Conscientious objector -- charges against

[queencorgi1]

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!

[tonepad]

'When on Active Service Disobeying in Such a Manner As to Show a Wilful Defiance of a Lawful Command Given By His Superior Officer'.


Tony

[queencorgi1]

Thank you, Tony! You're obviously spot on, I can see it now!

[Andy J2022]

I think the title of this thread gives misleading impression. A conscientious objector was one who refused to go into the military. This man was already in the military and therefore subject to military law. Whatever his ethical reasons for refusing to obey the order, objecting on the grounds of his conscience was not a lawful excuse in the circumstances. Had he done this 'in the face of the enemy' he might have ended up in front of a firing squad, as such disobedience was seen not only as an act of ill-discipline and cowardice, but also of betraying his comrades. 

[queencorgi1]

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.

[california dreamin]

Thanks for posting - very interesting.  Some years ago I was involved with a project trying to find out what tribunal records were still in existence.  It had been asked by the government in the 1920's that all tribunal records should be destroyed.  However, like many places you get disorganised employees and so there were some pockets of tribunal records still around. They make fascinating reading. We even found a 'snitch' letter.  Here is a link for some of the Disley Tribunal papers which you might find interesting.  https://www.flickr.com/search?sort=relevance&text=disley%20tribunal

CD

[queencorgi1]

Hi there California, thank you so much for that -- absolutely fascinating! Nearly all would-be absolutist COs were sent to HMP Wormwood Scrubs after their court martials, and I'm working on the cohort sent there in March 1917, which unfortunately is the earliest surviving prison register. March 1916 or any date in 1916 might have thrown up more well-known names! The men came from all over the country including a good few from Manchester. It's very interesting to learn that some tribunal papers did survive the 1920 purge. My aim is to discover as much as possible about these men, their backgrounds, beliefs etc., although in many cases this is virtually impossible. It would be marvellous to have their tribunal papers. Very occasionally a local newspaper will report a tribunal hearing in detail, as I'm sure you know, but this is much more a 1916 thing than later -- had become routine by then I guess. Best wishes Queencorgi

[Andy J2022]

Hi queencorgi, Thanks for the additional details. I wasn't aware of the Army referring these men as conscientious objectors. I imagine that the objectors took this stance right from the beginning of their military service and so were at least consistent in their objection.

[queencorgi1]

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.