To commemorate the resignation of John Burns, who resigned from the government on the eve of the 1st World War in protest.
Ahead of the declaration of war, John Burns, newly promoted to be Pre­s­ident of the Board of Trade in the gov­ern­ment, resigned from it saying he would have “nothing to do with such a crimin­al folly, the eff­ects of which will be app­all­ing to the wel­ter of nations who will be in­vol­ved."
One of London’s Woolwich ferries is named after John Burns. The backdrop is the River Thames, the Barrier, City Airport, the Dome and Canary Wharf. We will be at the ferries’ southern terminal from 8 to 10am on 4 August with banners and placards marking John Burns’ resignation. We will be leafleting ferry users and passers-by saying that, so far from the war being ‘a vital victory’, Burns was right: it should never have been fought. Join us.