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Name: Gavin Jose

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Assess the motives of conscientious objec tion during the First World War; and to what extent they affected government policy. Abbreviations CO FAU FOR FSC IPL JAC NFC UDC Conscientious Objector Friends Ambulance Unit Fellowship of Reconciliation Friends Service Committee Independent Labour Party Joint Advisory Council No Conscription Fellowship Union of Democratic control

In January 1916 the first conscription act in British history became law. The act allowed exemption on a variety of different cases whi ch included ill health, employment of national importance, economic hardship and conscientious objection to military service; which could be religious or moral (Rae, 1970). It is the last exemption; conscientious object ion which will be the focus of this study. What has been described by historians of this period as the absolutist objector, undeniably an extreme minority in the context of the nation as a whole (numbering to approximately 1,300) suffered repeated military and prison sentences for refusing any other form other than absolute exemption to the war effort . Although studies of conscientious objectors (CO s) have been sympathetic to their treatment, this tends to overlook the effect that CO s had on society and government policy. This study will be looking into the two main religious and political objectors of the First World War, the socialist members of the Independ ent Labour Party and the Quaker members of the Society of Friends who were arguably most organised in protesting against forced conscription. Moreover, how the refusal to adhere to government policy regardless of punishment eventually led to reforms in the treatment of prisoners, and for political/non-religious objection to be recognised as a form of conscientious objection in future conflicts. This study will also seek to show how the socialist principles which influenced objection reflected closely to the Quakers beliefs, thus allowing them to work together in protest organisations

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such as the No Conscription Fellowship (NCF), the Fellowship of Reconciliation ( FOR) and the Friends Service Committee (FSC). When war broke out in August 1914, Britain, as in all combatant countries voices of dissent were overwhelmed by a majority supporting the decision to re sort to arms. Regardless of whether the decision was controversial, noted by the resignation of several members of the Asquith government, Britain had entered the war on what Millman (200 0) has described as well-defined and long established interests. It was generally believed that the war would be over quickly, and that there would not be any reason to drastically change from peacetime policies at home. However, there were still prominent politicians who did voice their opinions against the war. The leaders of the Labour Party, Ramsey MacDonald, and the Independent Labour Party (IPL) Keir Hardie voiced open opposition to the war. Macdonald was more concerned with what he described as secret diplomacy, which he believed was the main cause of the war. His views were not pacifist in the strict definition of the word, as he believed that war was necessary under certain circumstances: One perhaps, could fight if a citizen of a socialist country under attack, if one was a volunteer and provided that there was no conflicting religious principles. (Millman, 2000, p. 9) Macdonald soon realised that he was in the minority within his party and stepped down as leader. He did however manage to find an outlet for his convi ctions by helping to establish the Union of Democratic Control (UDC). Although they did support organisations such as the NCF, their primary aim was to campaign for democratic control of foreign policy to replace the secret diplomacy which was being held by a select elite. Furthermore, to negotiate peace treaties through parliament, to replace balance of power politics with the idea of a concert of nations (eventually to become the League of Nations) and to drastically reduce production of armaments (Pearce, 2001). Some of what has been written about the UDC in recent years has been exaggerated however. It is no longer believed that the UDC was needed to bridge the gap between rich Quakers and socialist IPL members (Quaker money was already funding the IPL since the South African war) and in acquiring middle class
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support to the IPL which was already apparent with members Brockway, Clifford Allen and Hugh Dalton to name a few (Swartz, 1971). The Independent Labour party however had the strongest views against war from the very beginning. Keir Hardie called upon members to resist the national hysteria which was sweeping the nation (Rae, 1970). The Labour Leader was the official outlet for the IPL, and the editor Fenner Brockway made his feelings clear: Workers of Great Britain, you have no quarrel with the workers of Europe. They have no quarrel with you. The quarrel is between the RULING classes of Europe. Don t make this quarrel yours... (Brockway, 2010, pp. 45 -46) The workers of Europe however did not unite against the war as Hardie and Brockway had hoped. Between August 1914 and June 1916 in Britain alone 2,675,149 men volunteered for the Army; shattering their dream of working class solidarity (Rae, 1970). Furthermore, as Millman (2001) highlights objection to war within even the IPL was a minority. He illustrates this point by looking into party membership attendance for the IPL in Bradford during 1918 in which absent membership due to military service outnumbered CO s 9 to 1. Regardless of the failure to unite the working classes against war the younger members of the IPL were not deterred. Instead, members such as Brockway and Allen worked to fight against conscription through the establishment of the No Conscri ption Fellowship (NCF). The NCF was formed three months after the war by Fenner Brockway. Although conscription was not an issue in 1914, due to the amount of volunteers, Brockway was looking to the future. To gauge public opinion on opposition to conscription Brockway asked his wife to write a letter to the Labour Leader ; to suggest that men who would oppose military conscription, regardless of the cons equences of refusing, should band themselves together so their strengths would be known. Brockway elaborated by stating that any men aged between 18 and 38 who would refuse to enlist s hould contact the paper (Ellsworth-Jones, 2008). Following an immediate if not overwhelming response the NCF was born in
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November 1914. Although historians such as Kennedy (1973) have cited their membership to be as high as 15,000 by 1915, most historians have dismissed such high numbers as a tactical exaggeration (Rae, 1970 & Ceadel, 1980). The members of its national committee were mainly young middle-class socialists, Such as its chairman Clifford Allen, Brockway, Morgan Jones and Jimmy Hudson (who were both school teachers), with some exceptions like Bertrand Russell who s pacifistic views were humanitarian (Russell, 1915). Although the organisation limited itself to campaigning against conscription, its statement of principles outlined in 1915 was undeniably pacifist: The No Conscription Fellowship is an organisation of men.... 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. (Rae, 1970, p. 91) The NCF did not receive any support from the Labour Party or the trade unions. EllsworthJones (2008) believes that because the Labour party being on the rise to power it did not want to associate itself with such an unpopular cause like the anti-conscription movement; highlighting how the newly formed UDC from supporting the anti conscription movement was already being branded as pro-German by the mainstream press. With the IPL being only a minor party their support could only be given in the background, the NCF had to look outside of politics for support. Anti war campaigners would not be able to look to the Anglican Church for support either. Mainstream Christianity allied itself with patriotism as it had from the past encouraging men to enlist, promoting war as a noble and necessary act justified by the teachings of Christ (Millman, 2000). Moreover, the Church of England saw the war against Germany as a holy war with the German soldiers fighting on the side of the devil and all his works (Bibbings, 2009). As Bibbing s (2009) highlights this had a double infl uence on how the war was viewed; first being that the war could be viewed as a just war, and that with God on their side victory would be assured. This proved to be a difficult position for the minority with in different Christian sect s who held pacifist views. One religious group however despite the
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mainstream Christian belief in supporting conflict had a long history of opposing conflict , which stemmed back from their refusal to bear arms in the civil war (Elliott, 2003). The Quakers have been the subject of study by several historians; undoubtedly Kennedy (1984 & 2001) has given the most in depth study of their pacifist roots, which he has dubbed the Quaker renaissance . Revitalised by the younger generation of Quakers during the 1880 s who sought to seek the roots of their religious beliefs , and in doing so reclaimed primitive Quaker traditions such as the inward light (Packer, 2003): This stand was justified neither by Biblical texts nor hum anitarian ideals. Rather, it was based upon the concept of the Inward Light or the indwelling spirit of Christ which leads...into all truth and which forbade inflicting injury on any person since that which is of God dwelt equally in all (Kennedy, 1984, p. 244) Nevertheless, the peace testimony did not unite the Quakers anymore than the socialist beliefs of the IPL. During the opening weeks of the war almost a third of eligible male Quaker s volunteered and those who could not resort to arms joined the newly formed

Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) (Elliott, 2003). To the more absolutist in their pacifist beliefs even joining the FAU was counter to their pacif ism, as men being patched up would only be sent back to the front line, thus indirectly aiding in the killing of men (Kennedy, 2001). Edward Grubb, editor of The British Friend and a leading figure in the Society, noticed that there was a need for members of the Society of Friends to reach out and to collaborate with individuals and groups who opposed the war and conscription. This was to be remedied when 130 individuals gathered at Trinity hall, Cambridge late in 1914. In order to gain a sense of community between the various Christian pacifists the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) was formed (Kennedy, 1984). By continuing Grubb s initial suggestion of supporting all organisations that were opposing the war the FOR worked with the NCF and even with the non pacifist UDC. Although by the end of the war FOR was boasting a membership of 8000 , its actual impact as an organisation was muted. This was mainly because they were not a pressure group, (unlike NCF, which did create divisions and will be explored later) instead
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they wanted to reassure their members that they were not alone, believing that CO was a matter of individual conscience, rather than for mass propaganda (Ceadel, 1980). For the young Quakers of military age who wanted a more definite statement of Quaker intentions to adhere uncompromisingly to their peace pledge were to be realised at the yearly Society of Friends meeting of 1915. This meeting resulted in the formation of the Friends Service Committee (FSC). The committee became the main support group for Quaker men of enlistment age and immediately sought to create ties with other anti war groups such as the FOR and NCF, which resulted in a joint advisory council (JAC) in order to share support and information (Bibbings, 2009). The closely linked ties between socialist and Quaker anti war movements goes to show that CO to the First World War was in actuality a lot more united than previous accounts of CO have given credit. This will be expanded upon later but to add more weight to this argument can be shown in how members of the FSC decid ed immediately to refuse any kind of special treatment for Quaker CO s which would not be granted to other forms of objection; such as po litical objection. Although conscription at this point was yet to be made law, it was already widely believed that in the event of conscription Quakers would be most likely to gain exemption on the basis of their faith (Elliott, 2003) , this kind of special treatment which could potentially destroy any united opposition to conscription provoked a strong reaction from a majority of its members, one Quaker wrote in 1915: If they offer us exemption from conscription as Quakers, unless all those who agree with us from conscientious motives are exempted too, the position will be intolerable. We may have to leave the Society in order to fight it out with them as men. (Elliott, 2003, p. 88)

Millman (2001) has also acknowledged the lack of recognition in studies of the British peace movement to the connection between socialist pacifists and religious pacifists. In his brief analysis Millman highlights how the major sources of objection , whether religious or political, stemmed from ideals which were virtually indistinguishable from each other. For
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example, Clifford Allen and Fenner Brockway could both be considered as secular humanists, basing their objection to war on those principles. However, through Allen s own admission had studied for a career in the church before converting to socialism because he felt it was the only way to carry through the ethical reforms which his beliefs steamed from; and Brockway s missionary socialism was very similar to the missionary religion he was taught as a child. By the end of 1915 conscription was becoming more and more of a reality. Despite the efforts of the public and the government to encourage men to enlist, the initial rush of enthusiastic patriotism had faded. The immense casualties resulting from the battle of the Somme had amounted to 1.25 million; and it had become apparent to the government that they would have to act (Jackson, 2007). Conscription became law the following year, first o f single men and, soon after, married men. It would seem that the efforts of the NCF, FOR, and FSC had failed; although Ceadel (1980) argues the opposite. Ceadel describes the enactment of the military service act as a watershed moment for the modern pacifist movement. Whereas before pacifists only had to face unpopularity for their beliefs, they now had the chance to show the true strength of their convictions. Although Rae (1970) recognised that the conscience clause which was added late into the acts finalisation was no doubt in order to deter any large scale defection from liberal MP s ; he failed to acknowledge the effect hard line FSC members were already having on government policy. In depth studies of the Quaker movement has shown that Quaker MP s such as Arnold Rowntree and T. Edmond Harvey had included an amendment which conscientious objection to military service could include r eligious and non religious objection. Moreover, and most controversially, that absolute exemption could be allowed for both forms of objection (Kennedy, 2001 & Jackson, 2007). Another factor which was brought to prominence after conscription was the active role that pacifist suffragettes played in the anti conscription movement; something which has been overlooked by most historians until recently. In both major accounts of pacifist movement, Rae (1970) only makes reference to the suffragettes in relation to handling CO s who would attempt hunger strikes; and Ceadel (1980) makes no mention of their involvement only
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referring to their reaction to the build up to the Second World W ar. Even in recent accounts Pearce (2001) only makes two minor references to Catherine Marshall , despite her being one of the leading organisers of the NCF after 1916. Based on the models provided by Sinn Fin and the suffragettes, the NCF established shadow officials in the event of its organisers being sent to prison, the idea being that work could continue regardless of arrests (Bibbings, 2009). Although Marshall played a key role in the NCF before this point, it was after prominent members were being arrested that she took over running the organisation. She had no problems dealing with males outside of the organisation either, treating politici ans as equals rather than superiors, for example after a disappointing meeting with Lloyd George she wrote to him: I often wish you were an unenfranchised woman instead of being the Chancellor of the Exchequer! With what fire you would lead the woman s mo vement. (Ellsworth-Jones, 2008, p. 85) In addition to keeping the NCF running whilst its prominent members were imprisoned Marshall visited CO s in prison, worked her political contacts, negotiated with the military and nearly gave herself a nervous breakdown in the process (Ellsworth-Jones, 2008). In addition to Marshall, other suffragettes played key roles during this period; Violet Tillard became General Secretary in 1917, Lynda Smith edited the organisations journal, the Tribunal (Bibbings, 2009) and Edith Ellis took over as secretary for the FSC (Elliott, 2003). The UDC also had support from suffragettes with one of its founding m embers Helena Swanwick, furthermore there were peace groups set up in their own right such as the Women s International League for Peace and Freedom (Millman, 2000). With so much attention given to women being empowered for undertaking patriotic duties such as taking over male dominated jobs during the First World War, it must also be acknowledged what female workers for peace achieved: ..we find Catherine Marshall, for example, seriously burnt out by her efforts on behalf of the No-Conscription Fellowship, and recovering from a long illness, but willing to work in support of the Labour Party, not as if it were the one stepping
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stone to the millennium, but as if it were the beginning of a long and uncertain road that seemed.. to lead in the general direction of equal opportunities for women... (Vellacott, 1987, p. 95) Once the Military service act became law the anti conscription groups had to decide on what action to take in protest. The FSC sent out a questionnaire to over a thousand Friends of military age to ascertain what level of objection they would be willing to take, the committee received a strong response, 85% (924 of 1042) of those surveyed intended to refuse any form of compulsion, and would claim absolute objection (Kennedy, 1984). The NCF also intended to stick with its pledge to refuse military or alternative service, during an emergency meeting on 8th April 1916 1,500 delegates, representing the (alleged) 15,000 members decided almost unanimously to reject alternative service (Rae, 1970). The Military Service Tribunals, in which there were 2,000 set up around the country, were the initial point of contact between the CO and the authorities. Most historians agree that the Tribunals could be inco nsistent, prejudiced and unjust. However, what tends to separate opinion is to what extent the blame should be laid upon the Tribunals themselves . Although it is important to acknowledge serious problems in which the Tribunals had to contend with ; such as lack of clarity from the government and time restraints (and the proportion of claimants who were CO s). Even though it was thought to be clear to the government that unconditional exemption could be made on cases of religious and moral grounds, this did not translate well to the Tribunals who incorrectly assumed that it meant exemption from combatant service only. Coupled with the ambiguous advice from Walter Young, President of the Local Government Board responsible for overseeing the Tribunals, who only stated to acknowledge genuine religious or moral convictions, had resulted in wildly varied interpretations and inco nsistent decisions made by the Tribunals (Bibbings, 2009). The Tribunals were also faced with an enormous task. Due to claims being made for a variety of reasons including health and work commitments Tribunals had to process over 750,000 claims between January and July 1916 alone; this gave them very little time to process each case. Since CO s amounted to a very
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small percentage of these claims, it is not surprising that the Tribunals struggled to give a fair hearing to CO s (Kennedy, 1973) . Historians such as Rae (1970) have praised the Tribunals for conducting reasonably well under such difficult circumstances; stating that of all the applications processed through the Tribunals, over 80% received an exemption of some sort proving that on the whole the Tribunals were fair: The figure may be consistent with the view that the tribunals investigation of claims was perfunctory; it is not consistent with the view that the majority of tribunals allowed prejudice or intolerance to dictate their decisions. (Rae, 1970, p. 131) This figure has since come under criticism by Pearce (2001) who states the exemption figure to be only 60%. Rae s miss calculation according to Pearce was due to him only using statistics for CO objectors who were under court martial for refusing to obey orders , and by comparing these to figures to the total number of CO Tribunal applicants. This does not take into account CO s who once having their applications denied took no further action, thus arguing that the tribunals were unjust and prejudice: Far from being inconsistent with the view that the majority of Tribunals allowed prejudice or intolerance to dictate their decisions , as he suggests, a 41% rather than a 17.7% refusal rate tends to confirm it. (Pearce, 2001, p. 169) To be fair, Pearce (2001) was only using local statistics of the Huddersfield tribunals to make this argument. As Bibbings (2009) rightly points out; due to inconsistent records (a majority of the Tribunal records have been destroyed) any statistic on overall CO objection would be extremely subjective. Thankfully Ceadel (1980) gives a more balanced criticism of the Tribunals, stating that it was not the failure to grant exemptions; but that they failed to give unconditional exemption to CO s whose beliefs were widely recognised to be sincere. Of all

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the exemptions given by the Tribunals only 350 were granted unconditional exem ption, and a great majority of those went to Quakers. As the statistics for just the NCF and the FSC show (see above); a vast majority of applicants would be refused the level of exemption they requested (Ceadel, 2001). Probably the most controversial of those who was denied unconditional exemption was Stephen Hobhouse. Hobhouse s personal history is quite impressive he came from a rich and influential family but deliberately disinherited

himself from the position he was born into. After becoming a socialist Hobhouse took the view that to live on an unearned income was wrong, and subsequently moved to east London to carry out social work with very little income (Brock, 2006). Respect and recognition came from the most unlikely of sources such as Lord Derby and Herbert Fisher, who was in charge of the Tribunals: It is absurd to suppose that Stephen Hobhouse for instance is not a conscientious objector, seeing as he has been ready to undergo a long term of imprisonment rather than submit to military discipline. (Bibbings, 2009, p. 176) As Pearce (2001) has highlighted, a majority of Quaker CO s who were articulate and confident in their beliefs were much more likely to gain unconditional exemption. So it can seem surprising that someone like Hobhouse would have been refused such an exemption. However, when looking into Hobhouse s Tribunal there is a strong clue to why he would have been refused, when asked to state his reason for CO: Hobhouse himself told the conscription tribunal in Shoreditch Town Hall that he chose conscientious objection as a disciple of Jesus Christ and as advocate of International Socialism. (Bailey, 1997, p. 316) Hobhouse s declaration of being an advocate of International Socialism was probably the reason why he was unsuccessful at being granted unconditional exemption. Bibbings (2009) has highlighted several examples of political objectors bei ng described as bastard political
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agitators in the mainstream press; and how people were genuinely afraid of their views which, unlike religious objectors who were only concerned with personal conscience, actually wanted to destroy capitalism, and to make dramatic changes to government and society. It was not just outside of the peace movement either, the radical views of the Quaker-Socialists within the FSL also started to alienate the older politically Liberal Quakers, although this did result in a l arge section of Liberal Quakers to join the Labour party later on (Kennedy, 1984) . Suspicion of the more radical socialists was not the only cause of disagreement between members of the NCF and the FSC. As mentioned earlier despite the legal stipulation laid out by the government to allow unconditional exemption to be granted, the Tribunals very rarely granted such an exemption. CO s were faced with a choice; either to accept alternative work of national importance, or to refuse and face imprisonment; thus the former were to be regarded as alternativists , and the later absolutists (Rae, 1970). Although both the NCF and FSC had promoted the absolutist stand , it soon became apparent to the NCF leadership that the task of facing subsequent prison se ntences was too much for all objectors to face, and they started to support those who had accepted alternative service (Ceadel, 2001). However, for the more militant members of the FSC this was not enough. And despite being a minority (Quaker absolutists numbered only 145) they ensured that their influence was dominant, and as a result the FSC refused to give aid to alternativists. However, what caused the biggest division between the NCF and FSC was over the question of what should be done over the treatment of CO prisoners: Increasing tensions among Friends over these matters mirrored growing differences between the FSC and the No -Conscription Fellowship... Many of those initially willing to suffer imprisonment were deeply shocked by the harshness of conditions they faced as prisoners in the third division.... a status reserved for the lowest class of criminal. (Kennedy, 2001, p. 337)

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The FSC stood by their stance of believing that the only legitimate pacifist protest was through mass propaganda, or to suffer silently, and they criticised NCF members such as Marshall for negotiating with the War Office on behalf of absolutist CO s (Kennedy, 2001). The disputes between the alternativists and the absolutists left the NCF in a debilitated state by the end of the war, with prominent members like Bertrand Russell becoming so j aded by the divisions that he eventually left the NCF in January 1918 (Ceadel, 2001). Moreover, even the absolutist CO s who founded the NCF such as Brockway and Allen started to realise the impracticalities of absolute pacifism. First in the support of the workers of the Spanish Civil War, and then against Nazism in the Second World War forced Brockway and Allen to reject pacifism in favour of armed conflict for just causes (Rempel, 1978). By that point however, the anti conscription movements had already influenced, arguably because of the absolutist s stance, significant changes to government policy towards CO. Not only did they manage to ensure that a conscience clause was to be put into the Military Service Act, the actions of the political absolutists like Brockway and Allen , who both served several prison sentences, ensured that political and non-religious objection was a clearly defined exemption for military service in the Second World War (Ceadel, 1980). And despite there being twice as many CO s during the Second World War, generally speaking CO s were treated a lot better than CO s of the First World War, the government realising from previous experience the futility of persecuting pacifists which only served to stiffen opposition (Rempel, 1978). Before concluding it is important to highlight another influence which CO s would have on government policy, and that was their involvement in reforming the prison service. Brockway was extremely vocal about what he saw as the deteriorative effects of prison life: We were locked in our cells for eighteen out of twenty-four hours each day. We could not speak to each other without the risk of bread and water punishment. We received and wrote one censored letter a month and one half hour visit.. The strain of this month after month was disastrous to self control...and...drove one to the verge of.. nervous breakdown.
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(Brockway, 2010, p. 103) Brockway got his chance to express his views after being approached by the Prison System Enquiry Committee to help, along with Hobhouse, to complete a report on prison conditions. The outcome was a bulky 700 page report titled English Prisons To-day. It proved to be a landmark event in the history of penal reform in Britain , and became recognised as the standard work on the English prison system (Brock, 2006). A month after publication the silence rule was removed, and following a successful trial, solitary confinement, which was a month for all new prisoners, was also abolished (Bailey, 1997). To conclude, what this essay has attempted to explain is that despite being only a minority movement, the organised anti conscription protesters during the First World War did in fact influence several changes to how the government would treat conscientious objection in future conflicts. The efforts of the NCF and the FSC leading up to conscription managed to influence enough Quaker MP s to seek to amend the Military Service Act; so it would allow absolute objection to be recognised for religious and non-religious objectors. This was achieved because the Quaker members of the FSC refused special treatment and sought to create a united front against conscription with non religious objectors like the NCF. Moreover, their united front was strengthened due to socialist and Quaker beliefs stemming from similar ideologies, allowing both groups to find common ground in their pacifist beliefs. However, due to a mixture of a lack of clarity on what actually constituted abso lute objection; and a lack of willingness from the Tribunal members themselves, the provisions for absolute objection were only granted to 350 CO s, and almost all of those were granted to religious objection only. This signalled the first signs of conflic t between the religious objectors of the FSC and the political objectors of the NCF, the former refusing to support members who accepted alternative service and criticised NCF members who sought to improve prison conditions for absolute objectors. The FSC member s unflinching commitment to martyrdom and passive protest eventually damaged ties between the two organisations, and towards the end of the war prominent members of the NCF were
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resigning in disappointment. Further commitment to pacifism in the year s following the First World War also became less desirable. Former NCF members such as its founder Fenner Brockway started to change their stance on pacifism in the face of fascism in the Spanish Civil War and Nazism in the Second World War; and began to s upport armed conflict for just causes. By this point however, the CO objectors had if not achieved their overall goal of abolishing forced conscription, had made significant changes to how future CO s would be treated by the government. Non religious obje ction was recognised as a form of CO in World War Two ; and despite double the number of applicants, CO s were treated much more humanly, no doubt because of the absolutists stance the government realised that continuous punishment would only stiffen opposi tion. Furthermore, the harsh experience of prison life for the absolutist objectors such as Hobhouse and Brockway opened the debate on the inhuman conditions of early 20 th century prisons. And as a result, through their published report, draconian rules such as forced silence and prolonged isolation were removed from the British prison system permanently.

Bibliography: Bailey, V. (1997). English Prisons, Penal Culture, and the Abatement of Imprisonment, 1895 1922. The Journal of British Studies, , 285-324. Bibbings, L. S. (2009). Telling tales about men: Conceptions of conscientious objectors to military service during the First World War. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Brock, P. (2006). Against the Draft: Essays on Conscientious Objection from the Radical Reformation to the Second World War. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Brockway, F. (2010). Inside the Left: Thirty Years of Platform, Press, Prison and Parliament . Nottingham: Spokesman Books . Ceadel, M. (1980). Pacifism in Britain 1914 -1945: Defining a faith. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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Ceadel, M. (2001). Semi-Detached Idealists:The British Peace Movement and International Relations, 1854 -1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Elliott, M. (2003). Opposition to t he First World War: The Fate of Conscientious Objectors in Leicester. Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Volume 77 . Ellsworth-Jones, W. (2008). We will not fight: The untold story of World War One's conscientious objectors. London: Aurum Press. Jackson, J. (2007). Losing the Plot: Lloyd George, F.E. Smith and the trial of Alice Wheeldon . Retrieved March 1, 2011, from History Today: http://www.historytoday.com/johnjackson/losing-plot-lloyd-george-fe-smith-and-trial-alice-wheeldon Kennedy, T. C. (2001). British Quakerism, 1860-1920: The Transformation of a Religious Community . Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kennedy, T. C. (1973). Public Opinion and the Conscientious Objector, 1915 -1919. The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 12, No . 2 , 105-119. Kennedy, T. C. (1984). The Quaker Renaissance and the Origins of the Modern British Peace Movement, 1895-1920. Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3 , 243-272. Millman, B. (2000). Managing domestic dissen t in First World War Britain. London: Frank Cass Publishers. Packer, I. (2003). Religion and the New Liberalism: The Rowntree Family, Quakerism, and Social Reform. The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 42, No. 2 , 236-257. Pearce, C. (2001). Comrades in conscience: the story of an English community's opposition to the Great War. London: Francis Boutle Publishers. Rae, J. (1970). Conscience and politics: The British Government and the conscientious objector to military service 1916-1919. London: Oxford University Press.

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Rempel, R. A. (1978). The Dilemmas of British Pacifists During World War II. The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 50, No. 4 , D1213-D1229. Russell, B. (1915). The War and Non-Resistance: A Rejoinder to Professor Perry. International Journal of E thics, Vol. 26, No. 1 , 23-30. Swartz, M. (1971). Union of Democratic Control; Great Britain; Politics and government; 1910-1936. Oxford: Clarendon Press . Vellacott, J. (1987). Feminist Consciousness and the First World War. History Workshop Journal, Vol. 23, Iss.1 , 81-101.

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