Peace Pledge Union

In the wake of the immense bloodshed of the First World War a number of fairly well meaning people formed various peace organizations. One of these, the Peace Pledge Union, was founded in Britain in 1934 through the initiative of Dick Sheppard, canon of St Paul's Cathedral. Several famous Brits were involved including Aldous Huxley, Bertrand Russell and Siegfried Sassoon.

During the Civil War, the organization sponsored 64 Basque refugee children and placed them in the The Oaks on School Road in Langham in the Midlands between 1937 and 1939. There is an organization called BasqueChildren.org here is a directory of Colonies that housed Basque children.

“The most striking thing to a visitor or a newcomer to Basque House is the friendliness of the children here. Every visitor is welcomed with smiles and waves of the hand, and the parting guest has a royal send-off, with “Goodbye, goodbye” from all sides. With complete unselfconsciousness the children accept strangers and, with a natural charm which far exceeds any art, make them welcome. They are almost unfailingly cheerful and always ready to help with any work to be done. Some of them indeed are so zealous that we have to take care that they get a fair share of all the pleasures going, otherwise they would spend too much time helping with the cooking, washing and cleaning.”

Bella Hooper, “Under the Oak Tree”, Peace News, 28th August 1937

“Five miles out of Colchester on the Ipswich Road a fine old oak in the middle of a grass triangle marks a turning on the left leading to the hamlet of Langham. This local landmark is known as the Langham Oak. Following the turning (and bearing first right then left) for about half a mile, the traveller comes on a solidly built, comfortable-looking house of grey stone standing in finely-kept grounds and called “The Adelphi Centre.”

Here Middleton Murry’s community for the study and practice of the new Socialism has been in action for a year. Now the whole house is being surrendered to the family of 29 Basque girls and 24 Basque boys for which the P.P.U. has recently made itself responsible. Before it became the Adelphi Centre (“The Adelphi” is the monthly magazine, now well-known to pacifists, which Murry started in 1924) the name of that house was – and in the locality still is – “The Oaks”. As you approach it you realise why: for in front of the house and overshadowing the road is one of the most majestic oak trees I have ever seen.

So it seems strangely fitting that these little Basques, whose own ancient oak was one of the few things left standing in Guernica, should have come to Langham; and that the house which is to be their temporary home should link in its name the Basque and the English tree."

Dorothy Plowman, “Under the Oak Tree”, Peace News, 12th June 1937

The organization still exists and is most notable now days for the White Poppy Appeal Campaign which started in 1933 to honor all victims of wars. According to Wiki they sold a record 110,000 poppies in 2015.

In 1939 the Peace Pledge Union issued one awareness-raising label. The stamp has a 10 perf and is emerald green on white with the legend “In England Still” with a picture of a cute smiling Basque child framed by acorns. Acorns symbolizing not only the house they lived in but the ancient Gernikako Arbola. Which symbolizes the freedom and freedoms of the Basque people. The Gernikako Arbola died in 2004 at the ripe age of 146 years. Below the child is a request for donations to be sent to the Basque House in Langham near Colchester.

I picked this up recently and I haven’t seen one before and it was a decent price. I really like these non-Spanish stamps because it gives a global perspective to contemporary global politics of the conflict.