Starting on Easter Friday 1958 the Aldermaston March attracted thousands of all ages (I was 14). Organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) the banners of the march introduced a new peace sign to the world ... the most used peace sign alongside Picasso's dove.
The sign was copied by peace activists across the world (early on in US peace and student marches it was often replaced mistakenly by the Mercedes Benz sign, although perhaps the appropriation of logos of large manufacturers for anti-war purposes might not be a bad idea)
The CND sign was created by Gerald Holtom a designer and former World War II conscientious objector from West London.
The march started at Trafalgar Square and ended outside the Aldermaston atomic weapons factory some 80 Kilometres away. Marchers slept overnight at schools and churches along the away and some of the earliest "protest songs" were sung by groups of folksingers, songs like H-Bombs Thunder.
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