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Report from Joint Analysis Centre, Molesworth 8 October 2005 From: Anna Cheetham |
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As part of 'Keep Space for Peace' week 5 of us went from Leicester on the afternoon of 8th October. A very different reception from the one that had met us on our last visit on 10th July (following the 7th July bombs in London) this time no armed US soldiers to be seen, and the gates stood wide open. However within about 5 minutes of our arrival at the Peace Garden an MoD policeman was walking with us as we wandered up Peace Lane picking blackberries. I was explaining to Pat, who was on her first visit, how this had been the site of encampments in the 1980s after the base was enclosed ready for the arrival of nuclear cruise missiles. We turned back, as I didn't want to walk through nettles, and of course, with the party divided another policeman appeared to accompany Pat and I back to the Peace Garden, while the others continued a bit further around the base. He told us he had recently been at Fylingdales, and did we know Lindis Percy? He also said that the US was reducing the number of forces on the sites he covered. We tided the garden for about an hour, I planted a few white crocus, then we went to the gate with our banner "Keep Space for Peace and Nuclear Free". The 'Fylingdales' policeman offered to take a picture of all of us with our camera, and got told off from his control room for his pains. Their cameras of course being trained on us from inside the base. We finished our visit with a short walk up the bridle parth, and then back to Leicester. they knew we had been there - the first policeman having reported "We've got five here", and we knew that we had acknowledged the importance of this US base. A pleasant trip out in the countryside for a serious purpose.
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