An Gof was the name used by a Cornish nationalist terrorist organisation. The organisation takes its name from Michael An Gof, a leader of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497. The Cornish Flag The Cornish self-government movement (sometimes referred to as Cornish nationalism) is a social movement which seeks greater autonomy for the area of Cornwall. ... Terrorist redirects here. ... Michael Joseph (better known as Michael An Gof, where An Gof is Cornish for blacksmith; died 24 June 1497) and Thomas Flamank (a Bodmin landowners son and London lawyer) were the leaders of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497. ... The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 was a popular uprising in 1497 by the tin miners of Cornwall in the south west of Britain. ...

The extent to which this organisation was exaggerated by media or police is unknown. In one attack, a politician's letterbox was blown up with a bomb. It is uncertain whether other attacks were carried out by the same organisation.

In December 1980 a group calling themselves 'An Gof 1980' exploded a bomb at the courthouse in St. Austell. In January 1981 they claimed responsibility for a fire at a Penzance hairdressers(attacked in mistake for the Bristol and West Building Society). Later in the decade An Gof claimed responsibility for a number of fires, including one at the Zodiac Bingo Hall in Redruth. They also claimed responsibility for an attempted explosion at Beacon Village Hall and placing broken glass under the sand at Portreath Beach in 1984.

Recently (12th March 2007) a group claiming to be An Gof has stated that it wants to destroy all English flags in Cornwall. A later statement made by a spokesman of the secretive Cornish organization ‘An Gof’ was faxed to the Cornish Branch of the Celtic League by an unknown person who withheld his or her telephone and reads as follows:

‘ Out of respect for many of the decent and honourable Cornish people present today, we have asked our membership to remain inactive. We are aware that reputations were placed on the line by moderate Cornish Nationals who have been subject of death threats from the far right as well as threats of action by the police. However, we wish to make this point very clear: any attempts from hereon to fly the hated and oppressive Flag of St. George of England which we know as the blood banner in this our Country will result in direct action by our organization. For those who question our motives, we refer them to the events of 1497 and 1549 and the years of English Imperialistic repression which has followed. We shall not show the tolerance of those standing Vigil today and our action will be to remove and burn the flags of the English which may cause peripheral damage. An Gof 1497.’

See also

• List of topics related to Cornwall
• List of terrorist organisations