Greenham Common

No. The people camping there gave me hope in what seemed to me to be a very dark and scary time.

A big Thank you from me to the women of Greenham Common - and to the men who supported them.
❤️

I really found it hard to believe the lengths women went to in those days.
Children were left , husbands were left, the conditions were dreadful.
Marriages broke up and lives changed forever.
The strong , almost religious fervour of those women was something I found hard to understand.
Did it change anything?
I don’t believe it did.
Do any of them regret their sacrifice, I should love to know.

The missiles are gone - so yep...it did work.

I'm ashamed to say my former brother worked there and even requested (via our mother) that I stop supporting the idea of closing the base. Blimmin' cheek - and I'm the older one of us at that! But I did laugh at my mother saying "It might harm your brothers career" - yeah right.....career...he was just a driver there. I hadn't asked her to "ask" him to stop shaming me by working there...

My side of protesting involved other things basically - so I just had one visit there in the event - and do remember how freezing cold it was and was pretty admiring about women camping out there throughout the year.

I never felt strong enough to camp there, leaving my children and husband to camp out for an indefinite period of time.. (19 years as it turns out)..

Truly grateful.
I only supported through donations.

Did the missiles go because of the camp?
I really don’t think so.
I think they went because the time was right or other factors came into play.
I will admit I don’t know for sure but that is what it seemed to me at the time.
If hard evidence is produced I will apologise but I hated to see children missing their mothers although they said it was for their children they were doing it and of course that was their belief.

They were modern martyrs actually.

The missiles are gone - so yep...it did work.

The missiles going had absolutely nothing to do with the Greenham Women, whose idealism I admire, but whose actions were pointless.

In the current international situation our best defence against the insane governng the asylum (Putin, Trump, and little fat Kim) is the policy that placed the missiles at Greenham. It is called MAD, or the defence of mutually assured destruction.

Were it not for MAD, Putin would have nuked Ukraine and several surrounding countries by now.

Thank you M0nica for saying what I said but in a much better and reasoned way.

I have the greatest of respect for these women, as I do the suffragettes. Willing to give up so much and enduring so much for their beliefs.

Cossy

I have the greatest of respect for these women, as I do the suffragettes. Willing to give up so much and enduring so much for their beliefs.

Yes 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

"You can't kill the Spirit."
🙏

Usedtobeblonde

I really found it hard to believe the lengths women went to in those days.
Children were left , husbands were left, the conditions were dreadful.
Marriages broke up and lives changed forever.
The strong , almost religious fervour of those women was something I found hard to understand.
Did it change anything?
I don’t believe it did.
Do any of them regret their sacrifice, I should love to know.

You won’t get them admitting it on here.

M0nica

^The missiles are gone - so yep...it did work.^

The missiles going had absolutely nothing to do with the Greenham Women, whose idealism I admire, but whose actions were pointless.

In the current international situation our best defence against the insane governng the asylum (Putin, Trump, and little fat Kim) is the policy that placed the missiles at Greenham. It is called MAD, or the defence of mutually assured destruction.

Were it not for MAD, Putin would have nuked Ukraine and several surrounding countries by now.

Exactly.
I don’t admire them at all.

Yes, I spent a lot of time at Greenham women's peace camp. It's an experience I am very proud to have been a part of. I stayed in a bender at Violet gate, cut many a wire and was arrested.

It's strange that it's so long ago c40 years. A couple of years ago the base had an open day that a friend (from Yellow Gate) and I went to and found we were practically mobbed by a little gang of visitors to the base that were very excited to have met 'real Greenham wimmin' (very strange) it was odd to be on the other side of the fence.

ayse

Cossy

I have the greatest of respect for these women, as I do the suffragettes. Willing to give up so much and enduring so much for their beliefs.

Yes 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

A lot of them had a great time, even leaving their husbands and shacking up with other women instead.

Yes I remember some changed “sides” forming very strong relationships with other women.
It must have been a bonding experience.

Usedtobeblonde

Yes I remember some changed “sides” forming very strong relationships with other women.
It must have been a bonding experience.

Or something 🤭

Sorry, have to confess……….when I first read the title of this thread I thought there’d been a spate of manky ham on sale in the supermarkets 🤭🤭

Oreo and Usedtobeblonde Yes, you are quite right, a lot of the women at the camp made life long friendships with other women there. I still sometimes see (the happily married mothers) I made friends with when I was there and my three daughters are friendly with the children of these women.

Not just talking friendships tho, there was a lot of lesbian relationships formed there, often with married women according to a documentary I saw.

I think that's irrelevant Oreo,
Surely?

Oreo I have a lot of women friends...it doesn't make me a lesbian, albeit a couple of friends are in very happy long relationships with other women. I find your remarks very odd.

ayse

Cossy

I have the greatest of respect for these women, as I do the suffragettes. Willing to give up so much and enduring so much for their beliefs.

Yes 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

No, I have o time for the suffragettes who were violent and nasty and delayed women getting the vote.

I have every respect for the suffragsts whose long years of careful talk and negotiation was on the edge of success when the suffragettes ruined it witheir antics

boheminan

Oreo I have a lot of women friends...it doesn't make me a lesbian, albeit a couple of friends are in very happy long relationships with other women. I find your remarks very odd.

It was in a documentary I saw Boheminan that the camp became well known for it and it ruined family relationships for the women that had up to then been married.
I don’t care either way, but obvs feel sorry for any children whose Mums didn’t return.