National Peace Council
Encyclopedia
The National Peace Council, 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. The groups were all united in their interest in peace
, human rights
, justice
and the environment
.
This group originated in 1904 or 1905 as the National Council of Peace Societies, but it was permanently established, as the National Peace Council, after the 17th Universal Peace Conference took place in London in 1908 .
Carl Heath was appointed General Secretary and was succeeded in 1919 by Francis E. Pollard , who served until 1921 when J.H. Hudson assumed the position.
Later Secretaries included Rennie Smith
(M.P.) and Gerald Bailey .
A major task in its early years was organizing the National Peace Congress; it also arranged conferences on specific issues. Arthur Stanley Eddington
served as Chair from 1941 to 1943.
In 2001, another organisation, Network for Peace , was set up to continue the networking role of the National Peace Council.
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
and the environment
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
.
This group originated in 1904 or 1905 as the National Council of Peace Societies, but it was permanently established, as the National Peace Council, after the 17th Universal Peace Conference took place in London in 1908 .
Carl Heath was appointed General Secretary and was succeeded in 1919 by Francis E. Pollard , who served until 1921 when J.H. Hudson assumed the position.
Later Secretaries included Rennie Smith
Rennie Smith
Rennie Smith was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as a Member of Parliament from 1924 to 1931....
(M.P.) and Gerald Bailey .
A major task in its early years was organizing the National Peace Congress; it also arranged conferences on specific issues. Arthur Stanley Eddington
Arthur Stanley Eddington
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM, FRS was a British astrophysicist of the early 20th century. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science...
served as Chair from 1941 to 1943.
In 2001, another organisation, Network for Peace , was set up to continue the networking role of the National Peace Council.
Archives
- Catalogue of the papers of the National Peace Council at the Archives Division of the London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. - Swarthmore College Library, Pennsylvania .