Did anyone march when they were young?

CND (anti-nuclear weapons); South African Embassy (anti-apartheid); American embassy (anti-Vietnam War). I also had draft dodgers sleeping on my floor. Marched on 15 February 2003 (and in the previous October) to protest against invading Iraq – but I wasn't young then.

Oh yes I remember -"Free Nelson Mandela" and Maggie calling him a terrorist.

Dear Maggie

whitewave He was a bomb maker – and rather proud of his skills according to The Long Walk to Freedom. As they say, one man's [woman's] terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

I thought that Mandela was a saboteur rather than a terrorist, aiming to disable the infrastructure rather than take human lives.

No but I wish I had. In Nov 2006 I took part in a march in London to protest about the fate of ex racing greyhounds who are often inhumanely killed or unecessarily euthanased once they stop earning on the race track.

i would have marched against the Vietnam war, had I not been out of the country - I did go out with a draft-dodger in Kenya. Does that count?

Yes, with CND and a sit-down protest in Manchester city centre against the war in Vietnam in the 60s. I was removed by two lovely police officers!

Funny you should ask this because we are off to a March and Rally in Edinburgh this Saturday (YES Campaign) - DH, 2DDs and for the first time 2DGC - takes me back nearly 40 years to when I used to take the pushchair all decked out with flags or banners. As a veteran of many marches and protests from ban the bomb, anti poll tax, It's Scotland's Water
to the annual Bannockburn March, I was most upset that we would be away on holiday and miss the Iraq protest March. I had not realised that the protest was world wide but was delighted to be able to join in on the same day in Spain.

I am also reminded of a fairly small, but highly emotional march in Falkirk, in protest against the proposed closure of the Women's Aid refuge there. We dressed in Green, White and Violet and sang feminist songs. The press were out in force and the general population clapped and cheered. As we approached the Council HQ we were joined by two pipers, all the opposition (SNP) Councillors, the Chief of Police and many of his officers and some of the Social Workers. The leader of the Council remained indoors and sent a minion out to collect the petition but we won! Refuge saved and a message sent to all the local councils who had been planning to save money by axing refuges.

Yes many times as a young student in the 70s (Maggie Thatcher Milk Snatcher - if only she had stopped there). And many times when no longer young over the last few years against local government cuts. I shall probably march even more when I finally retire and have more time. At the moment I content myself by harassing my MP with letters on everything that concerns me.

All of those. And I was in Grosvenor Square - very scary. And a few trips to Greenham. My last ones were against the Iraq war. Did any of it make a difference?

Oh and lots of miners' wives staying with us down from Co Durham.

Most of those I should have said. All of the big causes.

I was a teenager in the 1950's and there really was very little protest going on about anything. We were just interested in having a good time - perhaps it was a reaction to living through the war and the years of austerity that followed it.
I very much admire people who take part in any kind of protest against injustice.

The first time I was moved to march was in the anti Iraq war protests.

I was heartened to see so many young people protesting against the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as their generation had always seemed so lacking in idealism. I especially enjoyed the two young men who, as they marched, chanted "Don't attack Iraq innit".

No. Never did - not that there was much of it going on back then. I can't see that any of it did much good. Think of Jarrow...

absentgrana we could have marched side-by-side. I was a paid up member of CND , a friend and I marched from Aldermaston to Trafalgar Square in 1962, we were only 18 years old too. I didn't tell my mother she would have been horrified. We were student nurses and once that was discovered we spent the evenings dealing with sore and blistered feet. The organisers ensured we had a safe place to sleep, although I never felt at risk. At the end we heard many important people including Sidney Slverman and Bertram Russell speak. It was glorious and I felt that by marching I was supporting CND. We also demonstrated outside the American Embassy in Grosvernor Sq at the time of the Bay of Pigs . A 'Lady' who lived in the Square thought we girls were 'marvellous' and let us use her loo and made copious amounts of tea and toast in the morning. Her house was so grand but she wasn't, she was elderly and had been a suffragette so felt we, as girls, were carrying on the cause. I was living in New York at the Greenham Common demo and sit in, but was there in heart. My children aren't a bit political and wouldn't dream of doing any demos.

PS I still have my CND badge from that time. A collector offered me £20 for it but I wont be parted from it.

I've got a lovely Christian CND one in black and silver metal. But no one has ever made me an offer for it. Not that I'd part with it.

I was at Greenham Common for that big event where everyone joined hands around the perimeter. Hugely exciting. Great sense of camaraderie.

Police quite intimidating sitting on their great big horses. They seemed quite prepared to trample people if they didn't get out of the way.

Stop the Seventies Tour (experienced police brutality at tender age of 18 - changes your view of the state for life)
Pro-choice.
Visited Greenham several times for big days.

CND marches in my youth and, more recently the march supporting Bombardier [the last train manufacturer threatened with closure recently]. nightowl; the pen is a very powerful weapon.....

I was at that joining hands day at Greenham as well - took my daughter who was about 9 and she still remembers it. Also poll tax protests but become a bit of a pen protester now.

So was I and at Molesworth too.