The meaning behind the sign - "Nuclear Disarmament"
As Holtom was designing the piece, he explained: "I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya's peasant before the firing squad. I formalized the drawing into a line and put a circle round it."
It is now used as a symbol for pacifists, nuclear opponents, conservationists, and civil rights activists.