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Frank
Blackaby THE death, on 18 May 2000, of Frank Blackaby, at the age of 78, is a serious loss to peace movements in the world, in particular, to the anti-nuclear campaigns of which he was a staunch leader. It is also a great loss to Pugwash, to which he has made valuable contributions, over a long period. Trained in classics and economics at Cambridge, Frank’s first job was with the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, of which he subsequently became Deputy Director. There, his brilliant analytical mind and talent for lucid and precise writing showed up in his editing of the economic reviews. His involvement in problems of disarmament and international security began in 1968, with a two-year stint at SIPRI (the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) where he edited the first two volumes of the Yearbook of World Armaments and Disarmament, a publication which quickly established itself as an essential source of factual information on military expenditure, the arms trade, and other aspects of arms control. In 1981 he became director of SIPRI, a post he held for 5 years. After returning to London, he threw himself wholeheartedly into anti-nuclear activities. For periods of time he served as vice-president of CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the largest movement against British nuclear weapons during the Cold War) and as vice-president of the British National Peace Council. In the post-Cold War period, he became the de facto leader of the campaigns in Britain to abolish nuclear weapons as President of "Abolition 2000 UK" (an umbrella group of nearly 200 organizations in the UK), which is a branch of "Abolition 2000" (a worldwide movement with more than 2000 affiliated organizations). He toiled for the objective of a nuclear-weapon-free world (NWFW) not only organizationally but also by writing numerous articles, including a background paper for the Canberra Commission. Frank became involved in Pugwash in 1968, and subsequently attended 19 meetings, including 9 annual conferences. He was notably active in editing the three Pugwash books on a NWFW: A Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: Desirable? Feasible? (1993), Nuclear Weapons: The Road to Zero (1998), and A Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: Steps Along the Way (2000). He was executive editor of the first two, and co-editor of the third. He was also very much involved in the organization of the British Pugwash Group, of which he served as treasurer from 1994 to earlier this year. As a person, Frank was somewhat reserved, with a dry sense of humour. In committee meetings he was a man of few words, but when he spoke he was listened to with utmost attention. He was a font of knowledge on nuclear issues; one could always rely on him for factual data. He was exceedingly helpful, and would go to great lengths in responding to calls for advice. Frank was not a demonstrative individual, and because of this his activities have not received the credit they deserve, but he will be sorely missed by those who worked with him. An unsung hero in the struggle for a safer world.
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