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2020 Objects of Peace: CND Helmet

December 24, 20202:25 pmSeptember 22, 2023 2:28 pmLeave a Comment

The Peace Museum has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help build The Peace Museum of the Future. As part of the campaign 20 ambassadors have chosen an object from our collection to talk about its importance in the history of peace and why it is significant to them.

Charlie Dean, Trustee, has chosen this CND Helmet.

An Ingenious Solution…

“This 2020 object is an ingenious solution to the problem of heavy placards, from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Placards are the focal points of demonstrations. They tell the audience all about why people are protesting. If you’ve marched yourself, you’ll know that after a while they start to feel H-E-A-V-Y. And then it starts to rain. Cue one protestor’s ingenious solution to both problems – use a hard hat instead. The hardhat is made of plastic and has a printed-on design. It can deal with everything the British weather has to throw at it. Because plastic is light and is worn on the head, it solves the weight problem too. The helmet is also eye-catching. It is unusual to see protesters wearing hard hats, so people take more notice too. Of course, it also does the other things that great protest signs do as well. It has a simple, clear message – to build hospitals and not Trident (the UK’s nuclear programme). It includes the CND’s logo, the peace symbol, on the front. This is one of the most widely recognised symbols in the world. It’s clear what these protestors are asking for!”

Written by Ezra Kingston

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