Saving Tammoland: A Microhistory Of Children's Action To Save A Wasteground Playground, 1965-1968.

In 1965 a group of children living in north London discovered that an area of abandoned industrial land, which they had appropriated as their playground for over a decade, was earmarked for development for much needed social housing. The children decided to campaign against the development and contacted a local environmentally concerned artist to assist them in their campaign. Notwithstanding the children’s decision to seek adult support, they forged a child-led campaign that drew on the good offices of sympathetic adults, but never relinquished their control. The campaign was well-run and attracted both local support and national media attention, becoming something of a cause célèbre. The campaign, now all but forgotten, was to continue for three years and whilst its aim of saving the playground ultimately failed it has left a positive legacy of active social engagement for many of the children who took part.