Who we are

Our members are people from Gloucestershire who agree with the aims and methods of Extinction Rebellion. In that cause around 30 have been arrested and charged with minor non violent public order offences resulting in a call for financial assistance.

We all have different backgrounds and stories, but are united by our drive for meaningful change and Extinction Rebellion’s principle, few have a strong financial position to easily cope with the financial consequences of actions that aim to benefit us all.

This is why we are asking YOU to help, now!

Our Rebels Achievements to date:

• Our protests contributed to the huge shift in public opinion with regards to the climate and ecological crisis: a YouGov poll showed that following the protests, UK public concern for the environment was at the highest level on record, ever!

• We are in the process of bringing around key politicians. Boris Johnson said we are “right to draw attention to the loss of habitat, and the extinction of species. They are also right to sound  the alarm about all manner of man-made pollution, including CO2.” John McDonnell said “Extinction Rebellion has successfully raised the profile of the climate threat and focused the minds of us all on the action needed.” 

• Less than 3 weeks after the start of the April rebellion, MPs passed a motion making the UK parliament the first in the world to declare an “environment and climate emergency”.

• Many local District & City Councils in Glos have already declared an emergency form the urgent requests of local Extinction Rebels.

• However, there is much more still left to do, and rebels will no doubt again be arrested in our desperate struggle to keep our planet habitable.

Where Will Your Money Go?

Funds raised will support costs incurred by members of Extinction Rebellion in Gloucestershire arrested for engaging in non-violent civil disobedience. Our arrestees are not wealthy people. They are teachers, students, engineers, pensioners, pub-managers, and charity workers; in short, they are ordinary citizens who took extraordinarily action to change our future for the better. As a consequence of their pioneering spirit, many of our local rebels will now have criminal records, potentially disqualifying them from jobs and affecting their futures. Also they could face higher insurance premiums and other financial consequences 

Your donation will help our rebels continue the fight for urgent action on climate and ecological collapse.

Why Do We Act?

Rebels fight to protect their friends, their families, the larger natural world, and humankind. They know that action NOW is needed to address climate and ecological collapse. Our arrestees have experienced the pointlessness of sending letters, signing petitions, and contacting elected representatives. Governments around the world, including the British Government, have known the consequences of rising CO2 emissions for over thirty years and still refuse to act. Arrestees have engaged in non-violent direct action because it is the only recourse left to them in the face of such criminal inaction by those in power

Please donate to help our rebels!

Thank You.

Biographies of Arrestees (to date)

Andy Williams

"How come I was arrested?

Like many others, I was arrested on the first night of the April Rebellion. I was intending to retire to my tent at the Marble Arch camp, but late in the evening I met a friend who had heard that they were starting to make arrests at Waterloo Bridge. So we made our way down there. The large festival crowds had melted away, and there were just a couple of hundred people sitting across the road, with a gospel choir singing out defiantly behind them. The police were arriving in waves, arresting the rebels one by one. It looked as if the blockade would fall that night; the main rebellion would be over in a day and the press would send their camera crews off to more interesting stories.

When I joined XR in February I ticked the “not willing to be arrested” box. It seemed like too big a step for a law-abiding man like me. But now here I was. I tried to think of a reason why others should hold the blockade, but not me. I couldn’t think of a single one: I’m 62 and so I have caused my share of the CO₂ in the air, I no longer work for a living, a criminal record would not affect my chances in life, and I am a parent. So I took my place on the tarmac. 

Dave Lambert

"Why I got arrested

I was arrested in April  for criminal damage at the Shell HQ building on the South Bank.  I had decided that the XR theory of change – ie mass civil disobedience and mass arrests - made sense in terms of getting the climate emergency onto the front pages.    I’d just turned sixty, the kids are grown up, 

We all have different parts to play but I figured I was free to be arrested and face the consequences in a way many other XR supporters just aren’t.   As we can all see now, the theory was absolutely spot on so I’m happy I played a part – I see it as having been a huge privilege."

My name is Elliot. I am 21 years of age and I am from Cheltenham.II first got involved with Extinction Rebellion in April. I had been aching to get involved with environmental activism for years but never found my 'way in' or realised what a difference I could actually make.

Sue Ryall

Hello!  My name is Sue Ryall.  I am a 67 year old psychotherapist, a mother and grandmother.  I have been concerned about the environment for many decades. I have been involved in numerous campaigns and petitions and written endless letters to my MP and the media in attempts to wake up policy makers to the ecological and climate emergency facing all life on our planet and to act with urgency  to limit the impending disaster.

I felt that none of this was making enough difference and felt compelled to join Extinction Rebellion in London in April and to join others peacefully sitting on Waterloo Bridge, where I was arrested.

For many of us, being arrested and charged can be a financial burden. There are travel costs, taking time off work, and court and legal costs. These range from a few hundred pounds for a ‘guilty’ plea, to potentially thousands for a ‘not guilty’ trial.