We Will Not Fight

We Will Not Fight PDF Author: Will Ellsworth-Jones
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781311486
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
‘Vividly reconstructs the dramatic story of these men whose fortitude kept alive the principle of conscientious objection we now take for granted’ Spectator ‘A fascinating story, thoroughly researched and clearly told’ Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday Book of the Week In June 1916, as his brother Philip was on the way to the Somme, Bert Brocklesby was in prison under sentence of death. He had refused to fight in the First World War. In this thoughtful, compelling and poignant book, Will Ellsworth-Jones tells the remarkable and little-known story of courageous men like Bert Brocklesby, who defied both brutal incomprehension from the military, and white feathers waved at them in the street, to leave a lasting legacy: the freedom to voice unpopular beliefs and to challenge those who decide to take us to war. ‘A fascinating and frightening story of an army very nearly out of control of its political masters’ Francis Beckett, Guardian ‘A moving and grippingly readable book’ Sunday Telegraph

We Will Not Fight

We Will Not Fight PDF Author: Will Ellsworth-Jones
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781311486
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
‘Vividly reconstructs the dramatic story of these men whose fortitude kept alive the principle of conscientious objection we now take for granted’ Spectator ‘A fascinating story, thoroughly researched and clearly told’ Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday Book of the Week In June 1916, as his brother Philip was on the way to the Somme, Bert Brocklesby was in prison under sentence of death. He had refused to fight in the First World War. In this thoughtful, compelling and poignant book, Will Ellsworth-Jones tells the remarkable and little-known story of courageous men like Bert Brocklesby, who defied both brutal incomprehension from the military, and white feathers waved at them in the street, to leave a lasting legacy: the freedom to voice unpopular beliefs and to challenge those who decide to take us to war. ‘A fascinating and frightening story of an army very nearly out of control of its political masters’ Francis Beckett, Guardian ‘A moving and grippingly readable book’ Sunday Telegraph

The Courage of Cowards

The Courage of Cowards PDF Author: Karyn Burnham
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473834996
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
To many they were nothing more than cowards, but the 'conchies' of the First World War had the courage to stand by their principles when the nation was against them... An innovative new history of conscientious objectors during the First World War. Drawing on previously unpublished archive material, Karyn Burnham reconstructs the personal stories of several men who refused to fight, bringing the reader face-to-face with their varied, often brutal, experiences.Charles Dingle: Defying his father's wishes by objecting to military service, Charles joins the Friends Ambulance Unit and finds himself in the midst of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.Jack Foister: Jack, a young student, cannot support the war in any way. Imprisoned and shipped secretly out to France, Jack has no idea what lengths the military will go to in order to break him.James Landers: A Christian and pacifist, James faces a dilemma: if he sticks to his principles, he faces imprisonment but if he joins the Non Combatant Corps he can financially support his family. Gripping accounts reveal the traumatic and sometimes terrifying events these men went through and help readers to discover what it was really like to be a conscientious objector.As seen in the Northern Echo, Ilkley Gazette, Ripon Gazette, Wetherby News, Kent & Sussex Courier and Bradford Telegraph & Argus. Also seen in Essence and Discover Your History magazines.

Acts of Conscience

Acts of Conscience PDF Author: Steven J. Taylor
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815651406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description
In the mid- to late 1940s, a group of young men rattled the psychiatric establishment by beaming a public spotlight on the squalid conditions and brutality in our nation’s mental hospitals and training schools for people with psychiatric and intellectual disabilities. Bringing the abuses to the attention of newspapers and magazines across the country, they led a reform effort to change public attitudes and to improve the training and status of institutional staff. Prominent Americans, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, ACLU founder Roger Baldwin, author Pearl S. Buck, actress Helen Hayes, and African-American activist Mary McLeod Bethune, supported the efforts of the young men. These young men were among the 12,000 World War II conscientious objectors who chose to perform civilian public service as an alternative to fighting in what is widely regarded as America’s “good war.” Three thousand of these men volunteered to work at state institutions where they discovered appalling conditions. Acting on conscience a second time, they challenged America’s treatment of its citizens with severe disabilities. Acts of Conscience brings to light the extra-ordinary efforts of these courageous men, drawing upon extensive archival research, interviews, and personal correspondence. The World War II conscientious objectors were not the first to expose public institutions, and they would not be the last. What distinguishes them from reformers of other eras is that their activities have faded from the professional and popular memory. Taylor’s moving account is an indispensable contribution to the historical record.

We Will Not Fight

We Will Not Fight PDF Author: Will Ellsworth-Jones
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
* Explores Conscientious Objection in WWI through an extraordinary personal story of two British brothers - one who was prepared to die fighting; the other who was prepared to die refusing to fight * A unique perspective on an ever popular period of history, especially in light of recent protest over Iraq.

I Ain’t Marching Anymore

I Ain’t Marching Anymore PDF Author: Chris Lombardi
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620973189
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
A sweeping history of the passionate men and women in uniform who have bravely and courageously exercised the power of dissent Before the U.S. Constitution had even been signed, soldiers and new veterans protested. Dissent, the hallowed expression of disagreement and refusal to comply with the government’s wishes, has a long history in the United States. Soldier dissenters, outraged by the country’s wars or egregious violations in conduct, speak out and change U.S. politics, social welfare systems, and histories. I Ain’t Marching Anymore carefully traces soldier dissent from the early days of the republic through the wars that followed, including the genocidal “Indian Wars,” the Civil War, long battles against slavery and racism that continue today, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and contemporary military imbroglios. Acclaimed journalist Chris Lombardi presents a soaring history valorizing the brave men and women who spoke up, spoke out, and talked back to national power. Inviting readers to understand the texture of dissent and its evolving and ongoing meaning, I Ain’t Marching Anymore profiles conscientious objectors including Frederick Douglass’s son Lewis, Evan Thomas, Howard Zinn, William Kunstler, and Chelsea Manning, adding human dimensions to debates about war and peace. Meticulously researched, rich in characters, and vivid in storytelling, I Ain’t Marching Anymore celebrates the sweeping spirit of dissent in the American tradition and invigorates its meaning for new risk-taking dissenters.

Battle of Conscience

Battle of Conscience PDF Author: Erika Blériot
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780473316211
Category : Military deserters
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description


Conscientious Objectors of the First World War

Conscientious Objectors of the First World War PDF Author: Ann Kramer
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473842441
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The story of conscientious objection in Britain begins in 1916, when conscription was introduced for the first time. Some 16,000 men the first conscientious objectors refused conscription because they believed on grounds of conscience that it was wrong to kill and wrong of any government to force them to do so. As historians mark the centenary of the First World War much emphasis is placed on the bravery of those men who fought and died in the trenches. But those who refused to kill were also courageous. Conscientious objectors in the First World War were treated brutally: they were seen as cowards and traitors, vilified, abused, forced into the army, brutalised and tortured. Some were even sentenced to death in an attempt to break their resistance. Many spent long months and years in prison. Nothing though that the authorities did broke the determined resistance of these men, whose deeply held principles and belief that killing was wrong carried them through and stands as a beacon for individual conscience to this day. Conscientious Objectors of the First World War: A Determined Resistance tells the stories of these remarkable men. It looks at who they were, why they took the stand they did and how they were treated. To bring their voices and experiences to life, Ann Kramer, has used extensive prime source material, including interviews, memoirs and contemporary newspapers. Working from these she describes what it was like for COs to face hostile tribunals, be forced into the army, defy army regulations, be brutalised and endure repeated terms of imprisonment. She concludes by looking at their legacy, which was profound, inspiring a second generation of conscientious objectors during the Second World War, a continuing story that Ann Kramer describes in her companion volume Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War: Refusing to Kill.

Bible Student Conscientious Objectors in World War One - Britain

Bible Student Conscientious Objectors in World War One - Britain PDF Author: Gary Perkins
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781517339364
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
"Hitherto, the stand taken by Britain's International Bible Students in opposition to war has been ignored, misunderstood and even dismissed. Gary Perkins' thorough and scholarly work is an essential corrective to all of that. This pioneering work is a necessary contribution to our growing understanding of the diverse character of Britain's anti-war community during the First World War." Cyril Pearce, University of Leeds, author of 'Comrades in Conscience'. "It is most definitely my kind of study, being based on thorough research, lucidly written, and argued with subtlety, nuance, and courtesy. It makes clear that I, Rae, and others have got a lot wrong in our references to the IBSA. Your detailed biographical treatment of IBSA objectors establishes what a dutiful and disciplined group they were - model citizens, from the state's and civil society's points of view, in everything other than their willingness to do army service. Even to a secular non-pacifist like me, they come across as admirable and likeable." Martin Ceadel, Emeritus Fellow of New College Oxford and Professor of Politics, University of Oxford. Peace studies following the Great War tended to concentrate attentions on Quaker pacifists and Socialists who were among the more outspoken conscientious objectors. As a result the stand of quieter religious minorities tended to be marginalised, forgotten and even lost, although they were no less remarkable and, in some instances, major players in key events of the time. This book encapsulates the painstaking results of fifteen years research into the stand of early Bible Students as conscientious objectors in World War One Britain. Scouring surviving military records, local and national library archives, newspaper reports, Hansard Parliamentary statements, contemporary Watch Tower references, contributed family scrap books and CO memoirs, researcher Gary Perkins sort to recover the history of one such 'lost' group: members of the International Bible Students Association. He found that while small in number, in terms of expectation and performance the Bible Student COs "punched way above their weight and their fingerprints may be said to have been left all over the important episodes of Britain's World War One peace history." At last, their true story of courage, faith, tragedy and triumph has been identified and the history of the early Bible Students, some one hundred years later, is given the recognition it deserves. In so doing the account related illuminates the journey taken by the antecedents of today's Jehovah's Witnesses, a group said to "make up the largest community in the world today that objects to wars." The book provides indispensable reading for scholars and students of the First World War, especially for those who may hold an interest in conscientious objection, religious minorities and war resistance, and who want to go beyond the standard works which have dominated the subject for the last century.

Statement Concerning the Treatment of Conscientious Objectors in the Army

Statement Concerning the Treatment of Conscientious Objectors in the Army PDF Author: United States. War Department
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conscientious objectors
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description


No More Soldiering

No More Soldiering PDF Author: Stephen Wade
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445648954
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
The stories of those who refused to fight in the First World War