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EC2M 4QH
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Hands Up For Peace

  1. Archives
  2. Protest and Campaigning

About this Archive

Administrative/biographical history

The ‘Hands Up For Peace’ protest in opposition to the Iraq War (2003-2011) began as a conversation between classmates in the canteen of Hampstead School, London. The campaign cost approximately £500 and was designed, organised and funded by young people. Via their website (messengers.org.uk) the campaign invited young people to write a message to Tony Blair or George Bush regarding their thoughts on the proposed war in Iraq. Each message would be written on the persons hand print, traced on to papers and cut out. The Guardian newspaper reported in March 2003 that an estimated 2,500 hands had been received from as far away as Canada. The movement also gain support of national organisations, most notably the Woodcraft Folk. Talking to the Guardian 20 March 2003, Neela Dolezalova stated, ‘We wanted to do something creative, but we wanted an inclusive campaign. More children can get involved with this without leaving school. It also creates quite a disturbing visual image’.

The decorative hands and a 25 metre banner were displayed in Parliament Square on the day war was declared. The hands were also displayed in Hyde Park at the finale of a rally against the Iraq War, and as an instillation in City Hall, London.

Scope and content

Papers created by the 'Hands Up For Peace' protest against the Iraq War, (2003), including: decorative hands with messages for Blair/Bush, banners, photographs, and other papers.

Quantity

17 boxes, 1 oversized folder, 2 banners.

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Protest and Campaigning Go to this category page.

Steve Kitson Archive

1976 - 1992

A landscape image of Frank Crichlow

Frank Crichlow Archive

1950-2014

An image of Tony Smythe.

Tony Smythe Archive

1957-2003

Grattan Puxon Archive

Mondcivitan Republic

Middleton, Mavis

1922-1999

Lester, Muriel

1883-1968

Hunot, Peter

1914-1989

Freedom Press Library

Find More Protest and Campaigning

Stop the War Coalition

Freedom Press Archive

Committee for Freedom in Mozambique, Angola and Guine (CFMAG)

Some Friends Community

Republic

Community Matters

Advisory Service for Squatters Archive

Public Utilities Access Forum

Platform

Shelter: The National Campaign for Homeless People

English Collective of Prostitutes

City of London Anti-Apartheid Group (CAAG)

Protest Against Donald Trump's Visit to London

Armstrong, Keith

1950-2017

Anti-Racist Alliance

Harper, Clifford

Campaigners, Christian Youth Movement

Clays Lane Live Archive

Cambodia Compassion

Hands Up For Peace

Mondcivitan Republic, South East

Nirmul Committee UK Branch

No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Save Leyton Marsh

Unite Against Fascism / Rock Against Racism

Troops Out Movement

#FROMTHE ARCHIVES

Married in 1950, Chris and Betty Birch have been involved in political, trade union, and LGBTQ+ activism for over 60 years. Sharing similar interests, they were both Communist Party Members and involved with organisations such as the Aid to Spanish Youth Committee. After the death of his friend, Mark Ashton, Chris became involved in forming the Mark Ashton Memorial Trust, which was created to raise money for individuals living with HIV. The archive includes the truncheon taken from the police by Mark Ashton, correspondence, personal scrapbooks, press cuttings, and various other papers relating to the couples activism.
Find out more about the Chris and Betty Birch Archive

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Contact Details

230 Bishopsgate
London
EC2M 4QH
020 7392 9200enquiries@bishopsgate.org.uk

Small Print

Copyright © 2021 Bishopsgate Foundation. Registered Charity No: 1090923. Website by Supercool