We are deeply sad to hear about the passing of Tony Bunyan this week. Tony was the founder of Statewatch and its director for over 30 years, he was also a member of the Institute of Race Relations’ council from the 1970s until his death, and last year was made its honorary president. He brought Statewatch’s office to MayDay Rooms in 2017 and was an integral part of the building until his retirement in 2020.
Tony’s work had a long engagement with MayDay’s mission to connect history from below with tracing and combatting the violence of the state. The history of Statewatch can be traced back to its predecessor, State Research (1977-1981), for which E.P. Thompson wrote a pamphlet as part of the State Research journal series in the 1970s. The importance of documenting state and surveillance power, as well as resistance to it, can be seen in Tony’s development of the Statewatch Archive and his work in his later years on his personal collection. Other significant activities from Tony’s life which can also be found in the MDR archive are his work with GLC’s Police Monitoring Unit and the Time Out strike in 1981. He was key in bringing the highly significant Crispin Aubrey Archive on the ABC case to MDR, building connections between MDR’s collection and the work of Statewatch and hosting events around the history of state surveillance.
Amongst Tony’s amazing work and achievements over his life, we will also remember him fondly as a part of the MDR family, chatting on the roof terrace over and drink and recounting the many fascinating stories of his life.
A reflection on Tony’s life and work will be published on Statewatch’s website in due course:
https://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/september/tony-bunyan-1941-2024