Campaigners in Barrow mark anniversary of atomic bombings of Japan

Members and supporters of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) stood on Michaelson Road Bridge and called for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.

In addition to observing a two-minute silence for all those who have been and are being killed in wars, they scattered flowers into the dock in memory of the dead and listened to readings that highlighted the impact of nuclear weapons on children.

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

South Lakeland and Lancaster District CND spokesperson Philip Gilligan said: "It is always very moving to recall the horrific events of 6th and 9th August 1945 when the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused the deaths of an estimated 210,000 people, but we also 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.”

Four submarines are due to be built at Barrow's shipyard to replace the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent. 

Parliament voted to renew the deterrent in 2016, then with an estimated cost of estimated cost of £31 billion

The previous Barrow MP Simon Fell defended the Trident programme after earlier protests, saying it was a 'national endeavour that Barrow contributes to keeps us, and our allies safe and has done for generations'.