Lost Dreams of an Old Man
I had so many hopes and dreams as a young man. Dreams of a better world, a world without nuclear weapons, a fairer world where nobody would be exploited, no one would die of hunger or be homeless, a world where everything would be shared out fairly. It was all hopelessly idealistic, but it brings tears to my eyes still to see those dreams of my youth lie shattered as an old man.
I started off so full of hope in February 1961 watching and listening to Bertrand Russell in Trafalgar Square on the first Committee of 100 demonstration against nuclear weapons, then he led a march down Whitehall, pinned a notice to the Ministry of Defense (then facing Green Park) and they staged a sit-down outside it.
Seven months later I too sat down in Trafalgar Square with about 10,000 others on the biggest civil disobedience demonstration ever seen in this country, and it seemed nothing could stop us – we would ban the bomb and get rid of the threat that hung over us all.
