Object of the Fortnight 17/12/2013

CAMPAIGN ATOM CHRISTMAS CARD The festive season is upon us so this fortnight’s object had to be Christmas related. We have recently acquired a festive (albeit unconventional) greetings card that fits the bill perfectly. The card was printed by Campaign ATOM , an abbreviation of Campaign Against the Oxfordshire Missiles. This campaign  “oppose[d] the decisions to base American-controlled cruise missiles in Britain and to buy Trident nuclear submarines”. ATOM  (later known as Oxford Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) were heavily involved in protests and peace camps in the 1980s, including Greenham Common Peace Camp which the Museum chronicles the history of.   The card itself show Santa flying on his sleigh being followed by a missile on the front of card, The inside of the card shows the aftermath of Santa being hit by a missile with the culprit missile sticking into the snow covered ground, the sleigh damaged next to it, a lifeless reindeer and a lone teddy bear.          

The printed message inside the card says: “Dear Human Beings, Normal Christmas deliveries will be resumed, once you get started on some actual nuclear disarmament. Yours regretfully, Santa”. The message might be not be very jolly (as the card’s senders ironically points out) but it captures ATOM’s passion for campaigning against disarmament. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Peace Museum UK team!

Inside of Christmas card printed by Campaign ATOM