Bruce Kent was one of Britain’s best known – and internationally recognised – peace campaigners. As a Catholic priest, Bruce first joined Christian CND in 1960 and served two terms as CND’s chair from 1977-79 and from 1987-90. Taking up the role of CND’s General Secretary from 1980-85, he is best known for leading the organisation during a period of massive activity and growth; hundreds of thousands of people organised to oppose the deployment of US cruise missiles in Britain. During this time he became one of the most recognisable faces on television and in the country’s political life.
Eventually retiring from the active priesthood, Bruce championed a range of progressive, humanitarian and anti-war causes, serving as President of the International Peace Bureau from 1985-1990; he was also a Vice-President of CND, a Vice-President of Catholic peace organisation Pax Christi, and Emeritus President of the Movement for the Abolition of War.
His death on June 8, 2022, just before his 93rd birthday, was met with an outpouring of love and heartfelt tributes from across the peace movement and beyond. As a testament to his life’s work and the extraordinary impact he had across the generations , we have asked supporters and friends to contribute pictures and memories of Bruce for this special online exhibition. The following galleries are a selection of these submissions alongside pictures from CND’s own collection*, documenting the life and work of this legendary peace activist.
*Every effort has been made to contact original photographers. If any credits are incorrect, please don’t hesitate to contact us on pressoffice@cnduk.org and we’ll rectify as soon as possible.