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Conscientious objectors

Alexander Bryan recalls the support he received from his fellow students at Sheffield University. Players: Realplayer 5 | Quicktime 4 Need help with audio? View Transcription

A conscientious objector is a person who, for reasons of conscience such as religious or philosophical principles, refuses to get involved in acts which may result in killing or harming other human beings.

The No-Conscription Fellowship, founded in November 1914, stated that it was “an organisation of men likely to be called upon to undertake military service in the event of conscription, who will refuse from conscientious motives to bear arms, because they consider human life to be sacred, and cannot, therefore, assume the responsibility of inflicting death”. The north west of England was a bastion of the No-Conscription Fellowship, with branches in Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Stockport, Warrington and Wigan. There was also an active anti-war movement in Huddersfield, including a protest group that had opposed the Boer War.

Anti-war activists were always a minority. They were largely tolerated and their meetings were allowed to take place peacefully. Most conscientious objectors opted to do “work of national importance”, but the view among large sections of the population was that conscientious objection was a convenient excuse for men to shirk their patriotic duty, and "conchie" became a term of abuse. The government, however, treated conscientious objectors harshly, and some 1,500 were imprisoned for the duration of the First World War.

During the Second World War, the government took a more reasonable stance, having realised that it was a waste of effort to force people with such strong feelings to take part. However, it was a different matter with employers. Lancashire County Council agreed to retain COs on soldier’s pay. However, Blackpool, Manchester, Oldham, Salford , Southport and Stockport dismissed any COs in their employment. Bootle and Warrington Councils dismissed COs for the duration of the war, and in 1941 the Manchester Evening News decided to let go any employees who were conscientious objectors.

If you are interested in reading more about conscientious objection during the two world wars, click here for details of how to visit the Department of Printed Books.

Sources:

Fighting for Peace: the Story of the War Resistance Movement, by W.J. Chamberlain; with a foreword by Harold J. Morland (pub. No More War Movement, London, [1922?])

Challenge of Conscience: the Story of the Conscientious Objectors of 1939-1949, by Denis Hayes (pub. Allen and Unwin, London, 1949).

The Hound of Conscience: a History of the No-Conscription Fellowship 1914-1919, by Thomas C. Kennedy (pub. The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, 1981)ISBN 0-938626-01-9

Comrades in Conscience: the Story of an English Community's Opposition to the Great War, by Cyril Pearce (pub. Francis Boutle Publishers, London, 2001ISBN 1-903427-06-1