Justice for the Shrewsbury Pickets Campaign Update

Perhaps justice for the Shrewsbury Two could be combined with justice for Clifford Growcott who was one of the men hospitalised by the 200 flying pickets led by the Shrewsbury Two, Ricky Tomlinson and Des Warren.

Maybe you should check out the photograph (see below), taken by a reporter from the Shrewsbury Star, showing Growcott AFTER he claimed to have been hit with a brick on the back of the head. He is standing watching Des Warren speak to a meeting held on the building site.
Ricky Tomlinson and Des Warren were never charged with violence, and even the charge of 'Affray' was dropped on appeal. They were even congratulated by a Police Superintendent on the conduct of the pickets on the day in question.

It looks to me like the photo was taken before he was hit on the head. Are you suggesting though that he faked the injuries that put him in hospital for two weeks? Also, it is actually the 'Shropshire Star' that the photographer was from, the same paper that reporter Bob Gray worked for. Earlier the same day that Growcott was attacked, the pickets threatened to throw him in the River Severn after a Tarmac compressor that they had just chucked in.

You're right. About the picture coming from the Shropshire Star, not the Shrewsbury Star. But, believe it or not, and you obviously don't, the meeting was held after the pickets came on the site, and after the incident Growcott (wearing the bobble hat in the picture) claims blinded him in one eye. Growcott even admits this during the 'One Life' programme, if you listen carefully.
Ask yourself the question. Why didn't the police charge anybody with Grievous Bodily Harm on the day? After all they were there (other pictures from the Shropshire Star show this).

I repeat: Ricky Tomlinson and Des Warren were never charged with violence!

the "one life" program although centred on the life of ricky was informative
the reprint of the book "key to my cell" is an excellent venture as is the pamphlet reprint whose conspiracy about the shrewsbury pickets.

todays generation of activist have a lot to learn from this valuable experience hard gained and bitterly fought for, i recommend all to study it.

a brief sketch i how became an activist.

the "key to my cell" was the first overtly political book i read at 17 or 18,long before the communist manifesto or other literature,passed on by a young socialist named chucky sinnot, son of alabor party member, i didnt have a clue what the big words meant let alone marxism, trade unions or politics for that matter, but we formed a group on a governm,ent scheme i was doing and boy did i learn fast about strikes and being the ring leader.
so combined with newly gained confidence organising among schemeworkers and speaking out during the riots of 1981. i officially became a rebel a stiffnecked agitator.

i gained a reputation for doing things -but i confess the theory or book learning was harder i thought, but i hammered away at it and along with others learnt through the living experience of trying to do some of those very things he was jailed for.

although i never really knew des i met him and marched with a banner bearing his name, shouted and hollered for the release of newer political prisoners.

although it may appear all life on mars, retro to some people, or done and dusted, cut and dried etc this flame of justice will burn brighter the more young people take up those very same issues.

the most exploited in society still are the young and lowest paid and least well organised and protected --whether the work has changed or not the problems of organising remain unresolvd to this day.

i dont regret a day since i took the bold decision to strike and later join a union after a few weeks of prolonged agiation and unrest we won.

the falklands war landed on us and i remember some of my new political buddies saying that we should support the staus quo..no one side is correct galtieri was fascist and thatcher anti labour where do we stand?
militant tendency held a weak pacifist line and that we should accept that neither side is right that to be in the middle was the best space.plague on both your houses.

but i instinctively disagreed , and sought answers over the nature of war,but the majority were either for thatchers war or against it.patriotism and jingoism was everywhere, it infected the labour movement greatly.
going back to des's book i began to understand the principles on which he gave his liberty and stood my ground for the underdog argentina. for this i was attacked and booted out of college for provoking trouble during debate in the common room.

i was alone for a while and sought to convince others that the revolutionary line was best -id ditched my gandhi style cnd pacifism and demanded more active response to things, so compromise seemed a sell out to me.

being popular isnt everthing being right is more important to me and still is.
those lessons came from that book