RootsChat.Com

Hi Andy!
The vast majority of 'absolutist' COs went through the tribunal system and then through their court martials consisting declaring that they would not cooperate with any army command given them and describing themselves as 'conscientious objectors' from the start. Arthur Green was only different because he was attempting to evade the system of call up altogether but was caught by the police. Once arrested, however, he too was consistent in referring to himself as a conscientious objector. The army did not refer to them by this term until they'd been sent off either to a Home Office work scheme or to other 'work of national importance' such as farming. Up to that point they would be referred to, as Arthur was, as 'Private A. Green of the 3rd Manchesters' despite his total lack of cooperation. At this point the term 'conscientious objector' was written across his service record.

Hi Andy
No, the title of the thread is correct, but the circumstances were a little unusual. Arthur Green was one of three men seized by the police when they raided a meeting of the No Conscription Fellowship at Deansgate, Manchester, on 2 March 1917. This was obviously a year after conscription was introduced and of course all men in the relevant age bracket were liable. However, some members of the NCF chose to go 'on the run' and attending a meeting like this, which would be have semi-clandestine and certainly not intended to be known to the police, put them at obvious risk of arrest.
Once arrested, though, despite describing himself as a conscientious objector, and sincerely holding those beliefs, Green had not (as far as i can discover) been through the tribunal system and his service record shows that he stated that he did not hold an exemption from conscription. He was therefore taking a stand which he felt his beliefs justified him to do, but which did not have standing under the law. Once sent to the Manchester Regiment, he refused to obey military orders on the grounds of being a CO (which was exactly what COs who HAD been through the tribunal system but had not been granted absolute exemption did), was court martialled and sent to Wormwood Scrubs for 6 months with hard labour. In fact he did not serve this sentence, but was sent back to the Manchesters at their Cleethorpes depot, where he continued to refuse to obey orders. The service record like many others is incomplete, but at some point during the summer of 1917 Green agreed to accept the Home Office work camp scheme and was sent to Dartmoor for this purpose. By this time the army is referring to him as a 'conscientious objector', which is the term he used to describe himself. Hope that clarifies my use of the term, and thank you for your interest.

I should be most grateful if someone could fill in the gaps in my reading of the attached charge against the conscientious objector Arthur Green. When COs were forcibly conscripted into the army after the passing of the Military Service Act in 1916, it was routine for them to be asked to put on a uniform or pick up a rifle. Their refusal to do so 'disobeying the lawful command of a superior officer' meant they faced a court martial and were sent to prison. The wording in Arthur's case appears to be slightly different, but I can't decipher it all:
What I have so far is: 'When on Active Service Disobeying ........... Wilful Defiance of a Lawful Command Given By His Superior Officer'.
If you can fill in the few missing words, it would be much appreciated!

Thank you both very much! Of course it's obvious he would have needed a licence once I gave it two minutes' thought. I'm still astonished that my chap apparently made a living out of it -- that's a lot of apples!

Golly!