Joint press release by ForcesWatch and the Peace Pledge Union

A record number of demonstrations and other actions to challenge Armed Forces Day took place in towns and cities across the UK last weekend. Protest organisers report a three-fold increase compared with 2024, with demonstrations, vigils, stalls and flyering in over fifty locations this year.

Celebrations to mark Armed Forces Day took place throughout the UK on 28th June featuring military parades, flyovers and displays of military vehicles. The occasion has long drawn criticism for its uncritical portrayal of the armed forces and warfare.

This year Armed Forces Day events included vintage displays, 1940s-style tea parties and Spitfire flyovers to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, as well as many activities aimed at children such as bouncy castles and rides.

Peace campaigners have accused such events of “rebranding militarism as entertainment”. They say the rapidly growing protests reflect public outrage at the UK’s support for Israel actions in Gaza and Iran, as well as opposition to the deepening militarism in the UK in the wake of the government’s Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and huge increases in military spending.

The protests follow the recent No Kings protests in the US against the US Army 250th Anniversary Parade, which raised similar concerns about the glorification of militarism and a dangerous culture of military obedience. No Kings organisers have been in touch with their UK counterparts to express solidarity with protests against Armed Forces Day.

In the run up to this year’s Armed Forces Day, the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) and ForcesWatch supported those planning to resist the occasion. They noted a sharp rise in the number of requests for materials. Postcards with the message ‘War is Not Family Entertainment’ were requested by over sixty groups and individuals across the country, three times as many as last year.

Joe Glenton, of ForcesWatch, which researches militarism and military ethics, said: "As a veteran myself, I think it would be naïve to divorce Armed Forces Day from the broader context. Namely, wars in Gaza, Ukraine and the recent bombing of Iran, as well as massive defence spending hikes and the increasing militarisation of many aspects of British society. It's disturbing to see how events like Armed Forces Day are used to manufacture consent for war and militarism."

The protests have amplified the longstanding controversy surrounding the practice of giving children real guns and artillery to handle at Armed Forces Day events. One event this year allowed visitors to climb into the cockpit of a helicopter, while another offered a workshop for children on how to salute like the armed forces.

Zareen Taj from Stop The War, who organised the resistance to Armed Forces Day in Cambridge, said: “In light of the terrible scenes of death and destruction that we have been witnessing in Ukraine-Russia since 2014 and the Genocide of Gaza since 2023, it is wholly inappropriate to display our UK military might as a celebration when our government is complicit in both.”

She added: “A fly past and parading a naval patrol ship through our streets hits completely the wrong note after the government has proposed to spend more on warfare at the cost of taking away support for those in dire need of welfare.”

Peace campaigner Paula Shaw, who handed out materials challenging Armed Forces Day at a Women in Black vigil in London, cited concerns about escalating war and militarism worldwide: “The only beneficiaries of increased and endless military spending are the arms dealers (and those who have shares in these companies). War and armed conflict never achieves anything and in the end, people have to negotiate, compromise and agree for the future.”

Further protests were planned in Aldershot, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Exeter, Glasgow, Guildford, Ipswich, Lancaster, Leicester, Liverpool, Plymouth, Reading, Wolverhampton, York and many other places.

The number of Armed Forces Day events has dropped by 40% since before the pandemic, with fewer councils involved in their organisation. This trend has been welcomed by peace campaigners as a positive sign that overall interest in Armed Forces Day may be declining.

Armed Forces Day has faced criticism ever since its inception in 2009, amid widespread opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2023, the national event in Falmouth was countered by a peace parade through the city. In Leicester, following a campaign by local residents, the City Council now prohibits the armed forces from allowing children to handle weapons.

If you would like to get involved in resisting Armed Forces Day or to challenge an event happening near you, please get in touch at mail@ppu.org.uk. Find out more at https://www.forceswatch.net/activity/armed-forces-day/ and www.ppu.org.uk/militarism/whats-wrong-armed-forces-day