Peace symbol's original sketches go on display at Imperial War Museum

The peace symbol, designed in 1958 by British artist Gerald Holtom for the first Aldermaston March against nuclear weapons, is the subject of a new exhibition at London's Imperial War Museum. The show, titled 'People Power. Fighting for Peace,' runs from March 23 to August 28, 2017, and features over 300 objects documenting a century of peace activism in the UK. Among the highlights are Holtom's original sketches for the symbol, which combine the semaphore letters 'N' and 'D' (for nuclear disarmament) within a circle. The drawings, rarely exhibited due to their fragility, were owned by activist and journalist Hugh Brock and later donated to the Commonweal Library at the University of Bradford. Other exhibits include a handwritten poem by World War I soldier Siegfried Sassoon, a letter from Winnie-the-Pooh author A. A. Milne, and a photomontage by Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps depicting Tony Blair taking a selfie in front of an explosion. Holtom died in 1985; his grave bears two peace symbols and the epitaph 'A peace activist. May he find his peace.'