Kingston Peace Council has announced it will take to the streets to campaign for nuclear disarmament (CND).

Just over a fortnight after the film about the 'father of the atomic bomb' hit the big screen, supporters of Kingston Peace Council/CND will mark the anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Phil Cooper, spokesperson for Kingston Peace Council/CND, said: "We hope the fact that this film about the creation of the most destructive weapon ever made is being shown at this time will make people stop and think about the dire threat that is hanging over all of us."

Campaigners with placards and leaflets will gather outside Benthalls between 12-2pm during the day, holding a silent vigil. 

At 8pm in the evening, a solemn candle-lit commemoration will take place in Canbury Gardens. 

The Mayor of Kingston, Cllr Diane White, has confirmed she will attend the event. It will include short speeches and a two-minutes' silence. Flower petals will be strewn on the river in memory of those killed in the atomic bombings and in wars ever since. 

"The terrible War in Ukraine is being fought, indirectly, between the nations with the most nuclear weapons on Earth," Cooper said. "Now is certainly the time to remind people of the death and destruction caused by the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US."

According to some calculations, the two atomic bombs killed at least 216,000 Japanese, mostly civilians. Cooper said the estimates are roughly equivalent to today's entire population of Kingston upon Thames, Teddington, Hampton and Molesey.

advertisement