WRI activists

Grace Paley, the American short-story writer and pacifist, has died aged 84.

24 December 1919 - 3 February 2007

Len Gibson, a lifelong peace campaigner and member of The Brotherhood Church -- a WRI affiliate in West Yorkshire, England -- has died at age 87.

15 February 1926 - 15 December 2006

Jean Van Lierde, who died in Brussels on 15 December, was the main figure behind the long political struggle for the recognition of the right to CO in Belgium, which resulted in 1964 in the law creating alternative civilian service. He was a friend and adviser to Patrice Lumumba, the Congo's first post-independence prime minister, and published several books and articles on Lumumba.

Harry Mister died in London on 26 January, just a fortnight after his 92nd birthday. Harry was a key figure in many parts of the peace movement including, but not only, the pacifist end of the movement - for over 70 years.

17 August 1939 - 13 July 2004

Today we heard that Toma Ŝik is dead - overrun by a tractor during a nightly walk home through the fields to his newly-bought old farm somewhere in a forgotten part of Hungary which should have fulfilled his dream of establishing a commune of organic-humanist (and vegan) "new peasants".

He was a pioneer of the Israeli-Palestinian search for peace, a forerunner of the present day pacifist-refusniks and actively involved in many struggles. For decades his friendly bearded face was to be seen at any demonstration.

Tony Smythe

by Harold F. Bing

Tony Smythe, who has died aged 65, was one of those people rightwing commentators blame for the alleged decline of British standards and values in the 1960s and 1970s. He was associated with, and in many cases spearheaded, most of the important human rights and emancipatory campaigns then and in subsequent decades. He became general secretary of the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) in 1966.

Obituary by Michael Randletraducción en español
Conscientious Objection and War Resistance by Tony Smythe (War Resistance Vol.2 No.21, 1967)
Tony Smythe leaves the WRI office by Harold Bing (War Resistance Vol.2 No.11, 1964)

This book is a memorial to Myrtle Solomon, a committed pacifist who inspired people by her example. It brings together her major writings, into each of which she succeeded in injecting a nugget of significance, of originality, of creative intelligence. Her interviews for oral histories give her a voice and reveal something of her personality even to those who did not know her. The tributes at her death, culled from numerous expressions of appreciation for her as a person and a leader, help explain why this book was seen as a suitable commemoration to a woman who engaged all her formidable energy in the cause of peace. The book primarily reflects Myrtle Solomon's work as chair of the War Resisters' International from 1975 to 1986.

Order a paper copy at WRI's webshop.