Description
Object description
British civilian conscientious objector served with Friends Ambulance Unit in GB, India and China, 1942-1944; served as intelligence officer with Gloucestershire Regt and 14th Punjab Regt in India, 1944-1946
Content description
REEL 1: Aspects of period in GB, 1920-1939: family background and childhood in Liverpool and South Woodford, London; education at grammar school and scholarship to Mill Hill School; attitude to father's influence as Baptist minister; opinion of education at Mill Hill School; story of joining Scouts in preference to OTC; story of being appointed Head Boy; connections between Peace Pledge Union and Mill Hill School; story of father preaching pacifist sermons in 1930s; attitude to relationship between pacifism and Christianity; reason for adopting pacifist stance; opinion of Neville Chamberlain and Munich Agreement, 1938; attitude to First World War and work of war poets; awareness of Hitler and Nazi regime during 1930s; memories of refugee boys with direct experiences of Nazism; attitude to dealing with problem of Hitler; story of hearing Canon Charles Raven preach; awareness of the anti-war movement; political beliefs; opinion of literature from First World War; importance of Armistice Day commemorations in pre-war period; opinion of conscientious objector Alan Whitehorn and influence on pupils; assessment of own personal character. Aspects of period in GB, 1939-1942: various memories of life at Oxford University during period of the 'Phoney War'; reaction of friends to pacifists stance; story of Beverley Nicols criticizing Oxford students preparing to enlist.
REEL 2 Continues: reason for not joining Friends Ambulance Unit, 1940; story of joining Oxford undergraduate group the Hawkspur Camp; training in first aid with Hawkspur Camp and offer of services to local authorities; description of Tribunal in Reading, 1940; nature of non-absolutist pacifist stance; opinion of other conscientious objectors at Tribunal; attitude to use of judicial tribunals; media coverage of conscientious objectors; comparison of position of conscientious objectors with racial minorities; attitude of public, friends and family to pacifist stance; opinion of Churchill and speeches; attitude to fellow conscientious objectors abandoning pacifist stance; reasons for attempting to join the Merchant Navy, 1940; story of unsuccessful attempt to join the British Volunteer Ambulance Corps; story of joining the Friends Ambulance Unit, summer 1941; description of first aid work with the Hawkspur Camp during the Blitz in Bermondsey, London, 1940; morale of civilians; financial situation and living conditions of the Hawkspur Camp during the Blitz; story of being excused from Friends Ambulance Unit initial camp.
REEL 3 Continues: Aspects of period with Friends Ambulance Unit in London, GB, 1941-1942: description of hospital work in Bethnal Green and Lewisham and training at Hackney Technical College; reaction of other Friends Ambulance Unit volunteers to missing initial camp; attitude to doing menial and dirty jobs. Aspects of voyage aboard HMT Windsor Castle to India, spring 1942: attitude to being treated as officers aboard ship; opinion of living conditions for other ranks; relations with military personnel; story of giving lecture about Friends Ambulance Unit to troops; role of Friends Ambulance Unit in charge of lifeboat; attitude of senior officer to welfare of Friends Ambulance Unit personnel. Aspects of period with Friends Ambulance Unit in India, 1942: description of train journey to Calcutta; problem of gaining entry to China; story of flying with China National Airways over 'The Hump'; opinion of conditions during flight; problem of lack of oxygen. Recollections of period with Friends Ambulance Unit in China, 1942-1944: first impressions of China; condition of Kuomintang Government after fall of Burma; problem of receiving supplies; effect of cutting of Burma Road on Friends Ambulance Unit operations; description of Friends Ambulance Unit HQ at Kutsing; areas covered by Friends Ambulance Unit in India and China; nature of work with medical team and transport of medical supplies; problem of deteriorating transport system and shortage of petrol; use of charcoal, diesel oil and alcohol as fuel for lorries.
REEL 4 Continues: description of routes; problems of using charcoal as fuel; opinion of road engineering in south-west China; description of work in Kweiyang, Chungking and Kweilin; problem of bouts of fever and intestinal disorders; role in charge of garage at Kutsing; opinion of skills of Friends Ambulance Unit and Chinese mechanics; role of Friends Ambulance Unit as sole transporter of drugs; description of administrative and organisational methods of Friends Ambulance Unit; personal finances; opinion of Chinese landscape; reaction to widespread poverty and disease in China; opinion of Kuomintang regime.
REEL 5 Continues: further comments on the Kuomintang regime; opinion of Chinese Post Office; problem of smuggling; opinion of Chinese Army; story of setting up delousing station for troops; deaths from typhus among Friends Ambulance Unit personnel; attitude to treatment of Chinese troops; morale in Chinese Army; opinion of missionaries in China; story of Sisters of Pichieh refusing to shelter Chinese members of Friends Ambulance Unit; sleeping arrangements on or under lorries; problem of thefts; opinion of Chinese prisons and justice system; story of visit to Chinese prison.
REEL 6 Continues: further comments on poverty and disease among Chinese and effect on pacifist stance and political views; reasons for decision to renounce pacifism and join the armed forces; story of resigning from Friends Ambulance Unit and enlistment procedure with army; attitude to killing; question of regret for not fighting in the war from the start; opinion of value of experiences with Friends Ambulance Unit and contribution to situation in China; attitude of Chinese to Friends Ambulance Unit personnel undertaking menial work; reads three poems about the Friends Ambulance Unit; attitude of Chinese to pacifists in Friends Ambulance Unit; reason for small size of British presence in China; publicity for work of Friends Ambulance Unit in China; reaction of colleagues in Friends Ambulance Unit to resignation.
REEL 7 Continues: current relations with Friends Ambulance Unit; description of journey from Kunming to India to join the British Army, 1944. Aspects of operations as intelligence officer with Gloucestershire Regt and 14th Punjab Regt in India, 1944-1946: enlisted with Gloucestershire Regt; commissioned as captain and transferred to Intelligence Section, summer 1944; description of training, 1944-1945; reaction to not serving in China; problem of physical condition during training; story of meeting Harry Silberberg in hospital; attached to the 14th Punjab Regt; attitude to Indian National Army; story of receiving news of war ending in Far East, 8/1945; description of Indian National Army returning to India from Burma; political situation in India; role as intelligence officer in preparing worst case scenario; attitude of Indians to Chandra Bose; reaction to dropping of atomic bombs on Japan, 8/1945.
REEL 8 Continues: further comments on dropping of atomic bombs including reading of poem written in Aug/1945; opinion of Gandhi and non-violent resistance; story of preparing paper giving views of a Congress Party member about events in India, 1945; opinion of Jinnah; attitude to demobilisation; returned to Oxford, GB, 3/1946. Aspects of period in GB, 1946-1987: attitude to concept of the 'just war'; attitude to military service; assessment of own and others pacifist beliefs; attitude to patriotism; comparison of treatment of conscientious objectors in First and Second World Wars; opinion of female conscientious objectors in China; reason for lack of contact with Chinese women; class background of conscientious objectors.
REEL 9 Continues: further comments on class background and temperament of conscientious objectors; description of return to Oxford, 3/1946; problem of adjusting to civilian life and resuming studies; opinion of Oxford Union debates; reaction to result of 1945 General Election; opinion of Beveridge Plan and Army Education Services pamphlets; reflections on wartime experiences in China and value of work with Friends Ambulance Unit.
REEL 10 Continues: opinion of oral history testimony; attitude to victory of Chinese Communists; further comments on the Hawkspur Camp and members; story of unsuccessful attempt to join Hadfield Spears Unit early in the war; appreciation of clean water during the war; problem for pacifists involved in total war; importance of conscientious objectors maintaining high moral standards; reads poem written in 1943 about pacifist beliefs.