Anti-nuclear protest, USAAF Burtonwood, Merseyside, c 1984

Anti-nuclear protest, USAAF Burtonwood, Merseyside, c 1984. Some of the first of thousands arrive at the entrance to the US base at Burtonwood. A van carrying a mock missile leads the procession. Posters on the van oppose Cruise, Trident and Pershing missiles. Cruise missiles fly at an altitude of 15 metres, and have a range of up to 3,200 km. Cruise can carry conventional or nuclear weapons, and are in the possession of many of the worlds powers. Starting in the 1980s, anti-Cruise protestors have tracked and impeded Cruise convoys. The US Army took command of the former RAF base at Burtonwood in 1967 and used it as the main US Army storage facility in Britain. The base later closed down. ©SSPL/Manchester Daily Express