From
12 noon, campaigners started to arrive in the Bull Yard in Coventry
City Centre, where preparations for the day were well under
way.
Banners and posters were on prominent display and also an exhibition
about Jill's life and the Coventry live export campaign.
There were stalls with a huge variety of leaflets and Nancy
Phipps' (Jill's mum) chilling
horror novel was on sale.
Veggies
were on hand with a selection of delicious vegan food. Local
cafes had prepared for cruelty-free visitors and displayed the
fact outside their shops (see picture above).
Speeches were given by Jill`s good friend and activist John
Curtin, Juliet Gellatley of Viva!
and Tony Moore(whose wife Vicki was also killed campaigning
for animals) of Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe
(FAACE).
The Rt. Hon. Tony Benn and Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP,
sent their apologies that they could not attend but messages
of support from them were read out by Ursula Bates of Solihull
Animal Aid.
Just
one of the many banners decorating Coventry |
Hundreds
of posters depicting images of Jill had been specially prepared
for the day. And there were dozens of other banners, placards,
purple flags, ribbon sticks etc.
At
just after 2pm, a colourful march set off around the busy
city streets, it was silent except for a single drumbeat.
This was so effective and hundreds of shoppers stopped to
look as we marched by.
The
procession made a striking impression on all who saw
it |
The
march wound it`s way towards Coventry Cathedral, where Jill`s
funeral was held. Marchers walked down the Cathedral steps
and circled University Square before gathering at the bottom
of the steps to listen to more speeches.
Click
here
for a video clip of the procession |
Robin
Webb, the spokeman for the Animal Liberation Front Supporters
Group(ALF
SG) was first to speak and he was followed by Jill`s
friend and fellow activist Pam Brown (read
an article written by Pam here).
Marchers
stream down the Cathedral steps |
Finally, Jill`s partner Justin Timson, who had travelled over
specially from Australia, captivated the crowd as he played
the didgeridoo and a drum. This was very moving for everyone
present and was surely the highlight of the day.
Justin
plays from the heart ...
... to a spellbound crowd |
Once
again, the march set off but the previous silence was replaced
with the sound of a samba band, drums, whistles and dancing,
in a celebration of Jill`s life.
The crowd marched on ... but now silence was replaced
with exuberance |
A
long stretch of road was closed off by the police allowing
us to march towards the finish point at Swanswell Park, Hillfields
where Jill, other members of the Phipps family and many other
Animal Rights activists lived.
Click here
for a video clip of the procession
|
At
Swanswell Park, 3 marquees had been set up during the day
and when the march finished, a vegan banquet awaited us! A
huge variety of delicious vegan food was available, incl soup,
samosas, sandwiches, cake etc and it was all FREE!!
Marquees
on the Swanswell |
Veggies
were there again providing burgers etc. After an hour or so
enjoying the food and the samba band, over 200 people squeezed
into one of the marquees to watch the first screening of a
specially prepared film all about Jill`s life and horrific
death. This was followed by more speakers including Mel Broughton
of the SPEAK
Campaign (which is trying to stop the building of a new vivisection
lab in Oxford).
For
many people, the day ended at the Swanswell Pub, where the
band who played earlier in the afternoon, continued to entertain.
Despite
the setbacks and controversy surrounding this event (see the
Guardian report below), it turned out to be a great 10th anniversary
remembrance event to Jill and will never be forgotten by all
those that attended.
Many
thanks to everyone that helped make the day so special!
A
further report of the day by a member of Warwickshire LACS
can be found here
return
to top
Media
reports from the day
"Woman
who died in veal protest becomes martyr of wider cause"
The
Guardian
"Marching
in memory of martyr Jill"
Coventry
Evening Telegraph Feb 7th
"Jill
remembered as modern-day Lady Godiva"
Coventry
Evening Telegraph Feb 2nd
"Day
angels came for Jill"
Coventry
Evening Telegraph Feb 1st
"March
dogged by intimidation"
Coventry
Evening Telegraph Jan 28th
"Anguish
over Jill memorial setback"
Coventry
Evening Telegraph Jan 20th
"Animal
rights activist remembered"
BBC
News Feb 6th
"March
to honour animal campaigner"
BBC
News Feb 5th
"Memorial marks campaigner's
death"
BBC
News Feb 1st
Coventry
Observer
(click this link then enter "Jill
Phipps" in the search box for many letters about the
day)
return
to top
On
the same day that 500 people remembered Jill in Coventry,
other campaigners were holding special events elsewhere in
the UK and abroad. For example in Dover, 40 people joined
a live export protest at Dover Docks.
Street
stall in Zagreb |
And
in Zagreb, Croatia, campaigners from the group Animal
Friends Croatia, held a Jill`s Day march and stall
in solidarity with us in Coventry!! See pictures from their
event below.
Croatian
activists march in Zagreb |
These
Croatian pictures show how Jill and her beliefs still have
the power to inspire people people all over the world even
ten years after her tragic death.
|
