Before the advent of Extinction Rebellion, mobiles and the internet there was a word of mouth demonstration in 1983 which brought the City of London to a halt. These 82 photographs, previously unpublished, are a record of that day on 29th September 1983. There were further demonstrations the following March and September 1984. Photographs from the 29th March 1984 demonstration are available in an adjoining Gallery.
Taken on a Yashica FX-D camera and 4 rolls of Ilford HP5 film
Stop the City demonstrations of 1983 and 1984 were described as a 'Carnival Against War, Oppression and Destruction', in other words protests against the military-financial complex. These demonstrations can be seen as the forerunner of the anti-globalisation protests of the 1990s, especially those in London, England, on May Day and the Carnival against Capitalism on 18 June 1999. They were partially inspired by the actions of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp.
Activities that formed part of the biggest of these events were separate day-long street blockades of the financial district (the City of London) which supporters of the protest argued are a major centre for profiteering, and consequently a root cause of many of the world's problems. The largest blockade involved 3,000 people, which succeeded in causing a £100 million shortfall on the day according to The Times. Around 1,000 arrests were subsequently made by the police over 18 months.
