My book The Peace Protestors: A history of modern-day war resistance was published in 2022 by Pen & Sword.

From Afghanistan to the Falklands, from Northern Ireland to Iraq, British troops are nearly always in action somewhere in the world. But whenever there is war, there will be people who resist it. Sometimes, they can draw on public sympathy. At other times, they stand alone against the crowd. Peace movements large and small have been a constant part of UK history, not least in the last 40 years. This book tells their stories.

Drawing on interviews, fresh research and newly released government documents, the book sheds light on some of the most surprising and overlooked events of recent decades.

You can read more about the book, priced £25.00 in hardback, by clicking here and visiting the publisher’s website. You can also request it at your local bookshop.

“Symon Hill’s richly detailed and thoroughly readable history of the past forty years of peace protest in the UK… Of course, the peace movement is not a single body, but made up of many different groups with varying strategies and policies. Hill — himself a pacifist and activist — does not shy away from exploring the disagreements that emerged between them, nor questions about a lack of diversity at times. The inventiveness and wit of protesters provide a welcome and surprising thread of humour throughout the book.”

Fraser Dyer
Church Times

“An important book by an activist central to the peace movement over a number of years… Foregrounding by Hill of the role of women and black activists in the peace movement in Britain makes this highly readable book more unusual and, because of it, even more important.”

Roger McKenzie
Morning Star

“Symon Hill’s impressively comprehensive history of the modern UK peace movement… This is a book packed with detail… I think this book serves two useful purposes: firstly, as an excellent reference book and, secondly, as a reminder that, wherever there is war, there is resistance.”

Vriginia Moffatt
Peace News

“Symon Hill manages to encapsulate the tactics, drama and results of 42 years of peace protesting, from 1980 at Greenham Common to the 2021 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, into one volume… It describes the motivations and actions of grassroots and nationally led resistance, offering political and social context at each turn, as well as fascinating and alarming insights from government records that have only recently been released to the public.”

Roo Stewart
Reform magazine

“Provides a fascinating insight into the modern history of anti-war campaigning in the UK… Hill has undertaken plenty of new research to uncover many little-known protestors’ stories. From the Falklands War and the Northern Ireland conflict to Afghanistan and Iraq, the author eloquently brings to life this important aspect of recent UK military history.”

Margaret Brecknell
The Archive