnight in the vicarage and in the home of the Warden of the Reading Quaker meeting, and others slept on the Church floor.

AWEhas 7 gates, each of which was allocated to a different group of blockaders. For example, there was an International gate with more than 70 people who had come from abroad, a Trade Union gate, and others for women, students and a gate reserved for Wales. Various faith groups had been asked to meet at the Tadley gate.

On the Monday we arrived at the Tadley gate of AWE at about 7am. There had been an overnight prayer vigil and clusters of candles lit up the early dawn. Along the edge of the road stakes had been driven into the grass each carrying symbols of the world religions. A large number of police were already occupying the gateway, estimated at between 80 and 100, supported by a number of mounted police. The area was crowded with protestors, some of whom had been there overnight taking part in the prayer vigil. Colourful banners were displayed, some announcing places from which people had come, others proclaiming that “The Earth is the Lord’s” and “Use your skills for peace”. There was a cheerful buzz as friends greeted each other.

In front of the line of police a small group of protestors were lying on the road, preventing vehicles from entering the gateway. They were locked onto each other to make it more difficult for the police to remove them. As the police cut each one loose, they lifted them up and carried them off the road. No one was arrested, the police were good humoured and seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion. They began to fan out from the gateway preventing protestors from taking up their positions blocking the road.When the police had cleared the road they began to admit occasional vehicles. They now lined the pavement forming a barrier preventing protestors from stepping onto the road. However, a former Queen’s student, wearing his clerical dress as an Anglican priest, suddenly leapt between the police and in a dramatic moment threw himself on the road, once again preventing vehicles from entering. This was greeted with cheers and applause. Kindly police helped to pass a pillow to the man on the ground who was by now joined by another athletic protestor, also an Anglican priest.Attempts were made to throw blankets to the two men on the ground, but suddenly the police seemed to receive an order and many of them left. By now, the gates themselves were closed and a remarkable vehicle approached. It was the Rinky-Dink, powered by two cyclists, with a singer and guitarist. Groups began to dance and sing and people were invited to use the Rinky-Dink microphone. One after another short speeches were presented to the cheering crowd.

“They call this place AWE but we are not in awe of you. You have occupied these 750acres but they are not yours; the Earth is the Lord’s! You use this land to create weapons capable of murdering millions of people but one day you will all be gone and this place will once again be fertile with orchards and allotments.”

“Police and workers in the bomb factory! You are surely good and feeling people. Do you really want to kill millions of people and cause far-reaching devastation and pain for years to come to people like yourselves and the earth? I call on you to search your hearts and ask whether you want to support this factory and the propagation of devastating nuclear potential.”

“What right has this government got to spend no less than 20 billion pounds and perhaps as much as 70 billion on a dangerous prestige symbol at a time when cuts are going to be made in health and education?”

By now it was getting very cold. The tea and coffee stall was in great demand and cups of hot soup were passed around. At 11am a litany of prayer and meditation began. Japanese Buddhist monks had walked from their monastery in Milton Keynes, taking five days over the journey. The founder of their monastery Fuuji Guruji had worked with Mahatma Gandhi and taken part in the famous Salt March. Now they chanted and read out an eye witness account of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. A Hindu woman spoke about the damage which nuclear weapons would do to all living creatures and a Catholic bishop read a prayer of Thomas Merton. We stood in silencebetween the testimonies, the cold gradually creeping up our bodies.

Some people now broke off for lunch, sometimes sitting in their cars to warm up. Some of us went to visit nearby gates including the Welsh gate and the Women’s gate. One or two of our cars drove right around the four and a half miles of the Establishment, cheering and waving to the many people still gathered around the gates, each with its own banners and distinctive character. At about half past one the Queen’s affinity group gathered together and after a short discussion decided that we had done the job and would head for home.

Later we heard that two hundred people had gathered at the Church in Reading for supper and debriefing. The police reported that there had been 400 protestors but the organisers claimed more than 500. In either case, it was the largest anti-war demonstration at Aldermaston for many years. There were more than 100 people at the Faith gate of which the Queen’s affinity group with over 20 members was a significant part.

After the event: reflections from some of the participants

A) For two weeks I wrestled and prayed about this action, feeling both energised and afraid of the possible consequences. Then a question formed in my mind ‘Would you really be happy for your country to drop a nuclear bomb on any other country in the world?’ And my answer of course was ‘No!’

I knew in my heart of hearts that such a move is definitely against the teaching of Christ and therefore something that I wanted to stand against too.

After two weeks of turning these things over, I knew that I had to stand up for what I believe in and yet I was still very frightened and anxious about doing so. Frightened that as a basically law abiding person, I might suddenly find myself arrested for taking part in this act of conscience. At 11am ‘A Call to Repentance’ - An Interfaith Act of Worship commenced. It was for me the most important part of the action and I found it incredibly moving as prayers from so many faith traditions were joined together in a single act of repentance and I experienced an atmosphere among the folk present of a deep sense of sorrow for our world. I found it all profoundly moving.

B) Before the evening meal, which was provided for us, we took part in the church’s evening worship, which prepared us prayerfully for what we would be doing the next day. It was a moving and exhilarating occasion, especially when we were told the story of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah. She in all weathers kept protective vigil over the bodies of her two sons and five others who had been impaled in reparation to the Gibeonites for crimes committed against them by King Saul. I’m ashamed to say I did not know the story, which I located in 2 Samuel 21 on my return to Birmingham. For me Rizpah is now a role model for all who protest without violence against violence committed or threatened.

C) Fairly early I bumped into [an old friend] from Trident Ploughshares, who I had got to know at a previous action. She, together with a couple of others, had got chains around their waists and were planning to lock on. I started to regret my decision not to bring lock-on equipment with me, but when they chained themselves to each other and lay down in the road, I joined them anyway and linked arms. At that point the police cleared everyone else to the pavements and so we were left lying in the road for about 45 minutes. It was an interesting perspective on the events looking up at the tree and the grey sky. The road did get a bit hard and cold but the onlookers were very kind in passing on a pillow and a mat. Eventually a police officer came over and introduced himself. He explained that I was committing an offence and should move if I wanted to avoid being arrested. When I refused, I was picked up by four officers and removed to the footpath. The removal of the other three took a bit longer as their chains had to be cut through, but eventually all four of us were deposited onto the footpath behind the police cordon.

D) The day was obviously very successful with almost all traffic being stopped from entering the site through the Tadley Gate. It was not possible to tell the extent, if any, to which the work at AWE was disrupted, but even if the effect was minimal the blockade was still a very powerful symbolic act. A few cars did enter through the gate early in the day, but it was good to see cars being turned away by the police later in the morning even though they were undoubtedly being directed to other gates. Also, one lorry was also triumphantly turned away. The police went out of their way to be friendly, polite and yet quite firm. It was clear that they did not wish to arrest the protesters.

Continued . . .

Conclusions

Good natured Christian people find this kind of direct action challenging. Not only is there a fear of being arrested; there is hesitation about the apparent disgrace of “getting into trouble with the police”, concern about breaking the law and finally a kind of British politeness which makes many people feel awkward about confrontation. There is also fear that even if some are non-violent, others may not be.

As it turned out all these fears were groundless. Good relations had been established with police many weeks before the event and on the day they could not have been more patient, courteous and professional. The police in China or Zimbabwe might indeed be intimidating but the British police are just as concerned to support democratic protest as they are to maintain law and order. The other fears, including the need to be nice, quickly evaporate when the character of nuclear weapons is more fully understood, and in many years of such peaceful demonstrations, there has never been a case of violent elements entering the situation. Those whose response to conscience and the call of God enabled them to overcome their hesitation and uncertainty have shown themselves to be prophetic witnesses.

The various affinity groups present at the Tadley gate included many Quakers and Methodists with some Anglicans and a few from other faiths. There was no sign however, of any other theological course or college. It is much to be hoped that the practice of training a new generation of prophetic clergy will become more widely present in education for ministry.

Pictures by Bill Anderson, Mike Cross, Maureen Foxall and Andrew Wigley

John M Hull

The Prophetic Witness Planning Group

The Queen’s Foundation

Birmingham B15 2QH

24th February 2010

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