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News
The catalogue of the papers listed so far is on our Archives catalogue|.
The online exhibition prepared as part of this project is now available. It starts at CND: The story of a peace movement part one|.
The leaflet marking 50 years of CND is available: CND at 50| (pdf).
Introduction
'The Story of a Peace Movement', supported by the Nuclear Education Trust and LSE Annual Fund, is part of an archival and educational programme developed by LSE and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of CND in 1958.
Since 1971 CND has deposited its core administrative papers with the Archives of the London School of Economics and new deposits are regularly added. Currently the archive includes the papers of the Committee of 100 established in the early 1960s to organise non-violent direct action, the executive committee minutes following the discussions and debates of the movement, Annual Conference papers, and the papers of special interest groups from Ex-Services CND to members of Equity for Nuclear Disarmament. There is also a wide range of campaigning material, from leaflets and demonstration manuals to an extensive collection of local group magazines and newsletters.
'The Story of a Peace Movement' will use these resources to bring the history of CND to a wider audience through a touring exhibition to be used in venues large and small throughout the country. An online version will be available for those beyond the reach of the touring exhibition. The exhibition will showcase many of the images and publications used by CND in its campaigning and will celebrate the breadth and diversity of its membership. Local groups will be encouraged to locate venues and to develop events and local displays to accompany the national exhibition.
CND National Office has also retained an archive of a wide range of material relating to its historic and current campaigning activities. In the next stage of the project, these collections will be brought together to create a comprehensive, catalogued and publicly accessible collection at LSE. Posters and other items will be digitized and used to develop an online resource and educational materials.
Contributing to CND's programme of commemorative events, in May 2008 LSE will host a round-table discussion on developments in CND over the past 50 years.
For more information on this project, please contact LSE Archives: Contact details|.
Researching the history of CND local and special interest groups
Useful tools for searching archives throughout England and Wales include:
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The National Archives' database A2A, which offers descriptions of archives held locally throughout England and Wales
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National Register of Archives, which contains information on the location of manuscripts throughout the UK
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Archives Hub, which holds descriptions of papers in UK universities and colleges
The Scottish Archive Network, SCAN| and Archives Network Wales| offer similar services for archives in Scotland and Wales respectively.
AIM25| provides descriptions of the archives of higher education institutions and learned societies within the greater London area.
Apart from the papers here at LSE Archives, there are large deposits of CND materials at the Modern Archives Centre, University of Warwick|. The British Library Sound Archive| holds the John Crabbe CND Collection, a unique archive of recordings from 1958-9, documenting early London-based conferences and speeches.