Rationalist Peace Society
About this Archive
Administrative/biographical history
The Rationalist Peace Society was founded in 1910 by Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner and J.M. Robertson MP. The Society established itself during the period of increasing controversy proceeding the First World War. The aim was to “protest against ideas and methods which are utterly opposed to reason and the interests of social progress”. As the war progressed the Society was divided by the issue of conscientious objection and conscription. As members began to feel the war was justified, the Society dwindled until fading away after the war.
Scope and content
- Minute book of the Society, containing correspondence drafts and circulars, 1910-1921
- Annual reports and financial statements of the Society, 1911-1914
- Circulars and ephemera, 1914-1917
- Account book of the Society, 1918-1921
- Press cuttings concerning, and articles by, Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner, 1905-1917
- Copies of Rationalist Peace Quarterly, journal of the Rationalist Peace Society, 1912-1913.
Quantity
1 box.
#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.
