Barclays and Shell

Barclays Bank operated in Namibia as well as South Africa. This leaflet was distributed during the Free Namibia Week of Action, 25 October–1 November 1986. Shortly after its publication Barclays withdrew from South Africa and Namibia after a long-running campaign by anti-apartheid activists.

Chelmsford AA newsletter telling AA members that Chelmsford Borough Council was about to become the first council controlled by the SDP-Liberal Alliance to withdraw its account from Barclays Bank. The letter asked members to write to their local councillor and to their trade union, church or community group calling for withdrawal. It asked them to attend the Council meeting on 8 October 1986.

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 Britain. 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 Britain. 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.