hiroshima

This year at Tavistock Square

A warm summer day and the presence of friends such as Jeremy Corbyn, Emma Dent-Coad, and Roger McKenzie attracted a good attendance at London CND’s Hiroshima Commemoration in Tavistock Square this year, which included a performance by Michael Mears & Riko Nakazono of an extract from Michael’s play The Mistake, on tour across England and Wales during September & October.

As always the Mayor of Camden, Cllr Nazma Rahman, launched the 2023 commemoration on Sunday 6 August, and laid a wreath at the Hiroshima Cherry Tree in memory of all those who died as a result of the United States bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She was followed by traditional chanting from Reverend Nagase from the London Peace Pagoda, which celebrated its 38th anniversary in Battersea Park this year.

London Co-Chair Hannah Kemp-Welch compered the event and spoke on behalf of London CND at the Nagasaki Commemoration a few days later. Other contributors to this year’s event included Shigeo Kobayashi representing Japanese Against Nuclear and London CND’s other Co-Chair, Carol Turner.

Hugh Goodacre contributed some of the peace movement’s favourites songs accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, and Raised Voices choir gave a rousing rendition of H-Bombs Thunder to close the proceedings.


Carol Turner is co-chair of London Region CND. She is a directly elected member of CND’s National Council and part of the International Advisory Group.

Carol is a long-time peace campaigner, a member of Stop the War Coalition’s National Officer Group, and author of Corbyn and Trident: Labour’s Continuing Controversy.


Hiroshima and Nagasaki 77th Commemorations in London

On 6th August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by US air forces. This was the first time a nuclear weapon had ever been used; the fireball created by the bomb destroyed 13 square kilometres of the city, and those dead as a result numbered up to 180,000.

77 years later, we remember. Several events were organised in London to commemorate these crimes.


Friday 5th August: cultural event at the V&A

On the eve of the 77th anniversary of Hiroshima day, London CND hosted a screening of 'The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga' at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This documentary explores the relationship between Godzilla and the atomic bomb.

The event was introduced by CND General Secretary Kate Hudson, who provided some historical context and reminded the public of the importance to keep campaigning against nuclear weapons today.

Two V&A experts followed. First, Zorian Clayton presented a selection of posters relating to Hiroshima and nuclear disarmament. Then, Josephine Rout from the Japanese collection offered a fascinating presentation on Godzilla, kimonos and Japanese legends.

The documentary was then screened and complemented by a Q&A with the filmmaker, Jonathan Bellés.



Saturday 6th August: Hiroshima Remembered

Hiroshima Day opened with Finchley CND’s morning remembrance ceremony in Finchley Victoria Park.

London CND’s event followed at noon with the traditional Tavistock Square commemoration. The event was hosted by London CND co-chair Hannah Kemp-Welch, with speeches from Nasim Ali, Mayor of Camden, Kate Hudson and Benali Hamdache, Green Party spokesperson on migrants and refugee support.

London CND committee member John Morris spoke in memory of Bruce Kent, recalling their first encounters. The event was accompanied with drumming performed by Reverend Nagase from the London Peace Pagoda and songs by the choir Raised Voices. The Mad Hatters had decorated the square with hundreds of peace cranes and posters inviting people to join.


A message from Jeremy Corbyn MP
and a film of the full event is available here:


Kingston CND held a vigil with boards and leaflets in the town centre. In the evening a candlelit commemoration took place by the river in Canbury Gardens. The Mayor, Yogan Yoganathan, said a few words. White flowers were foated on the river, and lanterns lit the path.

Bromley CND organised a reading of poems and speeches opposite the Churchill Theatre and gave out leaflets. After this, they marched to the lake in Church House gardens and threw chrysanthemum flower heads on the lake. Peace were songs sung by Paul Steele and Leon Silver, and paper cranes were held in memory Sadako Sasaki, the young girl who died of leukemia in Hiroshima in 1955 and who folded 1000 paper cranes before she died. 1000s of paper cranes had been sent in a shoe box from Scottish CND.

Bromley CND commemoration pictures by Ann Garrett

Wimbledon CND also held a ceremony of poetry and quiet reflection. This year, they had a change to their usual procedure of launching symbolic lighted boats, in the Japanese tradition. Due to the tinder-dry grass on the common and the risk of an accidental fire, they floated some origami boats, but with LED lights instead of candles. They formed a solemn procession around the pond.

Wimbledon CND commemoration pictures by William Rhind


Tuesday 9th August: Nagasaki Remembered

The South East London Peace, Justice and Solidarity Network

The South East London Peace, Justice and Solidarity Network marked the day in the Archbishop Tutu Peace Garden, Chinbrook Meadows , with a peace picnic followed by speeches, poems, and songs. The group then walked to River Quaggy for a minutes silence. White chrysanthemum flower heads were thrown into a small patch of water, which was what was sadly left of the Quaggy due to the present drought.

Nipponzan Myohoji, JAN-UK and Paxchristi organized a Peace Walk. The ceremony opened with an ecumenical service and followed with a walk, congregating at Westminster Cathedral and walking towards Battersea Park. After arriving at the Peace Pagoda in the park, a short commemoration ceremony took place.


We would like to thank all those who participated in these events. While Britain announced a 44% increase in its nuclear arsenal and the US is set to return nuclear weapons to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, it is ever more crucial to remember the victims of nuclear bombs and continue fighting against their spread.

We invite everyone to join us at RAF Lakenheath on Saturday 17th September. More information here.

#NoNukes

I am Yuki: The Hiroshima project [Music]

I am Yuki: The Hiroshima project [Music]

As the 77th commemoration of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki approach, London CND is proud to feature the work of Diego Philips, a London-based musician, presenting a musical and deeply emotional rendition of this human tragedy.

I am Yuki :The Hiroshima project promotes global peace, forgiveness and tolerance. After years of collaborative work, is now available to all.

You can watch the concept-album here:


A bit of context

Philips’ intimate relationship with Japan started in 2004 on his first visit to Japan. In 2007 he went back and spent six months there where he attended a Japanese High School, soaking in Japanese Culture. In 2013, he went back once more on holidays and visited the city of Hiroshima, where he was deeply moved by the historical events whilst visiting the Hiroshima peace museum.

The music takes influence from various places, from The Beatles to The Velvet Underground and other bands like Wilco and Radiohead. The final product is a syncretism of Folk & Rock, pulling from the influence palettes of the musicians.

The narrative behind the music tells the story of a young boy called Yuki, who sees his life being taken away by the bombings. The concept-album finishes on the word of Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet as an ode for global peace.

As the project was ready to be released, the pandemic hit the world and everything came to a standstill. The world has now been transformed by a global experience and people everywhere have seen their own worlds shaken by the events. This project is closer to us now than ever before and is finally ready to be presented.

More than a concept-album, I am Yuki : The Hiroshima project is promoting global peace, forgiveness and tolerance, helping the world to remember that the events of the past shape the world of tomorrow.

Remembering Hiroshima in Kingston

Kingston Peace Council/CND held a Hiroshima commemoration on August 6th 2021.

It started with a vigil with posters from 12 to 1pm at the Bentalls Centre, with Sarah and Tony from MPD (Musicians for Peace and Disarmament).

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At 8.15 pm an assembly gathered by the river in Canbury Gardens Kingston for a short candlelit commemoration in the presence of the Mayor, Cllr Sushila Abraham, and her husband.

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Remembering Hiroshima in Wimbledon

Sue Jones reports on the Wimbledon Disarmament Coalition/CND event commemorating the 76th anniversary of the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima.

‘We met, as we have done for many years, at Rushmere Pond on Wimbledon Common.  We were so lucky that the rain passed and it stayed dry, though windy.

Gill McCall set up our Peace Table near the pond, and conducted a Masterclass in making origami paper boats, with adults and children queueing up to make their own, each with a nightlight, for floating on the pond after the short ceremony.  Despite the wind, the candles on some of the boats stayed alight and they reached the far side of the pond.

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‘Group member William Rhind led the proceedings. The Rev. Alison Judge, a local vicar, read from the Beatitudes -  'Blessed are the Peacemakers' was particularly relevant, and ended with the poem 'Let us be Midwives', by Sadako Kurihara.  Kevin O'Brien from Merton & Sutton Trades Council, and himself a former nurse, spoke about the obscene waste of money on Trident, and the increase in nuclear warheads, especially when NHS workers are being offered so little. 

Alison Williams read 'Chernobyl' by Fay Roberts, and William Rhind read ‘I come and Stand at every Door’ by Nazim Hikmet Ran, on behalf of our Chair, Maisie Carter. We were delighted that Maisie was able to be present. Having just celebrated her 94th birthday, she's our shining light!’

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How to watch the London CND Hiroshima commemorations live

The event will be hosted by London CND co-chair Hannah Kemp-Welsh.

With...
Sabrina Francis, Mayor of Camden
Benali Hamdache, Green Party
Carol Turner, London CND co-chair
Jeremy Corbyn MP

And cultural programme including...
Rev Nagase, chant and drumming
Hugh Goodacre, songs
Raised Voices, choir

For those who can't attend the commemoration physically, we'll be broadcasting the full event live on London CND's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LRCND. You won't need a Facebook account: just open the page by clicking on this link at 12pm and the live video will appear when the commemoration begins.

Please get in touch with Julie at info@londoncnd.org if you have any queries.

Lanterns light the way to peace in Hiroshima

Our vice-chair Hannah Kemp-Welch has spent the month of August in Hiroshima and has been sending regular reports back from her time there. You can check out her video report on the World Conference Against A&H Bombs here. Below, she speaks of the lantern floating ceremony in Hiroshima to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the bomb.

We arrived at the Motoyasu River in Hiroshima shortly after dusk. The banks closest to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial were already teeming with people - music floated over to us. Our group walked to a quieter spot, where a stall had been set up with volunteers distributing lanterns. The lanterns were flat packed and paper, in three colours. We wrote our wishes for peace on them with thick markers, then gently pulled the paper over a wooden cross, the stand that held it together. We inserted our candles in the center and struggled against the wind to light the flame.

There were many children, each carrying their lantern carefully over the bumpy ground to the water. Men in Wellington boots stood in the water and helped push the lanterns further out to catch the drift. More volunteers, this time in canoes, collected the burnt out lanterns from the water. It was a mesmerising sight to watch the red and white lights bob down the river. A Buddhist ceremony was taking place, so we listened to chanting whilst watching the lanterns blow downstream.


This ‘Peace Message Lantern Floating Ceremony’ is held on the evening of August 6th every year in Hiroshima, and has been since 1947, just two years after the atomic bombing of the city. An estimated 10,000 lanterns are floated down the river in memory of those who have died, and those who continue to suffer as a result of the bomb.

Support London CND: a message from our Vice-President Catherine West MP

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It’s been a busy year, and with activities in the pipeline, our Vice President Catherine West MP is appealing for financial support for London CND’s work in future: ‘Thank you to everyone who's played a part in London CND’s work this year. I’ve enjoyed meeting many of you at our annual conference and Hiroshima Day film show – a terrible reminder of why we do what we do. And what good news it was to get recognition of this with the Nobel Peace Prize award. I write to share some of our plans for the year ahead, and ask you to make a financial contribution towards London CND’s work.


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