Photo essay Photojournalism

The magazine of the photo-essay

July 2020 issue

Confessions of a Non-Violent RevolutionaryBean Stew, Blisters, Blocades and Benders

“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!” Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film maker

by Chris Savory

The True Story of a Peace Activist in Thatcher’s Britain Clairview Books 2020. Publication delayed due to the pandemic crisis, but pre-publication copies available here £12.99 for a signed copy and Free P&P for UK orders I was very successful at school, Head Boy, captain of the team and was in first group ever to get into Oxford University. I went up in 1980, just as the world was entering the coldest part of the Cold War and people were starting to be aware of the possibility of Ecological Catastrophe. I felt that my studies were not going to help solve this emergency and I left after a year to become a full-time peace and eco-activist, taking part in many illegal non-violent direct actions (NVDA). This lasted until 1988 when I had to try and find a way back into ‘normal’ society, broke and despairing at our movement’s failure. I have very few photos from the period – a time before phone/cameras and digital photography. The police also frequently confiscated film and smashed cameras and they were an encumbrance on direct actions. I have to thank mostly forgotten fellow activists for these pictures who gave me prints at the time. The early 1980s was a time of huge upheaval and political conflict which is often forgotten now, but we learnt many lessons that are relevant for the current wave of mass NVDA being taken by Extinction Rebellion and other groups. ‘… Insights into how individual action can play a role in avoiding Armageddon.’ – Billy Bragg