Barclays and Shell

Anti-apartheid activists drove a model tank to the Shell Centre on London’s South Bank on 15 November 1986. They were highlighting Shell’s role in supplying fuel for the South African Defence in Namibia. The action was part of an International Day of Action against Shell supported by groups in the USA, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Australia. The AAM launched a total boycott of Shell from 1 March 1987.

Leafletting Barclays Bank customers to persuade them to withdraw their accounts was a regular activity for most local anti-apartheid groups. The leafletting sessions were part of the long-running campaign to persuade Barclays to pull out of South Africa. In the photograph supporters of Tyneside AA Group are asking customers at a Barclays branch in central Newcastle to close their accounts. Later in the same year Barclays withdrew from South Africa.

The AAM hailed Barclays Bank’s withdrawal from South Africa in November 1986 as an important victory in the international sanctions campaign. In this press release it stated that the campaign for Barclays withdrawal was the most sustained action ever undertaken against a major multinational company. But it warned that Barclays would continue to support the apartheid economy by continuing to cooperate with its former banking associate and by helping to restructure South Africa’s international debt. The AAM announced it would move ahead with plans to target other companies still involved in South Africa such as Shell.

An international campaign to force Shell to withdraw from South Africa was launched in 1987 by anti-apartheid organisations in the Netherlands, USA and UK. The AAM called for a boycott of all Shell products and local AA groups picketed Shell garages all over Britain. Shell’s share of the UK petrol market fell by 6.6 per cent. This badge was produced for the campaign.

An international campaign to force Shell to withdraw from South Africa was launched in 1987 by anti-apartheid organisations in the Netherlands, USA and UK. The AAM called for a boycott of all Shell products and local AA groups picketed Shell garages all over Britain. Shell’s share of the UK petrol market fell by 6.6 per cent. This badge was produced for the campaign.

Poster publicising the international campaign to force Shell to withdraw from South Africa launched in 1987 by anti-apartheid organisations in the Netherlands, USA and Britain. The AAM called for a boycott of all Shell products and local AA groups picketed Shell garages all over Britain. Shell lost major contracts with local authorities and its annual general meeting on 11 May 1988 was disrupted by anti-apartheid activists. As a result of the campaign, Shell’s share of the UK petrol market fell by 6.6 per cent.

An international campaign to force Shell to withdraw from South Africa was launched in 1987 by anti-apartheid organisations in the Netherlands, USA and Britain. In Britain the AAM called for a boycott of all Shell products and all over the country local AA groups picketed Shell garages. Shell lost major contracts with local authorities and its AGM on 11 May 1988 was disrupted by anti-apartheid activists. As a result of the campaign, Shell’s share of the UK petrol market fell by nearly 7 per cent.

On 1 March 1987 the AAM launched a boycott of Shell as part of an international campaign. Shell was joint owner of one of South Africa’s biggest oil refineries and a lead company in South Africa’s coalmining and petrochemicals industries. During the March Month of People’s Sanctions activists picketed Shell garages all over Britain. The photo shows Frances Morrell, Leader of the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) with David Haslam from Embargo outside a Shell garage in north London with a mock gun symbolising Shell’s support for the South African Defence Force. Embargo was a co-ordinating group campaigning against oil supplies to South Africa.