Lotty Manicom

I first did work experience at CAAT in Summer 2006. It was a great team, with big lunches together and a real passion to keep CAAT up and running. I felt ashamed that my government was involved in such an immoral, violent trade, and the images in the CAAT office posters and flyers around the office stick in my mind. The arms trade has been in the press a lot recently and, having moved to Nottingham (where Heckler & Koch have a site), the arms trade is now a central focus. A group of us here at Nottingham University organise a fundraising night called Demo, which takes place at a local club. We take a theme each month, for which we raise money.  We chose the Arms Trade and decorated the club with this theme, and had a CAAT stall to raise awareness.

Liz Morton

Why I support CAAT - apart from the obvious reason that I want to see an end to the arms trade -  I have stuck with CAAT for over 20 years because its structure is non-hierarchical and, as a supporter, I have always felt valued and accepted whatever my level of involvement.

Tom Stocker

After going to India and understanding the magnitude of the struggle  in the slums of Mumbai, and learning how the UK puts enormous pressure  on “third world” countries to buy the latest missile technology rather  than introduce healthcare welfare sanitation or housing for the vulnerable, there was no option but to join CAAT. I really can't justify not becoming active to make up for the suffering caused by my country. The UK has a 33% share of the market in arms, let's make that 0%.

Andy Edwards

I love supporting CAAT’s campaigns because, for me, arms trade issues really hit the nail on the head about government double standards. After two and a half years of actively campaigning for CAAT, I am surprised about how much this teaches you; I feel I can now speak confidently to anyone about arms trade issues. Although I have found that my underlying motives for supporting CAAT have changed much over time, I am as enthusiastic for CAAT’s core aims today as I was when I started.

Robin Gray

From the age of 13 I spent 25 years in the Navy fighting or training to fight. In World War II I took part in attacks on enemy convoys, and defending the Normandy assault area from B-Boats. In Korea I fought the Chinese communists in Malaya as part of 45 Commando. Under orders in 1956 I sank an Egyptian frigate in the Gulf of Suez: an action on my conscience ever since.

After my marriage in 1958 I realised that there are more important things in life than war and empire. In 1963 I got out of the Navy, and became a maths teacher in New Zealand. In the 1970s I became an anti-nuclear activist. In 1984 I became a Quaker.

Returning to England in 2005 I was horrified to be in a country which sees its main successful industry as armaments. The Campaign Against Arms Trade gives me a means to do something about it.