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Brian Filling became involved in anti-apartheid campaigning as a student at Glasgow University in the late 1960s. He was a founder of the Scottish AAM Committee in 1976 and served as its Chair from 1976 to 1994, when he became Chair of ACTSA Scotland. He was a member of the Executive Committee of Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) from 1994 to 2011 and is now Honorary Consul for South Africa in Scotland. He was awarded the National Order of Companions of O R Tambo, the highest award made to non-South Africans, by the Republic of South Africa in 2012. 

In this clip Brian Filling describes how Nelson Mandela visited Glasgow in 1993 to meet representatives from the nine British cities who had given him the freedom of their cities.

Paul Blomfield set up Sheffield Anti-Apartheid Group in 1978 and served as its Secretary until the early 1990s. In 1976 he visited South Africa after the Soweto school students uprising at the request of the ANC. His report of the visit is on this website (stu25. IUS Solidarity Mission Report). He is now the Labour MP for Sheffield Central.

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out by students at Sheffield Hallam University in 2013.

Paul Blomfield set up Sheffield Anti-Apartheid Group in 1978 and served as its Secretary until the early 1990s. In 1976 he visited South Africa after the Soweto school students uprising at the request of the ANC. His report of the visit is on this website (stu25. IUS Solidarity Mission Report). He is now the Labour MP for Sheffield Central.

In this clip Paul Blomfield describes how Sheffield AA Group organised a city-wide campaign to pressure Barclays Bank into withdrawing from South Africa.

Christabel Gurney was active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1969 to 1994. She joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the late 1960s and took part in demonstrations against the Springbok rugby and cricket tours in 1969-70. She was Secretary of the Dambusters Mobilising Committee, which gave rise to the campaign to persuade Barclays Bank to pull out of South Africa.  She edited the AAM’s monthly newspaper Anti-Apartheid News in the 1970s and was later secretary of Notting Hill Anti-Apartheid Group. More recently she has researched and written about the history of the AAM. 

In this clip she recalls how activists protested at Barclays Bank’s annual general meeting in 1972.

Dorothy Robinson joined the Boycott Movement soon after its formation in 1959. From 1960 to 1966 she worked as the Administrative Secretary of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. She later joined the staff of the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF).

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out in 2000 by Håkan Thörn.

Christabel Gurney was active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1969 to 1994. She joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the late 1960s and took part in demonstrations against the Springbok rugby and cricket tours in 1969-70. She was Secretary of the Dambusters Mobilising Committee, which gave rise to the campaign to persuade Barclays Bank to pull out of South Africa.  She edited the AAM’s monthly newspaper Anti-Apartheid News in the 1970s and was later secretary of Notting Hill Anti-Apartheid Group. More recently she has researched and written about the history of the AAM. 

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of the ‘Forward to Freedom’ AAM history project in 2013.

Support for anti-apartheid campaigns in Britain grew rapidly in the mid-1980s. The AAM launched this appeal so that it could increase its office space. The Movement depended entirely on small donations and membership subscriptions to finance its campaigns and received no support from government or grant-giving bodies.

In August 1985 South Africa announced a moratorium on the repayment of its foreign debts after the US bank Chase Manhattan refused to roll over its loans. As a result, South Africa was forced to negotiate a series of short-term rescheduling agreements with overseas banking consortia. The AAM and End Loans to Southern Africa (ELTSA) campaigned to persuade the banks to refuse any further loans until apartheid was dismantled.