Peace Symbol

Two stories about the birth of the Peace Symbol

The Peace symbol made its first public appearance April 4,1958 in a DAC march in Britain. There are many stories of how, when, and where and who created this symbol that means a lot of things from peace to love and a lot in between. But lets focus on the two stories about the birthday of the peace symbol and how it came to be so well known today. There is one story that tells us of a young woman who was a leader in a movement Direct Action Commitee Against Nuclear War (DAC). She wanted something to represent the movement and not the group. She wanted a symbol, a flag to fly, so when people saw it they would know there is a movement against nuclear war. So she approached her father with the idea and ask if he could help. Her father worked for the rail road and he told her he could use semaphore flag symbols to make her something to represent the movement. He told her that semaphore flags are used as a system for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signal with hand-held flags. So to represent the N in nuclear, the flags are held at forty-five degrees at your side. And to represent the D for disarmament, the flags one over your head and the other pointing at the floor. He used old steel from the train yard to construct what was said to be the first peace sign. Now durning the nineteen fifties, the sign wasn't call a peace symbol. That came along later. I couldn't find a picture of the symbol made by her father and her name isn't in any writings I could find. So this is one story of the Peace sign and it's birth...

Now the other story of The Peace Symbol's Birthday

It goes like this...

This story start out also in Britain. But this time it is a story about a man. An artist by the name Gerald Holtom. A graduate of the Royal College of Arts. In 1958, Gerald
drew a circle with three lines inside, intending the design to be a symbol for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC). Gerald Holtom finished his design on February 21, 1958. The symbol made its first public apperance April 4, 1958 at a DAC march. The symbol became the emblem for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). The symbol became synonymous with nuclear disamament. Gerald Holtom is widely credited with the design of the nuclear disarmament symbol. Then in the nineteen sixties (1960) the symbol made its was to the United States where it was adopted to represent the peace movement. After fifty, yes the big 50 years, the symbol is still used by peace activists today. Born Febrary 21, 1958, the anti-nuclear disarmament symbol's birthday is approaching us soon. A symbol used world wide, a symbol of peace, nuclear disarmament freedom. This symbol really does represent freedom, because anyone can use it. There is no copywrite on it, and you don't have to pay or ask permission to use it.

The Peace Symbol Lives

The Peace Symbol of today can be found on tee shirt, pants and other apparel. There are earrings, belt buckles and posters. The symbol has been in movies and broadway plays. I could say that the peace symbol has another symbol used also to signal peace. It's two fingers, somethings call rabbit ear, we hold them up to mean peace and love. This comes from the sixies movement. There is nothing I could find to tell whether Holtom spoke about the name change the Americans gave his symbol. But I guess you could say that the symbol is well taken care of with peace and love. There is no replacement, there is only one!

Which story do you believe

The young woman didn't want fame, she only wanted the movement to work and let the finger point not at her but a symbol that would serve to make people aware there is an anti-nuclear movement for disarmament. They both was in a movement for the same thing, and they both had a story to tell. It was printed by one of Holtom's friend that Holtom told him that the design was made when he was feeling down and he drew a stickman with its arms down at forty-five degrees to represent a man waiting to be shot. Both stories make sense, but wish is the true story.