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Banner made by peace activist, Thalia Campbell, in September/October 1981. She was a member of the Women for Life on Earth group who established the peace camp at Greenham Common in September 1981. The banner was displayed on the military base's perimeter fence.
"I think this would be very early on. That would be September-October [19]81. And it was just what I had to hand. You know, I wanted to make a banner and I found this green curtain, and this was a horrible bit of blue, slimy blue fabric. And the barbed wire is wool and tied round... A very simple, hurriedly made banner. But actually, when I first made it I didn't like it very much. I thought it was pathetic. But now actually it's grown on me. It was made hastily with a lot of feeling and the word NO". Source: Oral history interview with Thalia Campbell conducted by Elen Phillips (19 December 2017).
Banner made from pale green cotton/synthetic curtain material with an appliquéed design using machine made zig-zag stitches of different colour threads. The design shows a barbed wire fence against a blue sky, below are a pair of hands (and lower arms) holding a black bomb with the word 'NO' in red and purple below. This is flanked by a purple combined female gender and peace symbol on the left and a green olive sprig of peace on the right. The blue 'sky' is pieced together from 3 patches of blue synthetic fabric. The side edges are bound in a dark blue tabby woven cotton fabric, which probably also served as a sleeve for the insertion of an upright pole. On the upper edge of the reverse, the green fabric retains its curtain tape. The top edge has a wide turn-back. At the upper corners, a cut has been made into the turn-back (on the reverse) in order to insert a pole. The lower edge of the banner is trimmed with green synthetic looped fringe with a chenille braid. Examination of the reverse of the fringe suggests that the fringe was applied reverse-side up. The curtain fabric itself has a pattern weave of pale green, thick cotton wefts and shiny synthetic warps of a darker green. The pattern is of pale, vertical stripes alternating with darker, wider, stripes with a design of pale green stylised foliage.