17th Oct 2012 5:00pm
G4, Ground Floor Grand Parade.
Research Seminar Series 2012-2013
Centre for Research in Memory, Narrative and Histories
Dr Sam Carroll: Independent Oral Historian
The Committee of 100 (C100) campaigned for nuclear disarmament using non-violent direct action in Britain from 1961 to 1968. Originating from a drive within the anti-nuclear movement to step away from the law abiding policies of CND, the group proposed mass civil disobedience in resisting nuclear weapons, challenging the authorities to 'fill the jails', with the intention of causing prison overload and large-scale disorder.
This paper focuses on twenty four oral history interviews recorded with those actively involved in the campaign and collected for my DPhil in Life History Research at the University of Sussex. Partly methodological, it examines the many barriers faced when setting out to research a protest group that remains largely secretive and mutually protective following over forty years of silence. Along with these methodological and ethical concerns, this paper raises the historical profile of the C100 in its own right, which until now, has mainly been subsumed within literature focusing on CND.
