Direct Action Committee
Encyclopedia
The Direct Action Committee against nuclear war (DAC) was a pacifist
organization formed "to assist the conducting of non-violent direct action to obtain the total renunciation of nuclear war and its weapons by Britain and all other countries as a first step in disarmament". It existed from 1957-1961.
H-Bomb tests on Christmas Island
in which Harold Steele tried to sail into the test area. Steele failed in his attempt, but his supporters formed a committee and decided to march in protest to the Atomic Weapons Establishment
at Aldermaston
.
The original committee comprised:
They were soon joined by:
By the end of 1958 the Committee's members also included Alex Comfort
, Frances Edwards, Michael Howard (of the Crusade for World Government), Sheila Jones and Francis Jude.
(CND), and in the upsurge of popular opposition to the H-bomb attracted thousands of people. The Aldermaston March was subsequently run as an annual event by CND.
The DAC organized meetings, marches, vigils and pickets, campaigned in parliamentary elections and carried out acts of civil disobedience
to publicize the pacifist cause. Following the principles of the Indian nationalist leader M.K.Gandhi, they believed their actions should be non-violent and carried out at some personal cost to themselves, such as losing their jobs or going to jail.
What differentiated them from other peace organizations at the time was their attempt to persuade people to stop working in industries connected with nuclear weapons, in which they had some successes. After the 1958 Aldermaston march, the DAC stayed in the Aldermaston area to try to stop work at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. They picketed, met with trades unions, held factory gate meetings and canvassed in the surrounding villages. As a result, five workers resigned from their jobs, three job applicants withdrew and five drivers refused to deliver to the establishment. The DAC then moved to Norfolk
to campaign against the Thor
nuclear missiles at an RAF base at North Pickenham
, using similar methods to those they had used at Aldermaston. One worker left the base and others said they would do so if they could find other jobs. They then moved to Stevenage
, Hertfordshire, to campaign against the de Havilland
and English Electric
factories, which made guided missiles.
The DAC ran a "No votes for the H-bomb" campaign in the South West Norfolk by-election, 1959
. They worked with similar organisations outside the UK, demonstrating against nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert and in a peace march from San Francisco to Moscow, organised by the Committee for Non-Violent Action
in 1961. Their final action before being wound up was a demonstration against the Polaris
nuclear submarine in spring, 1961.
Later sponsors were:
), three members of CND's executive committee and other CND leaders. Pat Arrowsmith
, a pacifist and consistent supporter of direct action, was appointed assistant secretary of CND after the first Aldermaston March. The DAC depended on the support of many local CND groups and was also given money by the CND executive committee.
However, there were differences in age, background and political experience between the members of DAC and the CND leadership, and there were considerable differences in tactics and ideology. Christopher Driver in his book on the early years of CND says of the DAC, "For the most part the members of the DAC were people of exceptionally pure motives. ... Unlike the CND Executive, and unlike some of their successors in the Committee of 100 into which the DAC was eventually merged, many DAC members were not particularity interested in the local and national publicity which their actions evoked, except insofar as it helped to make converts to Gandhi's ideas on non-violent action."
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
organization formed "to assist the conducting of non-violent direct action to obtain the total renunciation of nuclear war and its weapons by Britain and all other countries as a first step in disarmament". It existed from 1957-1961.
Origins
The DAC was formed in response to a protest against BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
H-Bomb tests on Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
in which Harold Steele tried to sail into the test area. Steele failed in his attempt, but his supporters formed a committee and decided to march in protest to the Atomic Weapons Establishment
Atomic Weapons Establishment
The Atomic Weapons Establishment is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. AWE plc is responsible for the day-to-day operations of AWE...
at Aldermaston
Aldermaston
Aldermaston is a rural village, civil parish and electoral ward in Berkshire, South-East England. In the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the parish had a population of 927. The village is on the southern edge of the River Kennet flood plain, near the Hampshire county boundary...
.
The original committee comprised:
- Allen Skinner
- Hugh BrockHugh BrockHugh Brock was a lifelong British pacifist, editor of Peace News between 1955 and 1964, a promoter of non-violent direct action and a founder of the Direct Action Committee, a forerunner of the Committee of 100....
and - Arlo Tatum.
They were soon joined by:
- Michael RandleMichael RandleDr. Michael Randle is best known as a peace campaigner and peace researcher, one of the pioneers of nonviolent direct action in Britain, and also for his role in helping the Soviet spy George Blake escape from a British prison in 1966....
(who became Chair) - April CarterApril CarterApril Carter has lectured in politics at the universities of Lancaster, Oxford and Queensland, and was a Fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute from 1985 to 1987...
(Secretary) - Pat ArrowsmithPat ArrowsmithPat Arrowsmith is a British author and peace campaigner.Arrowsmith was educated at Cheltenham Ladies College, read history at the University of Cambridge, and then read Social Science at the University of Liverpool and at Ohio University as a US-UK Fulbright Scholar...
(Field Secretary) - Michael Scott and
- Will Warren.
By the end of 1958 the Committee's members also included Alex Comfort
Alex Comfort
Alexander Comfort, MB BChir, PhD, DSc was a medical professional, gerontologist, anarchist, pacifist, conscientious objector and writer, best known for The Joy of Sex, which played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution...
, Frances Edwards, Michael Howard (of the Crusade for World Government), Sheila Jones and Francis Jude.
Actions
The DAC's march from London to Aldermaston at Easter, 1958, was, in the event, supported by the newly-formed Campaign for Nuclear DisarmamentCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
(CND), and in the upsurge of popular opposition to the H-bomb attracted thousands of people. The Aldermaston March was subsequently run as an annual event by CND.
The DAC organized meetings, marches, vigils and pickets, campaigned in parliamentary elections and carried out acts of civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
to publicize the pacifist cause. Following the principles of the Indian nationalist leader M.K.Gandhi, they believed their actions should be non-violent and carried out at some personal cost to themselves, such as losing their jobs or going to jail.
What differentiated them from other peace organizations at the time was their attempt to persuade people to stop working in industries connected with nuclear weapons, in which they had some successes. After the 1958 Aldermaston march, the DAC stayed in the Aldermaston area to try to stop work at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. They picketed, met with trades unions, held factory gate meetings and canvassed in the surrounding villages. As a result, five workers resigned from their jobs, three job applicants withdrew and five drivers refused to deliver to the establishment. The DAC then moved to Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
to campaign against the Thor
PGM-17 Thor
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the U.S. Air Force . Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate range ballistic missile with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was in height and in diameter. It was...
nuclear missiles at an RAF base at North Pickenham
RAF North Pickenham
RAF North Pickenham is a former Royal Air Force base near North Pickenham, in Norfolk. It was originally opened in 1944 and finally closed in 1965.-USAAF use:...
, using similar methods to those they had used at Aldermaston. One worker left the base and others said they would do so if they could find other jobs. They then moved to Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Hertfordshire, to campaign against the de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
and English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
factories, which made guided missiles.
The DAC ran a "No votes for the H-bomb" campaign in the South West Norfolk by-election, 1959
South West Norfolk by-election, 1959
The South West Norfolk by-election of 25 March 1959 was held after Labour Member of Parliament Sidney Dye died on 9 December 1958. The seat was retained by Labour.-Candidates:Labour chose Albert Hilton as their candidate for the by-election...
. They worked with similar organisations outside the UK, demonstrating against nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert and in a peace march from San Francisco to Moscow, organised by the Committee for Non-Violent Action
Committee for Non-Violent Action
The Committee for Non-Violent Action , formed in 1957 to resist the US government's program of nuclear weapons testing, was one of the first organizations to employ nonviolent direct action to protest against the nuclear arms race....
in 1961. Their final action before being wound up was a demonstration against the Polaris
Polaris
Polaris |Alpha]] Ursae Minoris, commonly North Star or Pole Star, also Lodestar) is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star....
nuclear submarine in spring, 1961.
Sponsors
The sponsors of the DAC were:- Horace Alexander
- Frank AllaunFrank AllaunFrank Julian Allaun was a British Labour politician.Born in Manchester, Allaun was educated at Manchester Grammar School and worked as an engineer, shop assistant, tour leader, chartered accountant and journalist. He helped to organise the first Aldermaston March in 1958 and was chair of the...
- John BergerJohn BergerJohn Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
- Alex Comfort
- Charles CoulsonCharles CoulsonCharles Alfred Coulson FRS was an applied mathematician, theoretical chemist and religious author.His major scientific work was as a pioneer of the application of the quantum theory of valency to problems of molecular structure, dynamics and reactivity...
- Arthur Goss
- Doris LessingDoris LessingDoris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
- Ben Levy
- Wolf MankowitzWolf MankowitzCyril Wolf Mankowitz was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter of Russian Jewish descent.-Early life:...
- Ethel ManninEthel ManninEthel Edith Mannin was a popular British novelist and travel writer. She was born in London into a family with an Irish background....
- Martin NiemöllerMartin NiemöllerFriedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller was a German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known as the author of the poem "First they came…"....
- John Boyd Orr
- Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
- Donald SoperDonald SoperDonald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper was a prominent Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist.Soper was born at 36 Knoll Road, Wandsworth, London, the first son and first child of the three children of Ernest Frankham Soper , an average adjuster in marine insurance, the son of a tailor, and his...
Later sponsors were:
- Lindsay AndersonLindsay AndersonLindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
- Claude BourdetClaude BourdetClaude Bourdet , son of the dramatic author Édouard Bourdet, was a writer, journalist, polemist, and a militant French politician, who was born in 1909 and died in 1996 in Paris. He was a son of the poet Catherine Pozzi....
- John BraineJohn BraineJohn Gerard Braine was an English novelist. Braine is usually associated with the Angry Young Men movement.-Biography:...
- Hugh BrockHugh BrockHugh Brock was a lifelong British pacifist, editor of Peace News between 1955 and 1964, a promoter of non-violent direct action and a founder of the Direct Action Committee, a forerunner of the Committee of 100....
- Constance CummingsConstance CummingsConstance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
- K.A.Gbedemah
- Ammon HennacyAmmon HennacyAmmon Ashford Hennacy was an Irish American pacifist, Christian anarchist, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement and a Wobbly...
- Homer Jack
- Winifred de Kok
- Pierre MartinPierre MartinPierre Martin is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Somme department. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.-References:*...
- George MellyGeorge MellyAlan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
- Spike MilliganSpike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
- A. J. MusteA. J. MusteThe Reverend Abraham Johannes "A.J." Muste was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. Muste is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, and the US civil rights movement.-Early years:...
- Jayaprakash NarayanJayaprakash NarayanJayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...
- John OsborneJohn OsborneJohn James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
- Linus PaulingLinus PaulingLinus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
- E.C.Quaye
- Herbert ReadHerbert ReadSir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC was an English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism, and was strongly influenced by proto-existentialist thinker Max Stirner....
- Archbishop Roberts
- Ernie Roberts
- Bayard RustinBayard RustinBayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation , Rustin practiced nonviolence...
- Sidney Silverman
Demise
The formation in 1960 of the Committee of 100, a mass civil disobedience movement against nuclear weapons, plus considerable financial difficulties, led to the decision in June 1961 to wind down the DAC. Most of its members were active in the Committee of 100.Assessment
As long as it lasted, the DAC was effectively the direct-action wing of CND, whose leadership were either uncertain about direct action or opposed to it. There was an overlap between supporters of CND and supporters of the DAC. The sponsors of the DAC included the president of CND (Bertrand RussellBertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
), three members of CND's executive committee and other CND leaders. Pat Arrowsmith
Pat Arrowsmith
Pat Arrowsmith is a British author and peace campaigner.Arrowsmith was educated at Cheltenham Ladies College, read history at the University of Cambridge, and then read Social Science at the University of Liverpool and at Ohio University as a US-UK Fulbright Scholar...
, a pacifist and consistent supporter of direct action, was appointed assistant secretary of CND after the first Aldermaston March. The DAC depended on the support of many local CND groups and was also given money by the CND executive committee.
However, there were differences in age, background and political experience between the members of DAC and the CND leadership, and there were considerable differences in tactics and ideology. Christopher Driver in his book on the early years of CND says of the DAC, "For the most part the members of the DAC were people of exceptionally pure motives. ... Unlike the CND Executive, and unlike some of their successors in the Committee of 100 into which the DAC was eventually merged, many DAC members were not particularity interested in the local and national publicity which their actions evoked, except insofar as it helped to make converts to Gandhi's ideas on non-violent action."