Yr ymgyrch yn parhau! (The struggle continues!) : an exploration of the narratives from Wales, emerging from the Greenham Common women's peace camps, 1981-2000

• Main Author: Titcombe, Elaine Eve
• Published: University of the West of England, Bristol 2018
• Subjects: 900
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.752540

In 1981, a group of women from Wales formed a protest march against the positioning of 96 nuclear weapons at an RAF base at Greenham Common. This protest subsequently developed into several women-only protest camps situated around the perimeter fence of the base, and as time progressed became increasingly referred to as a feminist campaign. Despite the attempts of the authorities, some of these camps persisted for a considerable time with the final camp being brought to an end by the camp residents in 2000, nineteen years after the arrival of the first women. The purpose of this research project is to contribute to the analysis of this significant event in the history of women’s political movements in Britain, by focusing upon the subjective stories told and political analyses given of the campaign by participants over time. As a consequence, the project will involve the collation and analysis of new oral histories in conjunction with a critical examination of the existing published accounts, written and oral, and archival material. In recognition that that there was a notable contribution to the campaign by participants from Wales the emphasis is placed upon the region in order to examine the complexities of the protest narratives in relation to the wider historiography of the event. Consequently, the overall objective will be to present fresh perspectives of both the Greenham protest and women’s political activity in Wales, by casting new light on the existing knowledge by offering an analysis of previously untold stories.