On June 19th it was reported that two people belonging to the protest group ‘Just Stop Oil’ had been arrested for spraying orange powdered paint at Stonehenge.

This unfortunate episode is not the first time paint has been used to vandalise the famous monument. On June 16, 1938, four young army offices pleaded guilty at Salisbury to charges of damaging the famous stones. The four officers had just completed a course of training at Larkhill and headed off to Stonehenge armed with green paint and brushes. They painted four of the stones including one side of the heel stone with the words “Does this look like a Friar?” After fining each of the officers it was reported that it might take another 1,000 years for the stones to regain their weathered appearance.

Our photograph was taken in 1961 and shows the stones being cleaned after another attack. This time nine of the stones had the words ‘Ban the Bomb’ plus the CND emblem (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) painted in white distemper. The following night crude animals were painted with gloss-white paint across 10 stones and another attack made it three in one month!

In 1968 letters to nearly a foot high were painted in white on four of the upright stones on the south side of the monument. The message included the word ‘Repent’ and a swastika.

Animal protestors sprayed slogans on the stones in 1978 in a protest against the slaughter of ponies for meat. Six of the stones were hit in the pre-dawn raid. Later the protestors said they planned further action if the killing of the New Forest ponies went on.

1983 had vandals spraying blue paint on the stones in six-inch letters which said PFC, Pompey and Kick to Kill Pompey. Four young football supporters were apprehended and sent to a detention centre.

Space prevents me of writing about other attacks…