Easter

Easter is remembered as the occasion of a peace march from London to Aldermaston, and as a point of reference in Marion’s growing interest in anti-nuclear activism. Julia’s account of the march gives a concrete shape to a political commitment that Marion had only just begun to imagine.

The Easter March

Julia tells Marion that she went on the march at Easter and describes a cold spring walk from London to the nuclear research centre at Aldermaston. People from varied backgrounds—including Christians, students, schoolteachers, factory workers and anarchists—joined the procession. Julia recalls walking alongside her friend Rita despite the poor weather and the temptation to seek shelter in a pub before reaching the end.

Marion’s Response

The march becomes a model of collective action for Marion. After saying that nuclear testing frightens her and that she is considering joining the campaign against it, she asks when the next event will take place. Julia’s description of marchers acting together makes participation seem to Marion like entry into a different kind of life, beyond the expectations she associates with being a police officer’s wife. In her later account to Patrick, Easter thus anchors the moment when political concern begins to turn into a personal intention.