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Battle of the Beanfield 25th anniversary , Wiltshire

Submitted by andyworthington on Saturday, 05 June 2010  Page Views: 34450

Events

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Country: England County: Wiltshire
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Stonehenge.
Stonehenge. submitted by gautrek : This shot taken in 1982 while attending one of the free festivals sums up why i don't rate stonehenge as a good site to visit.In fact apart from the free festivals i have never felt the need to go and see it as i hate not being able to touch and feel the stones. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Wednesday June 1st 2010 was the 25th anniversary of the Battle of the Beanfield. For those who are unaware of this dark day for British justice and civil liberties, the Battle of the Beanfield took place after a convoy of 140 travellers’ vehicles, containing around 450 men, women and children – including travellers, peace protestors, green activists and festival-goers – had set off from Savernake Forest in Wiltshire in an attempt to establish the 12th annual free festival at Stonehenge.

Andy Worthington writes: They never reached their destination. Eight miles from the Stones they were ambushed, assaulted and arrested with unprecedented brutality by a quasi-military police force of over 1,300 officers drawn from six counties and the MoD. The Stonehenge festival came to an end, and the travellers’ entire way of life was now under threat as the state prepared to introduce new legislation that would aid them in their mission to ‘decommission’ the travellers’ movement and the free festival circuit that sustained it.

Also available is a full-length book about the subject: 'The Battle of the Beanfield'. Edited by Andy Worthington, with photos and contributions by Alan Lodge, Tim Malyon, Neil Goodwin, Gareth Morris, Alan Dearling and others, the book will be published in time for the summer solstice.

'The Battle of the Beanfield' features in-depth interviews with a range of people who were there on the day, including travellers, journalists, landowners and the police, extracts from the police radio log, a hundred photos (including many which have rarely been seen before), chapters on the 1991 Beanfield trial, a description of the making of the documentary ‘Operation Solstice’, and chapters which set the events of the Beanfield in context. These look at the evolution of the free festival scene, new travellers, convoys and peace protestors, ‘raves’ and road protests, the campaigns for access to Stonehenge, and the wider implications of the events of the Beanfield, through increasingly draconian legislation, on civil liberties in the UK.

Andy Worthington is the author of Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion, available from the Megalithic Portal shop, and described by John Hodge of SchNEWS as ‘by far the best bit of modern British social history I’ve seen.’

Alan Lodge's account of the day 25 years ago, with photo gallery. (very slow link as now sourced from Internet Archive)

[Update of 2005 page of from the 20th anniversary, further links in the comments below]

Note: Beanfield, a new play by Shaun McCarthy at The Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter until June 18th, details below
Contributor Bio for andyworthington: Based in london, contributing since 2004. Occupation: writer.

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"Battle of the Beanfield 25th anniversary " | Login/Create an Account | 25 News and Comments
  
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Re: Police looking for you - to apologise! by Anonymous on Sunday, 14 November 2010
Andy Worthington, thank you for a great book what really happened on that day was shameful and should never be forgotten.

For those of you that were not there and think you can comment on the Hippies, well all I can say is I hope your government wherever they are never condone what happened in that field on that day to peaceful citizens.

Every police person that took part in that dreadful onslaught were like mindless puppets doing the work of their masters.

A dark day in British history indeed
[ Reply to This ]

Police looking for you - to apologise! by Andy B on Thursday, 10 June 2010
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In some ways things have got better, in other ways they haven't

Tens of thousands of people have been stopped in the street and searched unlawfully under controversial section 44 anti-terrorism powers, the Home Office has revealed.

Fourteen police forces are urgently trying to find the individuals involved so they can apologise to them... (!)

Terrorism Act 2000 ... powers were used to stop 148,798 people last year and have been used repeatedly against peace protesters and photographers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/10/anti-terror-law-illegal-stop-search
[ Reply to This ]

Re: battle of the beanfield by Andy B on Saturday, 05 June 2010
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Some unedited footage of the day can be seen from about 3 minutes in to this youtube video.



Donald Smith, then Chief Constable of Wiltshire Council Constabulary said in a Newsnight interview ,

“There’s two sides to every story....It’s always easy for any person, whether he be a policeman, a television interviewer, anyone, to say the police over reacted on that day. You’ve got to be there before you make a proper judgement in my view.”

http://www.marlboroughpeople.co.uk/news/25-YEARS-MARLBOROUGH-rsquo-S-BATTLE-BEANFIELD/story-4687081-detail/story.html
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    Re: battle of the beanfield by Anonymous on Saturday, 05 June 2010
    Thanks for posting this Andy. Actual evidence rather than misinformed heresay and class bigotry. I have spoken to about 20 people that were in the field on that day and they all have unbelieveable things to tell. I don't want to live in a world that has no place for hippies.
    Keep rocking in the free world
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The Battle of the Beanfield: 25th Anniversary Events by Andy B on Saturday, 05 June 2010
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http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/05/28/the-battle-of-the-beanfield-25th-anniversary-events/

Apologies we didn't spot these previously. Unfortunately they have 'bean' and gone apart from this one.

Exeter, Tuesday June 1 to Saturday June 19: “Beanfield,” a new play by Shaun McCarthy at The Bike Shed Theatre, St Olaves Close, Mary Archers Street, Exeter, EX4 3AT.

Beanfield has been written to highlight an often-forgotten event that occured twenty-five years ago in the South West. On the 1st June 1985, a convoy of several hundred new-age travellers was attacked by riot police as they made their way to Stonehenge for the 14th annual Stonehenge free festival. Vehicles were destroyed, dogs put down and many people were seriously wounded as police pursued those attempting to escape across the Beanfield.

Seen through the lense of a love story between Steamer, a veteran of the convoy, and Annie, the well-to-do daughter of a newspaper editor, and taking in an array of...

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Battle of the Beanfield 25th anniversary by Andy B on Saturday, 05 June 2010
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Article from 2009 by Andy Worthington:

Remember the Battle of the Beanfield
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jun/01/remembering-the-battle-of-the-beanfield

The Battle Of The Beanfield Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11083250843&v=wall
(no self-respecting freedom fighter should be going anywhere near Facebook but still...)
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Re: Battle of the Beanfield 20th anniversary events by Anonymous on Sunday, 03 July 2005
very strange but after all this time no one has even talked about the fact that we shot down a helicopter was not me but spent nearly 2 years in court about it. where was you lot ....... being hippys!!!!
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Re: Battle of the Beanfield 20th anniversary events by Anonymous on Saturday, 02 July 2005
I think that the annual events by you people damage the stones and the area themselves!
All you do is drink booze, smoke dope and crack. How spiritual is that? That area is a national treasue, and you are ruining it with your yearly 'party'.
That was why they tried to close the place to you lot back in 85!
Oh, and Andy Worthington, you clearly cannot argue your point without insulting the person who you are replying to. That American chap, Lionsfan, had some very good points and you refused to answer them. Instead you just ridiculed him.
Grow up mate. I hope you sell more than 10 copies of your book, but I doubt it!

Frodo Baggins (and proud! :P)
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Re: Battle of the Beanfield 20th anniversary events by Anonymous on Thursday, 23 June 2005
While the media largely ignored the solstice at Stonehenge, and some archaeologists got excited about a reconstruction of the temple on Channel 5, complete with sombre celebrants dressed in period clothing, The Independent and The Western Daily Press ran articles about the 20th anniversary of the Battle of the Beanfield.
URLs as follows:
'Twenty years on, the peace-loving festival fans still bear the scars of the Battle of the Beanfield':
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=648515
'Day of hell for the henge hippies':
http://www.westpress.co.uk/new/util/content.jsp?id=12669758
'I'll never forget how police beat women in Battle of Beanfield' (interview with the Earl of Cardigan):
http://www.westpress.co.uk/new/util/content.jsp?id=12676237
All the best,
Andy

[ Reply to This ]
    The Earl of Cardigan interviewed about Battle of the Beanfield by Andy B on Thursday, 23 June 2005
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    There is one part of the Battle of the Beanfield I will remember to my grave. The police were attempting to arrest a young woman sitting at the front of a coach. Other coaches were being brought to a halt by the police tactics of hurling anything they could get their hands on - shields, truncheon, rocks, at least one small steel fire extinguisher - at the windscreens as they drove past.

    As this one went past, the woman stood up for all to see and held up a tiny baby.

    No sooner had she finished crying out that she had a baby with her, then one of the police man at the back of the melee slung a large stone at the front of that windscreen, which shattered into a thousand pieces, covering mother and baby.

    He presumably had not heard or seen what we all had.

    My own daughter had been born just a couple of months earlier and it was many years later before I could tell that story without having to stop half way through.

    In the end, myself and my neighbour, John Moore, ended...

    Read the rest of this post...
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Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Tuesday, 21 June 2005
A rather amusing, biased post there from Mr. Worthington. I did indeed chuckle to myself! So incredibly anti-police it's laudable! They could have showered you with roses and you would have reported to the world they hearld fireballs at you.
So, these travellers decide to ahve their 12th annual free festival at stonehenge. Great. However, they knew it was closed, that they wouldn't be allowed access. However they persisted to attend, clearly thinking they could break there way onto the said grounds of stonehenge. Fortunately the Police were on hand to prevent them from doing so. I'm sure the travellers expected only a few policemen to be in attendance around the site, and they wouldn't take much to get past. How suprised they must have been when they saw the Police had seen their plans. Either this or they must have known that many police would have been present and went to cause trouble anyway!
Anyway, this convoy of motors smash their way into a field to try and get past the...

Read the rest of this post...
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    Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Thursday, 17 April 2008
    I can not believe how utterly stupid your comments are. I personally do not believe that there is ever any excuse to beat pregnant women, no matter who they are or whatever they have done. To condone such actions purely serves to illustrate the extent of your blind bigotry. You excuse such actions by insisting that the travellers were simply out to cause trouble…*sigh*…how ill-informed you are. Only two types of people attack innocent people: cowards and bullies – which are you?

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      Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Saturday, 05 June 2010
      Well said. There is much about the Beanfield that people refuse to believe.
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Saturday, 05 June 2010
    Pork Swords more like
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Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Tuesday, 21 June 2005
As someone who used to live near Stonehenge at the time I can assure you that the site was not cleaned up in the way suggested above.
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Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by andyworthington on Friday, 10 June 2005
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This is a reply to ‘LionsFan’ – though normally I don’t bother to reply to ignorant critics who hide behind pseudonyms. My name’s Andy Worthington, and I’m proud of it.

First off, I didn’t call the Beanfield ‘the most brutal police operation in the history of the UK’, so you might want to check who you’re accusing of what before you start denigrating my comments. I’m well aware that there have been plenty of other incidents of police brutality in recent British history, including some that you mention, but I stand by my comment that the ‘convoy’ attacked on June 1st 1985 was attacked with ‘unprecedented brutality’. These were unarmed civilians, who, as well as including in their number the ‘hippies’ you so clearly despise, also comprised peace protestors (Green Party members, CND members), many of whom had recently been protesting against plans to locate Cruise missiles on British soil at Molesworth airbase in Cambridgeshire. But then you probably think that anti-war protestors...

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    Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Friday, 06 July 2012
    Eloquently put Andy.
    I had been to the 3 preceding years Henge festival but was unable to go to the 1985 showdown (even though we had heard all about what it was going to be like with the police OVERKILL etc) no, I was a teenager stuck living in a squat then, the result of Thatchers' scrapping of housing benefit for lodgers between ages 16-24 after six weeks in any one town. Sound familiar? Deja-vu? It was an ideological attack then it is now, make no mistake.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by LionsFan on Wednesday, 08 June 2005
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I'm American. So naturally my view of these matters is colored by cultural associations. But if the posters above and "Andy" truly believe that this was the "most brutal police operation in the history of the Uk," my basic advice to all of you is, grow up. You've had race riots places like Brixton and Bradford, and you think this was "brutal?" Worse, you seem to think your behavior was fine by contrast.

Stonehenge may indeed belong to "everyone," but of everyone who visits, few evince any basic interest in keeping it clean and well-maintained. So the state stepped in and charged admission. Long ago.

Then came the hippies (and, I'd bet, later on what we used to term "beer hippies" over here, although we're being kind here). But "you guys" simply don't have the right to assert, however vaguely, half-formed notions of hippie-*****-traveller "culture over a bona-fide national treasure. Not even on, especially not on, the summer solstice. If you want to dance, beat (badly) on drums...

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    Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Thorgrim on Thursday, 09 June 2005
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    Entirely agree with our American friend! Couldn't put it better myself - well said, Sir!
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    Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Saturday, 05 June 2010
    The first line of your post says it all - I'm American. This certainly wasn't the worst police action ever in Britain. Poll Tax Riots come to mind. All your other comments should be put into a small box and self-inserted.

    One of many stone hugging hippies.

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    Re: The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Friday, 06 July 2012
    Have our Lionsfan not seen the video clips of people being smashed over the heads with truncheons, being dragged across the fields by their hair & having their HOMES smashed in front of their children and partners? And for what? Exercising a freedom this country is supposed to be proud of? I think if he was there at the time he might have a better idea of the brutal reality of what it was like, evidently he was not and clearly knows little about the actual atrocities committed by the authorities that day.
    [ Reply to This ]
      Be aware you are responding to 7 yo postings... by bat400 on Friday, 06 July 2012
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      You may want to note the dates on these postings. Lionsfan has not been active in 7 years on the Portal.
      [ Reply to This ]

The Battle of the Beanfield by Anonymous on Saturday, 04 June 2005
NickFitz writes: it is just over twenty years since the
Battle of the Beanfield, perhaps the most brutal police operation in
the history of the United Kingdom. On 1 June 1985 police from six
counties attacked a convoy of men, women and children who were
making their way to Stonehenge. Half an hour later, 420 people had
been beaten and arrested and up to 140 vehicles seized.

There are many things to be disgruntled - and even seriously bloody
angry - about in the state of the United Kingdom today. Nonetheless
it has to be admitted that things ain't what they used to be: 1985
was a time of three million unemployed (official figures, real
figures something over six million), wretchedly run-down council
estates rife with drugs and crime, and a Prime Minister who
explicitly stated that there was no such thing as society. The
message of the Government was unequivocal: you lot are on your own.

This was how the Peace Convoy had come into being - or rather, how
...

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: battle of the beanfield by Anonymous on Thursday, 02 June 2005
Thanks for this very informative article. Very eye opening. It shows how easily a country can slip from freedom to restriction. NicolaDidsbury
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