 |
| A stretch of the Moray coast (North East Scotland) |
As far as can be ascertained, neither of these was directly connected with the family tree of the Joe Flett referred to in earlier posts on this blog. They are the only two Fletts, and the only two men from Findochty, on the Conscientious Objectors' Register to date.
George Flett was 40 in 1917 (when first introduced under the Military Service Acts of 1916, conscription had an upper age limit of 41). He is said to have had the unusual middle name "Also" but this may be a nickname or "Tee name"; these were frequently bestowed in the area to distinguish people with otherwise identical names. No George "Also" or George "A" Flett appears to have been born in the parish (Rathven) around the relevant date (1875-79) although there are 17 called "George Flett" without any middle name/initial shown.
What happened to him according to the record:
What happened to him according to the record:
- Sent to Gordon Highlanders
- Court Martialled at Perth 9.8.17 [presumably arrested for refusal to obey an order]
- - sentenced to 112 days with hard labour
- Wormwood Scrubs 16.8.17 to 10.11.17
- Central Tribunal at Wormwood S. 27.9.17, refused to Home Office Scheme conditions
- Escort to Gordon Highlanders Depot, Court Martialled at Blairgowrie 23.11.17
- - sentenced to 112 days with hard labour
- Aberdeen Civil Prison 28.11.17; released to regiment 28.2.18
- Court Martialled at Aberdeen 6.3.18 - sentenced to 1 year with hard labour
- Aberdeen Civil Prison 12.3.18 released to Princeton Work Centre, Dartmoor, 19.8.18
It appears he eventually decided, as many absolutists did, that enough prison was enough and went along with the Home Office Scheme. He may have been among those whose resistance continued in other forms in the work centres, which saw many work strikes and protests.)
George Also Flett
Age 40
Birth year 1877
Year 1917
Address -
Address 2 Findochty
Local authority Banff
County District
County Banffshire
Country Scotland
Latitude 57.69
Longitude -2.9
Ordnance Survey reference NJ460680
Motivation Plymouth
Brethren
Military Service Tribunal MST
(Military Service Tribunal) Central Tribunal at Wormwood S. 27.9.17, refused to
accept HOS (The Home Office Scheme, administered by the Brace Committee)
conditions
Central Tribunal Central
Tribunal Nos. W. 4338 Refused HOS
War Service 3
(R) Gordon Highlanders CM (Court Martial) Perth 9.8.17 - 112 days HL (With hard
labour), Wormwood S.; Depot Gordons CM (Court Martial) Blairgowrie 23.11.17 -
112 days HL (With hard labour); CM (Court Martial) Aberdeen 6.3.18 - 1yr.HL
(With hard labour)
Prison Wormwood S.
16.8.17 to 10.11.17 to Escort; Aberdeen CP (Civil Prison) 28.11.17 released to
regiment 28.2.18; Aberdeen CP (Civil Prison) 12.3.18 released to Dartmoor,
Princeton Work Centre 19.8.18
Work Centre HOS
(The Home Office Scheme, administered by the Brace Committee) to Dartmoor
19.8.18
WO363 false
Sources NA/WO86/77/85,
79/44, 81/12; LMA/4417/01/016 - Wormwood S. Nominal Register; Not found in
NA/WO363; NAS/HH21/66/18 Aberdeen Prison Nominal Register; NA/MH47/2 Central
Tribunal Minutes
Record set Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918
1901 Census record - probably the right George Flett
First name(s) Last
name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth
place
William Flett Head Widower Male 57 1844 Fisherman
George Flett Son Single Male 24 1877 Fisherman
William Flett Son Single Male 22 1879 Fisherman
Isabella Flett Daughter Single Female 18 1883 General Servt
Isabella Flett Daughter Single Female 18 1883 General Servt
(All born in "Rathven, Banffshire, Scotland" although William junior was born in Wick according to 1881 return. Place of normal residence was sometimes given instead of actual birth-place, and many families involved in the fishing industry did a fair bit of travelling to different ports.)
1881
William Flett Head Married Male 37 1844 Fisherman
Ann Flett Wife Married Female 37 1844 Fishermans Wife
Catherine Flett Daughter - Female 12 1869 Scholar
Catherine Flett Daughter - Female 12 1869 Scholar
Ann Flett Daughter - Female 7 1874 Scholar
James Flett Son - Male 6 1875 Scholar
George Flett Son - Male 3 1878 Scholar
William Flett Son - Male 1 1880 - Wick,
Caithness, Scotland
(All but William born in "Findochty, Banffshire, Scotland": Findochty was used in some Censuses, Rathven [pronounced Rath-in] - the parish designation as well as a placename - in others)
- and 1891:
James A Flett was George's fellow CO and co-religionist, likewise from Findochty.
It is tempting to speculate that he may also have been his 3-years-older brother (1881 Census) who would not appear with the family in later censuses (he doesn't) if absent on the night, e.g. working away from home. James is otherwise not readily identifiable from the records, due to the numbers of people with the same first name and surname in the same place, and the lack of a more precise address. As in the case of George, he may not have had a middle name; if related, they may indeed have shared a family Tee name beginning with 'A' (e.g. Also) - no "James A" shows up. If George's brother James's birth year is correctly given in 1881, however, he would have been over the age limit for conscription until it was raised to 51 in 1918.
- and 1891:
Ann F Flett Wife Married Female 47 1844 Fishermans Wife Findochty
Ann Flett Daughter Unmarried Female 18 1873 General
Servant (Dom) Findochty
George Flett Son - Male 14 1877 Scholar Findochty
William Flett Son - Male 12 1879 Scholar Wick,
Caithness
Isabella Flett Daughter - Female 8 1883 Scholar Fraserburgh,
Aberdeenshire
Elizabeth Flett Daughter - Female 5 1886 Scholar Findochty
 |
| Marriage certificate for George's parents (probably), 1872 (Details matching census return for 1881 above.) |
James A Flett was George's fellow CO and co-religionist, likewise from Findochty.
It is tempting to speculate that he may also have been his 3-years-older brother (1881 Census) who would not appear with the family in later censuses (he doesn't) if absent on the night, e.g. working away from home. James is otherwise not readily identifiable from the records, due to the numbers of people with the same first name and surname in the same place, and the lack of a more precise address. As in the case of George, he may not have had a middle name; if related, they may indeed have shared a family Tee name beginning with 'A' (e.g. Also) - no "James A" shows up. If George's brother James's birth year is correctly given in 1881, however, he would have been over the age limit for conscription until it was raised to 51 in 1918.
James A Flett had a different wartime experience from George, from the little information available:
- Applied to local Military Service Tribunal in Findochty
- - refused exemption, applied to Banff (County) Appeal Tribunal 2.11.16
- - granted Exemption from Combatant Service only
- Evidently accepted this, so sent to Non-Combatant Corps, location unknown.
James A Flett
Occupation Fisherman
Age -
Birth year -
Year -
Address -
Address 2 Findochty
Local authority Banff
County District
County Banffshire
Country Scotland
Latitude 57.69
Longitude -2.9
Ordnance Survey reference NJ460680
Motivation -
Military Service Tribunal MST
(Military Service Tribunal) Findochty - refused; Banff Appeal 2.11.16 - ECS
(Exemption from Combatant Service) only, NCC (Non-Combatant Corps)
War Service (?)
WO363 false
Sources Aberdeen
Journal 3.11.16; Not found in NA/WO363;
Record set Conscientious
Objectors' Register 1914-1918
==============================
==============================
Such case studies of small numbers of COs in small places
are of course only a very small part of the picture of conscientious objection,
and of opposition to the war more generally, in Scotland. A fuller account was published last year:
Objectors & Resisters: Opposition to Conscription and War in Scotland 1914-18, by Robert Duncan (Glasgow: Common Print/Common Weal, 2015)
Objectors & Resisters: Opposition to Conscription and War in Scotland 1914-18, by Robert Duncan (Glasgow: Common Print/Common Weal, 2015)
Extract from review:
Objectors & Resisters: Opposition to Conscription and
War in Scotland 1914-18, by Rob Duncan, charts the stories of the outstanding
women and men who showed great campaigning skills, principles and courage in
fighting against the drive to war and the conscription of young, mainly working
class men [...]
Conscientious objectors (men who were called up to fight but
refused on moral grounds) and the many women and men who were not eligible for
service but campaigned against the war were in a minority at the time, but many
of the political struggles which defined 20th century Scotland can be traced
back to a radical tradition born during the anti-war movement.
The book tells the stories of well-known activists such as
John Maxton, Keir Hardie, Mary Barbour and Helen Crawfurd as well as many
unknown Scots who made a stand during the war.
The book also contains songs and photographs from the period
and local information about how the campaign spread across Scotland. It charts
the harsh repression of the movement and the torture-like conditions in which
activists were held while in prison and the extent to which Scotland played a
major part in the global campaign against the war.
"It is high time to redress the imbalance in the
historical record and close the undoubted gap in public awareness of this
largely neglected and controversial aspect of wartime Scotland."
See also Scotsman review.
--------------------------
See also Scotsman review.
--------------------------
Our islanders and north-easterners are just a few such "unknown Scots who made a stand during the war".
