The Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War or the Direct Action Committee (DAC) was a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

organisation formed "to assist the conducting of

non-violent direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...

to obtain the total renunciation of

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

and its weapons by Britain and all other countries as a first step in

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...

". It existed from 1957 to 1961.

Origins

The DAC was formed in response to the British

H-Bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

carried out between 1956 and 1958. In 1957, at the time of one of the tests on

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

, Harold Steele planned to sail into the test area in protest. He was unable to do so but his supporters formed a committee and marched in support to the

Atomic Weapons Establishment The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research E ...

Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingstok ...

. The original committee comprised: *

J. Allen Skinner James Allen Skinner (16 January 1890 – 20 January 1974) was a British pacifist and trade unionist. Born in Dulwich, Skinner began working for the Post Office, firstly delivering telegraphs, then as a postman, and as a sorter. He became act ...

* Hugh Brock and *

Arlo Tatum Arlo (pronounced AR-loh) is a traditionally male given name. Some sources state it to be of Old English origin, meaning "from the hill fort"; it was first used by Edmund Spenser, who "evidently invented" it, as the name of a hill where the gods ...

. They were soon joined by: * Michael Randle (who became Chair) *

April Carter April Carter (born 22 November 1937) was a British peace activist. She was a political lecturer at the universities of Lancaster, Somerville College, Oxford and Queensland, and was a Fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institut ...

(Secretary) * Pat Arrowsmith (Field Secretary) *Michael Scott and *Will Warren. By the end of 1958 the Committee's members also included Alex Comfort, Frances Edwards, Sheila Jones, Francis Jude and Michael Howard (of the Crusade for World Government) Christopher Driver, ''The Disarmers: A Study in Protest'', London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1964 who later served as adjutant to Bertrand Russell during his dispute with Canon John Collins over the legitimacy of direct action.

Actions

The DAC's march from London to Aldermaston at Easter, 1958, for which DAC Committee member Michael Howard was the Chief Marshal was, in the event, supported by the newly formed

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nu ...

(CND), and in the upsurge of popular opposition to the

H-bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

attracted thousands of people. The

Aldermaston March The Aldermaston marches were anti- nuclear weapons demonstrations in the 1950s and 1960s, taking place on Easter weekend between the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire, England, and London, over a distance of fifty ...

was subsequently run as an annual event by CND. The DAC organised meetings, marches, vigils and pickets, campaigned in parliamentary elections and carried out acts of

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a stat ...

to publicise the pacifist cause. Following the principles of the Indian nationalist leader

M.K.Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, 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 organisations 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.Allen Lovell, "Where Next for the Campaign?" ''Universities and Left Review'', No.6, Spring 1959
/ref>"Pat Arrowsmith recalls organising against Britain's Bomb", ''Socialist Worker'', 22 March 2008
/ref> The DAC then moved to

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

to campaign against the

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...

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 Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...

, Hertfordshire, to campaign against the de Havilland and

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during t ...

factories, which made guided missiles. The DAC ran a "No votes for the H-bomb" campaign in the

1959 South West Norfolk by-election The South West Norfolk by-election of 25 March 1959 was held after Labour Member of Parliament (MP) 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 , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

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 Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

nuclear submarine in spring, 1961.

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 (

), 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 Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), " Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρ ...

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."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Direct Action Committee Peace organisations based in the United Kingdom Anti-nuclear organizations Direct action

Origins

Actions

Sponsors

Demise

Assessment

See also

References