Greenham Common free festivals 1981-82: Photogallery 2

The Archive

Formatted at 800 X 600- or higher .created March 2002. Updated August 2007 .

For information on today's festivals see eFestivals.co.uk

Greenham Common Peace Camp

The Free Festivals

and the saga of the

Peace Convoy.

1981-1982.

Al Stokes Gallery

Part 2

Al Stokes ( right ) and friend at Greenham common 1982

From my diary, 17th July 1982: "Strange weekend at Greenham Common."

Most of the site photos were taken at dawn on July 18th because I didn't want to disturb anyone. This was back in the day when 'man with camera' was seen by the Convoy as 'the enemy of the yellow press'. All of us press, long-haired friendly freaks or not. I remember having a gun poked in my face by a biker and told to f-off the site until a friendly furry freak rushed up and rescued me.

Good job whoever that was. Sometimes it could get heavy with some Convoy folks ... the best course of action was to be very careful with that camera. A Pentax Super ME with motorwind and a 50m & 400m with double back converter if anyone's interested.

Oh yeah, I do remember one thing which happened - as stoned as a brick, looking up and watching Skylab track across the sky, as pointed out to me by a Convoy Kid. I have a lot of good memories of covering that 'story', very laid back and cool. Which is probably why the Sunday Times spiked the story for being too fluffy.

Nick Danger knew I had to take a flight from Heathrow on the Sunday night so he drove me back to London, but not before taking a wrong turn onto the M4 which led us off 15-miles in the wrong direction. I was starting to get the jitters about losing the flight (to Leeds) but arrived just in time for last call for passengers. I turned up at the Yorkshire TV Calendar newsroom at about 10pm looking like I'd just returned from a combat mission behind enemy lines, coming down from whatever I'd 'eaten' the night before and decidedly unwashed. The news editor said, "My god, you've finally turned into a dirty, smelly hippie!" Such is life.

Al Stokes