Wednesday 4 March 2015

A Look Around Ealing’s First World War Dissidents

(some of them)
Over the past year it has become increasingly recognised in many places, including the Imperial War Museum, that remembrance of the First World War is not complete without at least some acknowledgement that opponents of the war existed, many of them prepared to suffer for their beliefs. In several cases evidence has already emerged to challenge the prevailing view of them as a tiny, eccentric and universally reviled minority, as estimates both of their numbers and of the extent of their support keep mounting up.
The Pearce Register of British COs (Conscientious Objectors)  shows that Ealing (as in the present-day London Borough), like other places, had its share of such dissidents – over 40 at least, as listed below and discussed previously on this blog. The database from which most of these names and details are taken has more than doubled in size since the early version used here (its promised appearance, updated and interactive, on-line has been eagerly awaited by researchers for about a year) so that we may extrapolate a total of 100 or more whose objection was explicit, open and in some way acknowledged.

name
Address
Age
Occupation
affinity
Prison etc.
notes
Acton
Baker, Hinman J.


Chemistry Student
Quaker


Baker, Paul William
21, Cumberland Park, W3
21 in 1916
Mechanical Engineer
Quaker


Carter, Percival Charles
St. Mary's Villa, Beaumont Road, Acton Green
20 in 1916
Printer
FOR - Dartmoor Branch; Quaker Attender
Winchester

Case study on blog
Cook, Albert James
39, Mill Hill Grove,
Acton
22 in 1916
Solicitor's Clerk



Davidson, James Tisdall
50, Grafton Road
18 in 1917
Solicitor's Articled Clerk
Christian Brethren


Nicoll, Samuel Arthur John
373, Uxbridge Road, Acton Hill
35 in 1916
Grocer
Christadelphian


Spencer, Reginald Ackland
38, Birkbeck Road
28 in 1916
Motor bodymaker



Boxell, Percy
42, Grafton Road, Acton
33
Sanctioning  Clerk
Quaker (Willesden PM)


Green, Albert
3, St.Dunstan's Gardens
32
Civil Servant - Inland revenue
Quaker (Acton PM)


Greenwood, John Danforth Herman
39, Hillcrest Road
26 in 1916
Musician,
composer

Winchester CP

Case study on blog
Ealing/West Ealing
Bromberger, Frederick Cole
10, Sutherland Road
21 in 1916
Accountant's Clerk
Christian
Dyce; Dartmoor 
 Case study on blog
Brown, Thomas Arthur
73, Adelaide Road
29 in 1916
Outfitter's assistant



Burford, H
152, Murray Road





Caws, Geoffrey Tulloh
38, Clovelly Road
18 in 1916
Junior Insurance Clerk
Christian


Cox, Rivett Johnson
19, Gloucester Road
30 in 1916
Bank Clerk
Christian; Plymouth Brethren


Denne, Ronald Davidson
61, Westfield Road
19 in 1916
Shop Porter
Christadelphian


Gibbons, A. H.






Gibbons, Henry G.
37, Culmington Road



Durham

Hodgson, H. G.



Quaker Attender (Ealing PM)
 30.3.17 Wormwood S.;20.7.17(2nd)3.8.17,26.10.17 Canterbury - 7.12.17; released and  'discharged' on health grounds (Illness)
Household, William Scott
80, Leighton Road
26 in 1916
Commercial Clerk
Quaker (Ealing PM)
Lewes MP 16.6.16; Crawley Aug.1916; 1.9.16, 8.9.16 Lewes CP
Hustler, Henry William
14, Claygate Road
38 in 1916
Salesman, Company Director
Christian


Irwin, Harold Maude
37, Corfton Road
25 in 1916
Salesman and Sub-Manager
Christian but also because his four brothers already serving -

 "The family has done enough"
Johnson, Samuel
34, Alacross Road
33 in 1916
Gardener and florist
Plymouth Brethren


Jones, S. L.



Quaker Attender
(Ealing PM)
13.3.18 (2nd),26.4.18,26.7.18,25.10.18 Pentonville
Luxford, Thomas
26, Holyoak Walk
39 in 1916
Insurance Clerk
Christian - Brotherhood Movement

 member of NCF since "late 1915"
Mather, Archibald Montague
72, Adelaide Road
30 in 1916
Journalist
Christian - formerly Baptist, then "Brethren" because...

 ... objected to the pro-war stance taken at Baptist chapel.
Melhuish, A. G.
68 Meadvale Road
 32
 Optician


 Case study on blog
Muirhead, Douglas Cogill 'F'
40, Oxford Road
30 in 1916
Shop Assistant - ironmonger
NCF; Internationalist and Co-operator
Pentonville CP serving 2nd sentence 9.5.19.
Case study on blog
Preece, Arthur John Stewart
66, Windsor Road
23 in 1916
Estate Agent's Clerk
Christadelphian


Ricketts, Oscar Gristwood
73, Mayfield Avenue
21 in 1916
Bank Clerk
Christian and pacifist
Winchester CP
Case study on blog
Rodwell, William. E. G.
25, Neville Road
29 in 1916
Bank Clerk
Quaker (clerk to Ealing P M)
Nov.'16 to 2.2.17 Wormwood S.; 16.3.17(2nd.CM),4.5.17 (letter), 18.5.17, 26.10.17, 25.1.18, 26.4.18, 26.7.18(3rd), 25.10.18, Jan.'19 Pentonville - Illness - suffering from TB and in isolation. Subject of appeal to War Office
Sim, Alexander
44, Fowler's Walk, Brentham
26 in 1916
Worker for Alliance of Honour
FOR; present job WNI; Quaker

 Religious and moral objections to war
Smith, A. W.




HOS 19.9.16 released from Dyce Camp on health grounds - Illness
Sutherland, H. H. D.
32, St .James Avenue





Thackway, Hubert Charles
85, Woodfield Road
36 in 1916
General manager Tailors
Christian

 International Bible Students Association
Thorn, Frank






Thorogood, H.






Watts, Leonard C.



Quaker (Ealing PM)


Reynolds, C.
1, Neville Road, Brentham






Southall

Burr, William Hugh
61, Oswald Road
18 in 1916
Joiner
Plymouth Brethren - willing to join RAMC

 Case study on blog
Evans, Alfred  William
26, Endsleigh Road
20 in 1916

Roman Catholic
Winchester CP; May 1917 Pentonville; Maidstone - released 12.4.19
Case study on blog
Gobell, Arthur George
122, Townsend Road
22 in 1916
Notary's Clerk
Christian


Hanwell
Jones, M.




[= Arthur Morley Jones?]
Jones, Arthur Morley
24, Grove Ave.
31 in 1916
Bank Clerk
Case study on blog
Locke, H. W.
12, Milton Road


Friends Ambulance Unit

Abbreviations:                 
CP           Civil Prison
FOR        Fellowship of Reconciliation
HOS       Home Office Scheme (for alternative service)
NCF        No-Conscription  Fellowship
PM         (Quaker) Prayer Meeting
WNI       Work of National Importance
More data on many of the above individuals may be found by referring to the records of the Middlesex Appeals Tribunal; files usually include personal statements and some have letters of support (images of original documents can be downloaded free).

1 comment:

  1. From Bristol Radical History Group:
    "Do You Have A Conchie In The Family?"
    http://www.brh.org.uk/site/articles/do-you-have-a-conchie-in-the-family/
    (This relates primarily to Bristol but other local historians could copy!)

    ReplyDelete