- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Enabler Publications and Training Services (21 Jun 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0952331667
- ISBN-13: 978-0952331667
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 17 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 676,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
Enabler Publications presents the first full-length book about an event that has gone down in modern British folk history as ‘The Battle of the Beanfield.’
‘The Battle of the Beanfield’ took place on June 1st 1985, after a convoy of new travellers, peace protestors, green activists and festival-goers had set off from Savernake Forest in Wiltshire to establish the 12th annual free festival at Stonehenge. 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. As well as suppressing the festival and introducing a summer solstice ‘exclusion zone’ around Stonehenge that lasted until the year 2000, ‘The Battle of the Beanfield’ also marked the start of a concerted effort to ‘decommission’ the whole of the new travellers’ movement.
This book, published to mark the 20th anniversary of ‘The Battle of the Beanfield’, is the combined effort of a large number of people who feel passionately that only through reaching an understanding of what actually occurred before, during and after ‘The Battle of the Beanfield’ can a proper ‘closure’ take place for those involved and the many people who have been in some way touched by it. The 14 chapters feature extracts from the police radio log and in-depth interviews with a range of people who were there on the day – including travellers, journalists Nick Davies and Kim Sabido, the Earl of Cardigan and Deputy Chief Constable Ian Readhead – as well as Lord Gifford QC, who represented 24 of the travellers at the Beanfield trial in 1991. These accounts cut through the myths, misconceptions and propaganda that have built up around ‘The Battle of the Beanfield’ to present a detailed picture of what actually did happen.
Also included are many previously unseen photos, 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.
About the Author
Andy Worthington is a freelance historian, who specialises in looking at how people in the modern world relate to ancient sacred places and the wider landscape, particularly through paganism and political dissent. He is the author of Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion (Alternative Albion, 2004), a critically acclaimed social history of Stonehenge.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Battle of the Beanfield,
By
This review is from: The Battle of the Beanfield (Paperback)
An excellent book. It brought back the memories, as I was involved in this, as a serving Police Officer. This was NOT the proudest day for the British Police.
The Police were agents of an unethical and unprincipled government, this is not an excuse, for the service should have stood its ground, and not blindly followed the orders of Westminster by participating in the wholesale destruction, of people's homes and livelihoods. The historical context, should not be forgotten, for this followed on from the Service, being used by the then Tory Government, to 'break' the Mining Unions, that had been fighting to save their collieries, and their members way of life over the previous year. The Police Service, should be guardians of human rights, and not the instrument of oppression. Its members would well benefit from remembering the words of Edmund Burke "All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing". In the case of those of us that were involved, we did worse than nothing.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent and thorough book about "The Battle of the Beanfield",
By
This review is from: The Battle of the Beanfield (Paperback)
I recently spent a weekend within walking distance of the site where the "Battle of the Beanfield" took place. Having read Andy Worthington's book, I decided to have a look at the historic location. There's no historic plaque, in fact the fields have now got a dual-carriage road driven through them. If I hadn't read Andy Worthington's book, there would have been no way for me to understand the events that took place, nor even to locate the site of the events.
This book tells the story of how free festivals and anarchic solstice gatherings in the vicinity of Stonehenge led to increased tensions between police and new-age travellers. As the popularity and sustainability of the new-age travellers culture grew to an all time high, the Thatcher government actively sought to oppose this counter-culture. Just as the travellers became more active within the anti-nuclear movement, the British police constabularies used increasingly repressive measures to deter the traveller convoys/camps. As to the "Battle of the Beanfield" event itself, the police acted with what witnesses have described as extraordinary violence against the convoy of nearly 100 vehicles. Many of the travellers were injured during the final confrontation, and a later jury trial found the police guilty of many unlawful behaviours. The viscious and lawless behaviour of the police succeeded in undermining the growth of the traveller scene and festival culture. This book has many eyewitness accounts, photographs, and even a police log. Worthington's work as an editor is excellent, and his own essays are very accessible and well written. For those who want to piece together the story of the Battle of the Beanfield, there are only three ways to find out what happened - talk to someone who was there, read this book, or watch the film "Operation Solstice". If you like this book, I highly recommend Andy Worthington's other book Stonehenge which is very readable and facinating.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is the real deal,
This review is from: The Battle of the Beanfield (Paperback)
This book is honest view of the 1980's 1990's hippy traveler (peace convoy) troubles. I was at some of the disturbances and saw 1st hand the bullying tactics used, this book is very accurate. the old bill really did batter the poor folk, snatch there kids and laughed out loud as they smashed there traveling homes to bits, then prosecuted some of them, sad days! BUT i'm glad the truth is now in print.
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