Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MB3G, Shelf DR15

One Polaris Costs 30,000 homes

Poster
late 1960s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Polaris, officially named the British Naval Ballistic Missile System, was established in 1962 as a submarine-based nuclear weapons system placing American missiles off the coast of Scotland to be operated by the Royal Navy. There was considerable activism against this plan by anti-nuclear groups from the beginning. One of the most prominent was the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), founded in 1957, who remain at the forefront of advocacy for unilateral nuclear disarmament. Challenging Polaris was one of their largest early campaigns but the weapons system remained in place until 1992. It was replaced by Trident, another US missile system which could be fired from longer-range, making bases in the UK less necessary. One of CND's current (2021) campaigns is 'No to Trident' using the same tactics to highlight government expenditure on weapons of mass destruction over social needs 'at a cost of at least £205 billion. This money should be spent on jobs, homes, education and health; improving the lives of the British people without threatening the lives of others.'


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleOne Polaris Costs 30,000 homes (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Poster for CND: 'One Polaris Costs 30,000 homes'. UK, late 1960s.
Physical description
Letterpress poster in black with printer's name (EH Russell, Birmingham) in the bottom right corner.
Credit line
Given by Martin Bailey
Summary
Polaris, officially named the British Naval Ballistic Missile System, was established in 1962 as a submarine-based nuclear weapons system placing American missiles off the coast of Scotland to be operated by the Royal Navy. There was considerable activism against this plan by anti-nuclear groups from the beginning. One of the most prominent was the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), founded in 1957, who remain at the forefront of advocacy for unilateral nuclear disarmament. Challenging Polaris was one of their largest early campaigns but the weapons system remained in place until 1992. It was replaced by Trident, another US missile system which could be fired from longer-range, making bases in the UK less necessary. One of CND's current (2021) campaigns is 'No to Trident' using the same tactics to highlight government expenditure on weapons of mass destruction over social needs 'at a cost of at least £205 billion. This money should be spent on jobs, homes, education and health; improving the lives of the British people without threatening the lives of others.'
Collection
Accession number
E.401-2021

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Record createdSeptember 23, 2021
Record URL
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