Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565

Members and supporters of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) gathered in Barrow-in-Furness on Tuesday (August 6 2024) to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

They stood on the Michaelson Road Bridge across the BAE Systems dock and called for the abolition of all nuclear weapons, including those that would be carried on the four Dreadnought class submarines being built in Barrow as part of the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons programme.

They observed a two minutes silence for all those who have been killed and are being killed in wars.

They scattered flowers into the dock in memory of the dead, and listened to a range of readings which highlighted the impact of nuclear weapons and wars on children.

Members and supporters of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) gathered in Barrow-in-Furness to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The peace campaigners’ commemoration was closed by reading the annual Peace Declaration made by the Mayor of Hiroshima earlier on Tuesday.

They noted that Mayor Matsui Kazumi had concluded his speech by saying, “Today, at this Peace Memorial Ceremony marking 79 years since the bombing, we … together with Nagasaki and like minded people around the world … pledge to make every effort to abolish nuclear weapons and light the way toward lasting world peace. Citizens of the world, let us all, with hope in our hearts, walk with Hiroshima toward tomorrow’s peace.”

Local CND spokesperson, Philip Gilligan from Milnthorpe said: “It is always very moving to recall the horrific events of August 6 and 9 1945 when atomic bombs caused the deaths of an estimated 210,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but we need to be very aware of the much greater destructive power of nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century.

"Each of the UK’s current four Trident Vanguard-class submarines is armed with sixteen Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, able to deliver twelve thermonuclear warheads, each of which is seven times as destructive as the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima 79 years ago.

“Any use of nuclear weapons in 2024 would cause millions of deaths and be catastrophic for our entire planet. Scrapping the Trident programme remains an urgent priority for CND. We want to see a world without nuclear weapons. Scrapping Trident is an essential part of that process.”

South Lakeland campaigners commemorate Hiroshima Anniversary at BAE Systems