Conscientious objectors

Not all men responded enthusiastically to the call to arms. 16,500 opposed the war because they were pacifists. They were opposed to all wars and believed that no war can be justified. Many such men based their belief on their Christian faith and most of these were Quakers. There were also those who were not pacifists but objected to this war in particular. Some socialists held the view that it was wrong for British workers to kill their fellow German workers and that the real enemies were the factory owners and rich people of their own country. They did not believe in fighting for 'their country' because they did not consider it 'their country' in the first place. One Russian anti-war socialist, Lenin, described a bayonet as 'a weapon with a worker at both ends'.

Those conscientious objectors or 'conshies' who refused to have anything at all to do with the war were called absolutists because of their absolute opposition to fighting. Some, however, took a more flexible view and agreed to serve in non-combatant roles in the army, where they would not have to use a weapon. They became cooks or stretcher bearers in the Royal Army Medical Corps. (Even stretcher bearers were not very popular. Some soldiers claimed RAMC stood for 'Rob All My Comrades'). Absolutists argued that by doing this they merely made it possible for someone else to do their killing for them in their place, and this made them equally guilty of 'murder'.

Three out of ten conscientious objectors were imprisoned and some were conscripted anyway. If they continued to refuse to obey army rules they were treated very roughly, with Field Punishment No. 1 being a frequent penalty. In this, a soldier was bound to a stake in all weathers for as many as seven days at a time. 'Conshies' did not get favourable treatment in the press and were usually described as cowards. The press made sure that only news which helped the war effort was printed and conscientious objectors had to be discouraged.

Neil Demarco: Britain and the Great War; Oxford University Press, 1992/2000, page 27