FIRST WORLD WAR PEACE FORUM
PRESS RELEASE
REMEMBERING THE MEN WHO SAID “NO”!
International Conscientious Objectors’ Day, 15 May
http://www.wri-irg.org/en/co-day-2016
This year marks the centenary of the Military Service Bill, brought into effect on
2 March 1916, by which all unmarried British men aged 18 and under 41, became
liable to conscription. On 25 May 1916 all British men in that age group, regardless
of marital status, became liable to conscription.
For the first time, the Bill recognised the unqualified right to conscientious
objection.
In the First World War over 16,000 men claimed exemption from military service
and faced a tribunal to assess their claims. If they refused non-combatant work in
the army, or useful civilian work, they faced court martial and ended up in a
civilian prison. Many became physically or mentally ill, or died as a result.
35 Conscientious Objectors were formally sentenced to death in 1916, but
reprieved.
Over 80 British Conscientious Objectors died between 1916 and 1920.
Every year since 1982, 15th May has marked International Conscientious Objectors’
Day - to commemorate those who have resisted and those who continue to resist
war, especially by refusing to be part of military structures.
The following events commemorate International Conscientious Objectors’ Day
Saturday 14 May 2016
London, Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ
European Bureau of Conscientious Objectors (EBCO) http://www.ebco-beoc.org/
Conscientious Objectors from all over Europe are holding their annual meeting in
London for the first time. Conscription still exists in many parts of Europe,
including Greece, Finland, Turkey and Norway. In many countries, conscientious
objectors are imprisoned.
In the evening representatives of member organisations of the First World War
Peace Forum1 will meet EBCO members at an informal reception, with the aim of
strengthening links between European peace organisations. It will be a chance to
hear how we can support anti-conscription and conscientious objector movements
today, as well as to discover how recognition of the rights of conscientious
objectors in Britain in 1916 impacted campaigns in other countries.
Contact: [email protected]
Sunday 15 May 2016
London, 12 noon, Tavistock Square, WC1
Remembering conscientious objectors of the First World War and conscientious
objectors today
To mark International Conscientious Objectors’ Day 2016 the First World War Peace
Forum will hold a ceremony of remembrance at 12 noon in Tavistock Square, WC1.
Among the speakers are:
 Jill Gibbon will speak about her grandfather, Bert Brocklesby, who was one of those
sent to France in May 1916 and given the (commuted) death penalty
 Siw Wood will speak about her uncle, Walter Roberts, who was the first man to die
as a consequence of his treatment in the terrible conditions at Dyce camp
 Hannah Brock from War Resisters’ International will give a short overview of the
situation today for COs worldwide
 Alexia Tsouni from The Association of Greek Conscientious Objectors

Holly Wallis from Conscience will talk about the Taxes For Peace Bill being
presented in Parliament to allow conscientious objection to military taxes
Names of other conscientious objectors from around the world will be read out
during the ceremony and flowers will be laid at the Conscientious Objectors’ stone
in the square. Participants will be invited to bring forward flowers or photos, and
call out the name as they lay a flower.
Sue Gilmurray will lead singing with Raised Voices.
The CO ceremony is being organised by the First World War Peace Forum
Contact: [email protected]
First World War Peace Forum is a coalition made up of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship,
Conscience, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Movement for the Abolition of War, Network
for Peace, Pax Christi, Peace News, Peace Pledge Union, Quaker Peace and Social
Witness, the Right to Refuse to Kill group and the Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom.
1
Sunday 15 May
Edinburgh, 4 - 5 pm, The Mound, EH2 2EL
An International Conscientious Objectors’ Day Vigil, with Protest in Harmony, will
be held at the foot of the Mound. Speakers will include descendants of First World
War COs and one or two Second World War COs. Poetry, reflections, songs.
Organised by Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre
Contact: Brian Larkin, 0131 629 1058, [email protected]
A petition for a memorial to conscientious objectors and opponents of war has been
enthusiastically approved by City of Edinburgh Council. A number of possible sites in
Edinburgh’s Princes St Gardens, a World Heritage site, have been offered. The Gardens
are home to numerous war memorials and adjacent to the Castle and the National War
Memorial. The Peace and Justice Centre, working with a number of groups in Scotland,
are now fundraising. They hope to hold a competition for a suitable sculpture and
complete the Memorial by 2018. Further information is available at:
http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/about-us/conscientious-memorial-project/
Leicester, 1.30pm, Peace Walk, Victoria Park
Unveiling of stone to commemorate conscientious objectors.
Contact : 0116 225 0133 [email protected]
Oxford
Sunday 15 May, 12 - 1.30pm, Peace Plaque, Bonn Square
Commemoration event with testimonies, poems and readings. Music from Sea
Green Singers. Organised by Oxford CND.
14 - 28 May, Monday-Saturday, between 11am-2pm, New Road
Baptist Church, Bonn Square
“The World is My Country”, an exhibition celebrating the people and movements
that opposed WWI, in posters and stories. The exhibition will be open briefly on
Sunday 15th for people wanting to look around it straight after the vigil at the
Peace Plaque (which is on the forecourt of the church), from around 1-1.30 pm.
Thursday 19 May, 7.30pm, Old Court Room, Oxford Town Hall
Play: “We will not Fight”. The play explores the fate of Conscientious Objectors
through the journey of one man who refused to abandon his principles. Followed
by an audience discussion.
Thursday 26 May, 7.30pm, New Road Baptist Church
Panel discussion on Conscientious Objection Then & Now. Three speakers will
present the picture of conscientious objection as it was in WWI and how it is now,
followed by a Q&A with the audience. The panellists are Hannah Brock, from War
Resisters’ International working on the “right to refuse to kill” programme; Symon
Hill, a Christian pacifist campaigner and author; and Annette Bygott, local peace
campaigner, painter and translator.
For more information about the above events in Oxford see
http://www.for.org.uk/events/peacemakers16/
Contact: 01865 251421, [email protected]
Manchester, 15 May – 12 June
Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St, M2 5NS
“Conscience and War”, an exhibition of the untold stories of Manchester Quakers
who resisted WW1, organised by Manchester Quakers. Culminating with an event
on Sunday 12 June, including a panel for questions and discussion of WW1 COs.
http://www.meetinghousemanchester.co.uk/conscience-war-untold-storiesmanchester-quakers-resisted-ww1/
Contact : [email protected]
Rochdale, Tuesday 17 May
6.30 – 8pm, Pioneers Museum, 31 Toad Lane, OL12 0NU
“Subversive Peacemakers” with Dr Clive Barrett.
Contact : 01706 524920 http://tinyurl.com/z4mtap9
Milton Keynes, Wednesday 18 May
7 - 9.30pm, St Michael’s Priory, The Well, Newport Road, MK15 9AA
“Subversive Peacemakers” with Dr Clive Barrett. A ‘Look at a Book’ event.
http://www.stmichaelspriory.org.uk
Contact : 01908 242190, [email protected]
London, Wednesday 25 May
7.30 – 10pm, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL
Michael Mears presents: “Comrades in Conscience”. One hundred years to the day
since general military conscription passed into law in Great Britain, the courageous
men who resisted the compulsory call to arms, and the women who supported
them, are remembered in an evening of differing perspectives – through drama,
song, and speakers with particular knowledge of the subject.
http://conwayhall.org.uk/event/comrades-in-conscience/
York, Sunday 5 June
2.30 – 4.30, The Church Hall, Church Lane, Bishopthorpe, YO23 2QG
“Remembering The Men Who Said No!”. A commemoration of Conscientious Objection in
York during World War 1. Organised by York Quakers.
Contact : 01904 624216, [email protected]
Chesterfield, Thursday 23 June
6pm, Donut Creative Arts Studio, Spring Bank Rd, S40 1NL
"Courage of Conscience", exhibition and performances based on the hidden stories of
Derbyshire's conscientious objectors in the First World War.
www.courageofconscience.wordpress.com / www.propeacechesterfield.wordpress.com
Contact : 01246 271650, [email protected]
Taxes for Peace Bill going to Parliament
Campaigning organisation Conscience: Taxes For Peace Not War are marking the
centenary of the ‘conscience clause’ by introducing a Bill to Parliament, sponsored by
Ruth Cadbury MP, which would allow tax payers the right to conscientiously object to
paying for war.
Conscience’s Bill aims to create the legal structure that would allow citizens to redirect
their portion of military tax into a fund dedicated for non-military security, conflict
resolution and prevention work – a Peace Tax Fund.
Contact: 0203 515 9132
[email protected]