Nicolas Hardy Walter (22 November 1934 – 7 March 2000) was a British
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
and
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
writer, speaker and activist. He was a member of the
Committee of 100 and
Spies for Peace,
and wrote on topics of
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
and
humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The me ...
.
Background
Nicolas was the son of Katherine Monica (née Ratcliffe) and
William Grey Walter, an American-born British
neurophysiologist,
cybernetician and
robotician. His paternal grandfather was Karl Walter (1880-1965), a journalist, writer and translator who worked for the ''Kansas City Star'' and the Horace Plunkett Foundation. Karl married an American woman called Margaret Hardy and lived in the US from 1908 until the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. His maternal grandfather was
Samuel Kerkham Ratcliffe (1868-1958), a former member of the executive of the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...
. After his parents divorced in 1945, his mother Monica (1911-2012) subsequently married a
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
scientist
Arnold Beck with whom she brought up Nicolas.
Walter attended
Rendcomb College,
Cirencester
Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...
. He served two years
National Service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, where he learned Russian prior to working in
Signals Intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
, and then read modern history at
Exeter College, Oxford. At this time he joined the
Labour Party.
Alongside his work for media associated with the causes that became his personal mission, as a working journalist Walter held editorial roles at ''
Which?
''Which?'' is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering indepen ...
'' and ''
The Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' before working as press officer for the
British Standards Institution
The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the Standards organization, national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services ...
.
Peace movement activism
Walter was heavily involved in the peace movement, being a founder member of the
Committee of 100.
Walter married Ruth Oppenheim, another member of the Committee of 100 in 1962, who was the daughter of refugees from Nazi Germany. The couple had two children, Susannah (born 1965) and
Natasha Walter (born 1967), but divorced in 1982.
Walter was a member of
Spies for Peace, which only became known after he died,
along with Ruth, who was happy to be publicly identified by Natasha Walter in 2013.
In March 1963, the group broke into
Regional Seat of Government No. 6 (RSG-6), copied documents relating to the Government's plans in the event of nuclear war and distributed 3,000 leaflets revealing their contents.
In 1966, Walter was imprisoned for two months under the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Act 1860, after a protest against British support for the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. As Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
read the lesson (on the subject of beating swords into ploughshares) at a
Labour Party service at the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
Church in
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, Walter and friends interrupted by shouting "Hypocrite!"
Anarchism
Walter's book ''About Anarchism'' was first published in 1969. It went through many editions and has been translated into many languages. A revised edition was published in 2002, with a foreword by his daughter, the journalist and feminist writer Natasha Walter.
Walter had a long association with
Freedom Press and was a regular contributor to ''
Freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
'' among other publications. The last writing he did appeared in ''Freedom''.
A collection of his writings from ''Freedom'' and elsewhere was published in 2007 as ''The Anarchist Past and Other Essays'', edited by
David Goodway.
Rationalism, humanism and secularism
Walter was appointed Managing Editor of the Rationalist Press Association in 1975, but his progressive disability and the fact he was not, as Bill Cooke puts it, "a born administrator"
[Cooke, Bill (2003), ''Blasphemy Depot: A Hundred Years of the Rationalist Press Association''. London: Rationalist Press Association. . Published in the United States as ''The Gathering of Infidels: A Hundred Years of the Rationalist Press Association''. New York: Prometheus Books. ] led to difficulties.
He was a prominent member of the
South Place Ethical Society and became one of its Appointed Lecturers in 1978.
[MacKillop, I. D. (1986)]
''The British Ethical Societies''
Cambridge University Press, nline Accessed 13 May 2014. He resigned from this position in 1979 following a special meeting of the Society to consider a paper by Albert Lovecy and vote on the motion "that the Society has no theistic creed and does not practise worship".
Peter Cadogan managed to have the motion amended to "does not practise worship of a deity" and it was passed. Walter remarked "many people ... have joined the society as part of their rejection of religion".
Walter was editor of the Rationalist Press Association's magazine ''
New Humanist'' from February 1975 until July 1984, when
Jim Herrick took over.
In 1989, in the aftermath of the
fatwa
A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...
on
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
and his book ''
The Satanic Verses'', Walter (along with
William McIlroy) re-formed The Committee Against
Blasphemy Law
A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of Reverence (attitude), reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Re ...
. It issued a ''Statement Against Blasphemy Law'', signed by more than 200 public figures. Walter and
Barbara Smoker were attacked while counter-demonstrating during a Muslim protest against the book in May 1989. Walter's book ''Blasphemy Ancient and Modern'' put the Rushdie controversy into historical context.
Walter also served as company secretary of G. W. Foote & Co., publishers of ''
The Freethinker'', and was a vice-president of the
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...
.
Walter occasionally wrote or spoke about how
secular humanist
Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...
s might face death – he had done so himself. In a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 1993 (16 September, p. 23) he explained:
Publications
*''Humanism: What's in the Word'' (1997). London: Rationalist Press Association, . Also published as ''Humanism: Finding Meaning in the Word'' by Prometheus Books, 1998, .
*''Blasphemy, Ancient and Modern'' (1990). London: Rationalist Press Association, .
*''About Anarchism'' (1969). London:
Freedom Press. Updated edition published by Freedom Press in 2002, .
*''Nonviolent Resistance: Men Against War'' (London: Nonviolence 63, Schools for Non-Violence, 1963).
References
Further reading
*
External links
"The Right to Be Wrong" Essay by Nicolas Walter.
Libertarian Alliance Political Notes No. 43, 1989.
"Nicolas Walter: an appreciation of his contribution to secular humanism" Sheffield Humanist Society, 2000.
Nicolas Walter papersat the International Institute of Social History.
"Anarchism: A ‘Revisionist’ Approach by Nicolas Walter"1960, Freedom Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Nicolas
1934 births
2000 deaths
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
English male journalists
English atheists
British atheism activists
English anarchists
English humanists
English anti-war activists
People educated at Rendcomb College
English anti–nuclear weapons activists
British writers on atheism
20th-century atheists
21st-century atheists