Diana Collins - Years of Activism

Years of Activism

In 1940 her husband joined the RAF as a chaplain. In 1946 the Collins' convened a public meeting at Oxford Town Hall, calling for Christians to involve themselves in social and political action. This led directly to the formation of Christian Action, with John Collins as the chairman. Diana Collins edited Christian Action's journal.

The Collins' friends included Sir Stafford Cripps, Rev. Trevor Huddleston, the Lord Chancellor Gerald Gardiner, Victor Gollancz, J.B. Priestley, Jacquetta Hawkes, Bertrand Russell and Oliver Tambo. All were active in the anti-capital punishment, anti-nuclear proliferation, anti-apartheid and other progressive causes. They launched the Defence and Aid Fund to support black South Africans. Diana Collins travelled incognito to South Africa when her husband was banned from entering that country. The Collins' raised large sums of money for the legal defense of their causes by the best barristers, including the defence of Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia trial.

Following her husband's death in 1982, Diana Collins became a trustee of the International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa until 1991, and remained on the Council of Christian Action.