Description
Object description
British schoolchild in Devonport, St Austell and Plymouth, GB 1939-1949; student with University of Exeter in GB and University of Wisconsin in United States of America, 1949-1956; conscientious objector exempted from National Service served with Friends Ambulance Unit in GB, 10/1956-2/1958 and seconded to United Nations in Tehran, Iran, 2/1958-12/1958
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as schoolchild in Devonport, Plymouth and St Austell, GB, 1931-1949: family; religious beliefs; education; reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; question of learning about warfare from historical events in local area; effects of war on daily life; influx of European refugees; German bombing raids on Plymouth and death of school friends; bomb damage to family home; effect of evacuation to St Austell on education; winning scholarship to grammar school at Sutton High School for Boys, Plymouth and headmaster's theory on effects of bombing on boys of different ages; attitude towards Germans; reaction to end of Second World War and celebrations, 5/1945; post-war recovery of Plymouth; attitude to pacifism and religious arguments against warfare and killing. Aspects of period as student with University of Exeter in GB, 1949-1954: first contact with Quakers as student joining the Young Liberals; contacts with the Fellowship of Reconciliation; reaction to Korean War, 1950-1953; attitude towards National Service. Aspects of period as student with University of Wisconsin in United States of America, 1955-1956: obtaining Rotary Foundation Fellowship award to study at University of Wisconsin, 1955.
REEL 2 Continues: reasons for becoming a Christian pacifist prior to leaving for United States of America; offering of National Service posting to Royal Army Education Corps in GB; regulations regarding study leave; story of having to swear to not being a Communist prior to entering the United States of America, 1955; attitude to McCarthyism; return to GB, 1956. Aspects of period as conscientious objector in GB, 1956: reaction of family to stance as conscientious objector; description of Tribunal at Bristol, 23/8/1956 including advice and support from the Society of Friends, Tribunal statement being published in local press and questions asked; accusation of sacrificing good job and salary for subsistence wage. Aspects of period as volunteer of Friends Ambulance Unit in GB, 10/1956-2/1958: previous knowledge and contacts with Friends Ambulance Unit and procedure for joining; transit camp at Melksham; issue of clothing; pay; opinion of Friends Ambulance Unit China Convoy.
REEL 3 Continues: pay; opinion of motto 'Go Anywhere, Do Anything'; importance of work with Friends Ambulance Unit/International Service in development of leadership skills; attitude to social class and pacifism; duties as cook at Tunmers End; work for Oxfam in used clothing warehouse in Pimlico and organising a clothing depot for Hungarian refugees in Poplar, London, 1956; story of breaking Oxfam's rules by buying new clothes for refugees; offering old items to Victoria and Albert Museum; story of tea chest of bowler hats arriving from Rhondda Valley; amusing story of tailor's dummy; further details of work with Hungarian refugees and problem of language; story of Christopher Driver taking medical supplies into Budapest, Hungarian People's Republic during the Hungarian Uprising, 1956; relations between Friends Ambulance Unit and Oxfam; reaction to landings at Suez, Egypt, 11/1956; attending Donald Soper's service and meeting in Trafalgar Square; attitude of Friends Ambulance Unit members towards landings at Suez, 11/1956; involvement with Richard Acland's campaign against nuclear weapons, 1955; move to work at St Wulstan's Hospital, Worcester, 3/1957.
REEL 4 Continues: importance of hospital work in Friends Ambulance Unit training; duties as section leader at St. Wulstan's Hospital; comparison of group discipline in Friends Ambulance Unit and in hospitals; relations between Friends Ambulance Unit and medical staff; opinion of missionary work; question of conscientious objectors identifying with the military; story of Hugh Foot's plan to use Friends Ambulance Unit during Cyprus Emergency and reaction to abandonment of scheme; opinion of Hugh Foot, 1958.
REEL 5 Continues: story of later meeting with Hugh Foot in 1970s. Aspects of period as personal assistant to United Nations Resident Representative in Tehran, Iran, 2/1958-12/1958: secondment to United Nations in Tehran; duties; payment of salary into Friends Ambulance Unit account to finance educational scheme for Iranian youths; opinion of the United Nations; story of flying United Nations flag on United Nations Day when leader of Devon County Council. Aspects of period as lecturer and local politician in GB, 1958-1988: extension of service with Friends Ambulance Unit; summary of career in education and politics; story of standing as candidate for Liberal Party in General Elections; role with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and problem of conflict with political career; opinion of Social Democratic Party leader David Owen; reaction to Reagan/Gorbachev summit meeting.
REEL 6 Continues: relevance of founder of the Society of Friends George Fox's ideas in current society; attitude to use of violence for political ends; activities with Anti-Apartheid Movement; opinion of African National Congress; attitude to teaching of Peace Studies in schools; importance of work with Friends Ambulance Unit in career and personal development; story of attending first Friends Ambulance Unit reunion, 1984.
