Timeline of anarchism in Britain, 1930-2016
- Thread starter Rob Ray
- Start date
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
Oh yes, and the Groundswell anti-JSA/workfare network
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
*Looks around*
Aufheben
*Runs away*
Aufheben
*Runs away*
october_lost
It's not hip any more...
The couriers Union.
newbie
undisambiguated
Well now. The anti-nuclear movement through the 70s and into the 80s was explicitly anarchist influenced, see more or less any Peace News from the time. Affinity groups, direct action, non-heirarchical organisation and so on manifested in years of direct actions including stuff like the Torness occupations, Greenham Common and the other peace camps, Cruisewatch... I think you'd find a fairly explicit strand in the earlier manifestations of Greenpeace as well.
So too were the free festivals, big ones including Windsor, Watchfield and Stonehenge and littler ones all over the country. Obviously it's all easily dismissable as lifestylist at this distance, but there was a huge amount of self-identification as anarchist amongst the squatting groups, the worker and housing co-ops, big circulation papers like it and Oz, community initiatives like Bath Civil Aid, printshops like Union Place and so on and so on. Around the country there were anarchist groups in many places, though I doubt many were affiliated to any national organisation. To my eye it's a bit odd to see that whole period airbrushed.
While I recognise that there have been portions of the period since the mid-80s that have had visible anarchist activity I'd say they've been at a small fraction of the scale, intensity or immersion of the 70s/80s. eg, little of what's been called 'direct action' in recent years has moved beyond symbolic stunts except a few small groups actions like Ploughshares. Even what's mentioned in the list above was tiny by comparison, eg Stop the City was a fraction the size of the bigger anti-nuclear directs actions at Greenham, Molesworth, Torness or Faslane.
Finally, I don't know whether Michael Randle would agree but I'd suggest the springing of spy George Blake from the Scrubs should be included on an anarchist timeline.
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
Isn't Glastonbury part of the anarchist hinterland?
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
I think the good Doctor would disagree.
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
No mention of Platypus or Praxis.
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
No one wants to admit liking trance or experimental
occupy?
anarchists for corbyn?
Yeah why isn't bloody Corbyn on that list given all the anarchists who have suddenly become 'pragmatic'?
newbie
undisambiguated
you're losing your touch, need to get out more and put some effort into practicing
here y'are, see what you can do with this: hint, keyword 'lifestyle'.
This is more the sort of thing I was thinking of. Sadly, although we got rid of back walls, had communal use spaces for the food co-op and social centre and so on, and tried the various other bits of this vision that were compatible with short-life, none of the places I lived had back gardens big enough for a swimming pool
some words about it here
imposs1904
Thread Killa'
I'm more surprised that anyone would Thundercats. Youth is no excuse.
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
Hideously white and the women seem to doing all the domestic workyou're losing your touch, need to get out more and put some effort into practicing
here y'are, see what you can do with this: hint, keyword 'lifestyle'.
This is more the sort of thing I was thinking of. Sadly, although we got rid of back walls, had communal use spaces for the food co-op and social centre and so on, and tried the various other bits of this vision that were compatible with short-life, none of the places I lived had back gardens big enough for a swimming pool
some words about it here
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
newbie
undisambiguated
great choice of phrase
but yes, some truth in that, though sexism & patriarchy were major talking points and behaviour was gradually changing.
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
Nothing like talkinggreat choice of phrase
but yes, some truth in that, though sexism & patriarchy were major talking points and behaviour was gradually changing.
malatesta32
Not Serb. No, Really!
thats great, thanks! im just doing an article on UK anarchists & anti-fascism. well timed.
Rob Ray
Weight is meaningless
Updated with what I could find on the suggested stuff. The 30s to 50s are still very light, but this seems to reflect the movement being generally pretty dead after the war.
Edit: Updated again after consulting with Battlescarred from libcom
==During-post WW2: Little direct activity other than anti-war organising==
1930s
1931-34: Council of Action
1934: Peace Pledge union founded
1934-1965: Ethel MacDonald and Guy Aldred’s abstentionist United Socialist Movement
1935-40: Bethnal Green rent strikes break British Union of Fascists heartland
1936: Regeneration news sheet runs July-Oct, brings attention to Spain
1936: Peace News founded
1936-39: Spain And The World founded in December, later becoming Revolt!
1936-39: Anarchist-Communist Federation (AFB) briefly founded out of Glasgow
1937-44: Anarcho Syndicalist Union (not very successful, folds into AFB II)
1936-39: Anarchists organise solidarity with CNT in Spain
1938-45: Committee for Workers’ Control (not very successful, mostly folds into AFB II)
1939-40: Influx of Spanish refugees
1940s
1939-45: Anti-militarism, conscientious objection
1939-45: Revolt! becomes War Commentary
1940-44: Anarchist Federation of Britain (II) formed at Workers Circle Hall conference
1942: Hundreds turn out to anti-militarist meeting
1944-45: Bernieri, Richards, Hewetson and Samson arrested for sedition, major free-speech case.
1945: War Commentary formally renamed to Freedom
1945-1950s: Squatting movement
1944-50: Anarchist Federation of Britain (III) refounded
1946-79: Syndicalist Workers Federation formed from split in AFB III
1950s
1953: League Against Capital Punishment formed
1953: Anarcho-Syndicalist Committee, publishes The Syndicalist
1954-58: Malatesta Club in London
1953-69: Campaign against capital punishment
1959: Anarcho-pacifist Direct Action Committee pushes CND into backing Aldermaston march
==1960s: British anarchism sees period of limited revival==
1960s
1960-68: Committee of 100
1960-92: Solidarity group and journal
1961-70: Anarchy magazine published
1963: Donald Rooum “Challenor” police arrest case
1963-72: Anarchist Federation of Britain (IV)
August 1964: Stuart Christie arrested attempting to smuggle explosives into Spain
1966: USSR spy George Blake sprung from prison by Michael Randle and Pat Pottle
1967: Anarchist Black Cross Founded
1968-69: London squatting campaign
1960s-70s: Free festivals movement
1970s
1969-1990: Claimants unions, linked through the Federation of Claimants Unions
1970: Black Flag magazine founded by Anarchist Black Cross
1970-72: Angry Brigade bombings
1971-75: Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists splits from AFB IV, publishes Libertarian Struggle
1973: First protests at Twyford Down
1974-1982: Cienfuegos Press
1975: Advisory Service for Squatters founded
1975-80: ORA becomes Anarchist Workers Association, publishes Anarchist Worker
1976-80s: SCRAM and Torness nuclear plant occupations
1978-79: Persons Unknown trial
1979: Kate Sharpley Library founded
Late '70s/Early '80s: Anarcho-punk
Late ‘70s-80s: Anti nuclear movement
==1980s: Growth around green issues and fighting Thatcher==
1980s
1979-94: Direct Action Movement
1979-1987: Roads protest movement
1981: London Anarchist Bookfair founded, attendance so poor that next one happens in 1984.
1981-83: Molesworth Peace Camp
1981-85: Peace Camps movement (main phase, some camps continue today)
1981-2000: Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp
1982: Faslane Peace Camp founded
1983: Class War paper and organisation founded
1983-84: Stop The City demonstrations
1984: Green Anarchist begins publishing, splits in late '90s
1984-1988: Virus Magazine
1985: Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp founded
1985: Major protests at Molesworth
1985-1995: Anarchists with DAM heavily involved in street-level anti-fascism
1986: Class War refounded as Class War Federation
1986: Anarchist Communist Federation founded by Anarchist Communist Discussion Group
1986: Cruisewatch
1988: Virus becomes Organise!, affiliated to ACF
1980s-90s: Rave culture
1990s
1988-1993: Anarchists heavily involved in anti-Poll Tax campaign
1991: Class War international conference
1991-2003: Reclaim the Streets (RTS), following on from road protest movement
1992: Radical Routes forms
1992: Earth Liberation Front founded
1992: Battle of Waterloo
1992 Anti-election alliance rally in london
1992-93: Twyford Down motorway confrontation
1992-2003: Do or Die! journal
1993-97: Squall magazine
1993: Haringey Solidarity Group formed
1993: Combat 18 firebombing of Freedom Press
1993-96: “Pollok Free State” M77 road extension protest camp
1993-98?: ContraFLOW
1993-99: M11 link road protests
1994: Solidarity Federation founded by former DAM members
1994: Anarchy in the UK festival
1994: Solsbury Hill road protests
1994-2014: Schnews published as free weekly newssheet
1994: Undercurrents video collective founded
1995: Camden High Street and Islington shutdown (RTS)
1995-96: Newbury Bypass protest camp
1995-97: GandALF raids and trial
1996: M41 Motorway shutdown (RTS)
1996-97: Fairmile protest tunnels
1996–2010: Direct Action magazine (SolFed)
1997: Anti-election Alliance campaign
1998-2002: Movement Against Monarchy
1998: Bradford 1in12 Club briefly revitalises May Day marches
1999: Carnival Against Capital
1999: Indymedia founded in November, UK branch from 2000
1999: Anarchist Communist Federation renamed to Anarchist Federation
==2000s: Movement activity declines significantly==
2000s
2000: No Borders Network founded
2000-07: WOMBLES group
2001: Bristolian founded
2002-2004: Anarchist Youth Network
2002: enrager.org founded, becomes libcom.org in 2003
Oct 2004: European Social Forum clashes/interventions in London
2004-10: Antifa (anarchist-specific)
2006-10: Camp for Climate Action
2007: London Coalition Against Poverty
2008-10: Whitechapel Anarchist Group
2010s
2010: Student fees protests
2010: Mark Kennedy revealed as police spy, sparking series of unmaskings
2011: Anti-cuts protest sees first large black bloc in London, following on from student protests
2011-12: Occupy movement
2012: Anti-Raids Network founded
2013-present: Refugee solidarity as Syrian war continues
2014: Freedom newspaper ceases monthly publication and moves online, continues irregular freesheet
2014: Sisters Uncut founded
2015: London Bookfair draws approx 3,500 people
2015-present: Antifa (broader intake)
2016: Pitchford spycops inquiry opens
Edit: Updated again after consulting with Battlescarred from libcom
==During-post WW2: Little direct activity other than anti-war organising==
1930s
1931-34: Council of Action
1934: Peace Pledge union founded
1934-1965: Ethel MacDonald and Guy Aldred’s abstentionist United Socialist Movement
1935-40: Bethnal Green rent strikes break British Union of Fascists heartland
1936: Regeneration news sheet runs July-Oct, brings attention to Spain
1936: Peace News founded
1936-39: Spain And The World founded in December, later becoming Revolt!
1936-39: Anarchist-Communist Federation (AFB) briefly founded out of Glasgow
1937-44: Anarcho Syndicalist Union (not very successful, folds into AFB II)
1936-39: Anarchists organise solidarity with CNT in Spain
1938-45: Committee for Workers’ Control (not very successful, mostly folds into AFB II)
1939-40: Influx of Spanish refugees
1940s
1939-45: Anti-militarism, conscientious objection
1939-45: Revolt! becomes War Commentary
1940-44: Anarchist Federation of Britain (II) formed at Workers Circle Hall conference
1942: Hundreds turn out to anti-militarist meeting
1944-45: Bernieri, Richards, Hewetson and Samson arrested for sedition, major free-speech case.
1945: War Commentary formally renamed to Freedom
1945-1950s: Squatting movement
1944-50: Anarchist Federation of Britain (III) refounded
1946-79: Syndicalist Workers Federation formed from split in AFB III
1950s
1953: League Against Capital Punishment formed
1953: Anarcho-Syndicalist Committee, publishes The Syndicalist
1954-58: Malatesta Club in London
1953-69: Campaign against capital punishment
1959: Anarcho-pacifist Direct Action Committee pushes CND into backing Aldermaston march
==1960s: British anarchism sees period of limited revival==
1960s
1960-68: Committee of 100
1960-92: Solidarity group and journal
1961-70: Anarchy magazine published
1963: Donald Rooum “Challenor” police arrest case
1963-72: Anarchist Federation of Britain (IV)
August 1964: Stuart Christie arrested attempting to smuggle explosives into Spain
1966: USSR spy George Blake sprung from prison by Michael Randle and Pat Pottle
1967: Anarchist Black Cross Founded
1968-69: London squatting campaign
1960s-70s: Free festivals movement
1970s
1969-1990: Claimants unions, linked through the Federation of Claimants Unions
1970: Black Flag magazine founded by Anarchist Black Cross
1970-72: Angry Brigade bombings
1971-75: Organisation of Revolutionary Anarchists splits from AFB IV, publishes Libertarian Struggle
1973: First protests at Twyford Down
1974-1982: Cienfuegos Press
1975: Advisory Service for Squatters founded
1975-80: ORA becomes Anarchist Workers Association, publishes Anarchist Worker
1976-80s: SCRAM and Torness nuclear plant occupations
1978-79: Persons Unknown trial
1979: Kate Sharpley Library founded
Late '70s/Early '80s: Anarcho-punk
Late ‘70s-80s: Anti nuclear movement
==1980s: Growth around green issues and fighting Thatcher==
1980s
1979-94: Direct Action Movement
1979-1987: Roads protest movement
1981: London Anarchist Bookfair founded, attendance so poor that next one happens in 1984.
1981-83: Molesworth Peace Camp
1981-85: Peace Camps movement (main phase, some camps continue today)
1981-2000: Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp
1982: Faslane Peace Camp founded
1983: Class War paper and organisation founded
1983-84: Stop The City demonstrations
1984: Green Anarchist begins publishing, splits in late '90s
1984-1988: Virus Magazine
1985: Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp founded
1985: Major protests at Molesworth
1985-1995: Anarchists with DAM heavily involved in street-level anti-fascism
1986: Class War refounded as Class War Federation
1986: Anarchist Communist Federation founded by Anarchist Communist Discussion Group
1986: Cruisewatch
1988: Virus becomes Organise!, affiliated to ACF
1980s-90s: Rave culture
1990s
1988-1993: Anarchists heavily involved in anti-Poll Tax campaign
1991: Class War international conference
1991-2003: Reclaim the Streets (RTS), following on from road protest movement
1992: Radical Routes forms
1992: Earth Liberation Front founded
1992: Battle of Waterloo
1992 Anti-election alliance rally in london
1992-93: Twyford Down motorway confrontation
1992-2003: Do or Die! journal
1993-97: Squall magazine
1993: Haringey Solidarity Group formed
1993: Combat 18 firebombing of Freedom Press
1993-96: “Pollok Free State” M77 road extension protest camp
1993-98?: ContraFLOW
1993-99: M11 link road protests
1994: Solidarity Federation founded by former DAM members
1994: Anarchy in the UK festival
1994: Solsbury Hill road protests
1994-2014: Schnews published as free weekly newssheet
1994: Undercurrents video collective founded
1995: Camden High Street and Islington shutdown (RTS)
1995-96: Newbury Bypass protest camp
1995-97: GandALF raids and trial
1996: M41 Motorway shutdown (RTS)
1996-97: Fairmile protest tunnels
1996–2010: Direct Action magazine (SolFed)
1997: Anti-election Alliance campaign
1998-2002: Movement Against Monarchy
1998: Bradford 1in12 Club briefly revitalises May Day marches
1999: Carnival Against Capital
1999: Indymedia founded in November, UK branch from 2000
1999: Anarchist Communist Federation renamed to Anarchist Federation
==2000s: Movement activity declines significantly==
2000s
2000: No Borders Network founded
2000-07: WOMBLES group
2001: Bristolian founded
2002-2004: Anarchist Youth Network
2002: enrager.org founded, becomes libcom.org in 2003
Oct 2004: European Social Forum clashes/interventions in London
2004-10: Antifa (anarchist-specific)
2006-10: Camp for Climate Action
2007: London Coalition Against Poverty
2008-10: Whitechapel Anarchist Group
2010s
2010: Student fees protests
2010: Mark Kennedy revealed as police spy, sparking series of unmaskings
2011: Anti-cuts protest sees first large black bloc in London, following on from student protests
2011-12: Occupy movement
2012: Anti-Raids Network founded
2013-present: Refugee solidarity as Syrian war continues
2014: Freedom newspaper ceases monthly publication and moves online, continues irregular freesheet
2014: Sisters Uncut founded
2015: London Bookfair draws approx 3,500 people
2015-present: Antifa (broader intake)
2016: Pitchford spycops inquiry opens
Last edited:
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
Good work. Will double check if I can think of a thing else.
newbie
undisambiguated
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Herbert Read was an Anarchist of the earlier period. He was a well known for his writings on art and culture. He is now largely forgotten.
Following his death in 1968, Read was arguably neglected due to the increasing predominance in academia of theories of art, including Marxism, which discounted his ideas. Yet his work continued to have influence. It was through Read's writings on anarchism that Murray Bookchin was inspired in the mid-1960s to explore the connections between anarchism and ecology.[19] In 1971, a collection of his writings on anarchism and politics was republished, Anarchy and Order, with an introduction by Howard Zinn.[20] In the 1990s there was a revival of interest in him following a major exhibition in 1993 at Leeds City Art Gallery and the publication of a collection of his anarchist writings, A One-Man Manifesto and other writings for Freedom Press, edited by David Goodway.[21] Since then more of his work has been republished and there was a Herbert Read Conference, at Tate Britain in June 2004. The library at the Cyprus College of Art is named after him, as is the art gallery at the University for the Creative Arts at Canterbury. Until the 1990s the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London staged an annual Herbert Read Lecture, which included well-known speakers such as Salman Rushdie.
Herbert Read - Wikipedia
Following his death in 1968, Read was arguably neglected due to the increasing predominance in academia of theories of art, including Marxism, which discounted his ideas. Yet his work continued to have influence. It was through Read's writings on anarchism that Murray Bookchin was inspired in the mid-1960s to explore the connections between anarchism and ecology.[19] In 1971, a collection of his writings on anarchism and politics was republished, Anarchy and Order, with an introduction by Howard Zinn.[20] In the 1990s there was a revival of interest in him following a major exhibition in 1993 at Leeds City Art Gallery and the publication of a collection of his anarchist writings, A One-Man Manifesto and other writings for Freedom Press, edited by David Goodway.[21] Since then more of his work has been republished and there was a Herbert Read Conference, at Tate Britain in June 2004. The library at the Cyprus College of Art is named after him, as is the art gallery at the University for the Creative Arts at Canterbury. Until the 1990s the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London staged an annual Herbert Read Lecture, which included well-known speakers such as Salman Rushdie.
Herbert Read - Wikipedia
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