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Conscientious Objectors, Cannabis Education & Bengali New Year – 2005

Conscientious Objectors, Cannabis Education & Bengali New Year: Three unrelated events on 15th May 2005 in London. May 15th has been observed in Europe as Conscientious Objectors’ Day since 1982 and became International in 1985 when it was adopted by War Resisters’ International. A ceremony is held every year on the day in Tavistock Square at the site of the massive slate Conscientious Objectors’ Commemorative Stone which has the inscriptions:

TO COMMEMORATE MEN & WOMEN
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS TO MILITARY SERVICE
ALL OVER THE WORLD & IN EVERY AGE

TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE
ESTABLISHED AND
ARE MAINTAINING
THE RIGHT TO
REFUSE TO KILL

Their foresight and
courage give us hope

THIS STONE WAS DEDICATED ON 15 MAY 1994
INTERNATIONAL CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS' DAY

Conscientious Objectors, Cannabis Education & Bengali New Year - 2005

I left before the end of the ceremony and hurried to Russell Square for the start of the annual march calling for the legalisation of cannabis, walking with this to Trafalgar Square and then taking the tube to go to Brick Lane for the Bengali New Year Festival. Below is what I wrote in 2005.

The Right to Refuse to Kill – International Conscientious Objectors Day

Tavistock Square

May 15th was International Conscientious Objectors’ Day, and the ‘right to refuse to kill’ group of people from the Peace Pledge Union, Conscience, The Unitarian Peace Fellowship, Christian CND, The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, Pax Christi, The Women’s International League For Peace And Freedom And Dances Of Universal Peace had organised a ceremony at the Commemorative stone in Tavistock Square. After a brief introduction by Tony Kempster of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, Sue Gilmurray sang her song ‘Heroes’ and then Angela Sinclair who was a conscientious objector in the Second World War told her story and spoke about the right not to take part in war.

After a speaker from Amnesty and another from Conscience, the names of almost seventy conscientious objectors, many of who had died for their beliefs, were read out. The organisers had given out white flowers labelled with their names, and as each name was read, the person holding their flower came and placed it on the stone. After a one minute silence the commemoration continued with another song and then dancing, but I had to leave at this point.

more pictures

Cannabis Education March & Rally

Russell Square to Trafalgar Square,

The annual march to demand the legalisation of cannabis had to be postponed and moved to a central London location after Lambeth council had refused to allow it to use Brockwell Park. Probably for this reason, the numbers seemed well down on previous years.

The last year had seen both an increasing recognition of the value of cannabis in relieving pain for some conditions, and also in revealing the mental health problems it causes some users. Despite these, the existing anti-drugs policies are more and more discredited, leading to increasing crime and addiction, and also greatly increasing the probability of cannabis users moving on to more dangerous and addictive drugs.

Cannabis needs to be taken out of the hands of drug dealers, and into some form of legalised supply chain which would cut out the drug dealers, allow better supervision of the product and create a total separation between cannabis and other more dangerous substances.

It would also allow the creation of a tax revenue, some of which could be spent on the rehabilitation of drug users.

Many more pictures

Bengali New Year Festival (Baishaki Mela)

Brick Lane

I went with the march to Trafalgar Square and stayed to listen to a couple of the speakers, but soon lost interest and got on the District Line to go up to Brick Lane for the Bengali New Year Festival.

When I got there it was just too crowded; after walking around for a few minutes I gave up and came home.

More pictures

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12 Days of Christmas – September

12 Days of Christmas -some of my favourite pictures from those I made in September 2025.

September was a very month for me in London and I found it impossible to stick to just one picture per event as I have done for most of these ’12 Days of Christmnas ‘posts.

12 Days of Christmas – September — London, UK. 3 Sept 2025. A small group led by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) braved bad weather to march from Stratford Station to the Excel Centre raising awareness in Newham about the worlds largest Arms Fair, DSEI, which begins on 9th September with arms dealers from around the world including Israel selling weapons used for killing and oppression. Protests began there on Monday and continue daily until the fair ends on the 12th. Peter Marshall.

London, UK. 9 Sep 2025. HOW MANY DEATHS WILL IT TAKE TILL THEY KNOW THAT TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED!! People protest as police clear the area. Despite the Underground strike, hundreds protested at the opening day of the world’s largest arms fair calling for a mass blocade against Britain’s complicity in genocide. Britain’s arms trade profits from the slaughter of Palestinians and other civilians around the world and Israel has a pavilion at the DSEI arms fair, selling weapons that have been ‘battle-tested’ in Gaza. Peter Marshall.

London, UK. 13 Sept 2025. Around 20,000 marched march through London in opposition to the larger extreme right march also taking place. They opposed the protests against refugees and asylum seekers calling for fair and humane treatment for all who arrive in the UK and for an end to racism and Islamophobia. From a rally in Russell Square they marched led by Women Against the Far Right to Whitehall. Peter Marshall.

London, UK. 17 Sep 2025. Dump Trump. Thousands marched through London against the state visit to the UK by Trump in a protest by the Stop Trump Coalition uniting many groups. Many carried placards and posters ridiculing Trump and denouncing him as a fascist and dictator. They say the UK should not be pandering to Trump but opposing his dangerous and divisive actions including climate denial and support for genocide in Gaza. Peter Marshall

London, UK. 20 Sept 2025. Bog Off Bezos! Thousands came to the ‘Make Them Pay’ march, part of a global week of action on climate justice backed by an alliance of trade unions and campaigning organisations representing millions of workers, citizens and communities across Britain. They say ‘Billionaires have broken Britain – Make THEM pay to fix it.’ They demand the government tax the super-rich, protect workers not billionaires and make polluters pay. Peter Marshall.

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All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Peace, Slavery & Social Cleansing

Three years ago December 9th was a Saturday and people were out on the streets in at least three protests which I photographed.

My day’s work began at the Ministry of Defence, where peace campaigners celebrated the award of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, with a die-in on the steps.

ICAN was awarded the prize for its role in pushing for a United Nations global nuclear ban treaty which was approved by 122 nations at the UN General Assembly in 2017. In October 2020 Honduras became the 50th country to ratify it and will come into force on 22 January 2021. The UK government refused to take and part in the negotiations and has refused to sign the treaty and the award of the Nobel prize hardly got a mention in the UK media.

None of the main nuclear powers has signed the accord, and the protesters including members of ICAN UK, CND, Medact and WILPF, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, urged the UK to sign up and scrap Trident replacement. Bruce Kent made a presentation of a large cardboard Nobel Prize to ICAN UK, and handed out small ‘Nobels’ (gold-covered chocolate coins) to all who come up for them. After a few speeches there was then a die-in on the steps of the ministry.

A large crowd had gathered in Belgrave Square for the National Anti-Slavery March, organised by African Lives Matter after the news that African migants detained in Libya were being sold as slaves by Arab slave traders.

They marched to Knightsbridge and then along to Hyde Park Corner, going around the roundabout and then back along the other carriageway of Knightsbridge to the Libyan Embassy where there was a lengthy rally, including an African priest leading a libation ceremony in memory of the many Africans who have fought for their people against enslavement and colonialism; people in the crowd shouted out names for him to honour with pouring water onto the ground.

As well as demanding the closure of the Libyan detention centres, action by African governments to rescue people detained in the camps and condemnation of the slave trade and murders of migrants by all African leaders and the UN, calling on Libya to make and enforce laws that prevent these crimes against humanity, many also demanded reparations for the historic slave trade and the continuing despoliation of African resources by imperialist nations including the UK.

I had to leave before the rally ended as I was beginning to shake and feel unwell, weak and dizzy, the signs of an diabetic hypo, and I walked a short distance away to sit down eating one of the snacks I carry to give a rapid boost of my blood sugar. Soon I was feeling well enough to eat my lunch and take the tube to my final event of the day, a vigil outside Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton against the heartless policies of Lambeth Council.

Lambeth are one of the London Labour councils who are pursuing a policy of social cleansing under the guise of regeneration, realising the asset value of council estates by demolition and rebuilding with only small provision of social housing, resulting in many local council tenants and leaseholders being forced to move out of the area.

Lambeth have also made drastic cuts, shutting down community centres, cutting services for the disabled, those with mental health problems, young people and social services generally; although the Council claim these actions have been forced on them by Tory government cuts, the protester point out that Councillors’ expenses and allowances keep on growing and they have spent over £150m on a new Town Hall.

The vigil included a tribute to Cressingham Gardens resident and leading campaigner Ann Plant who died of cancer in December 2016, spending her final months continuing the fight to prevent the demolition of her home and her community by the council.

More from all 3 events on My London Diary:

Stand Up to Lambeth protest and vigil
National Anti-Slavery March
ICAN Nobel Peace Prize Die-In

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.