Conscription Comes to Britain, 1916

For the centenary of the introduction of conscription, here is a list of relevant posts on this blog about those who resisted the state's assumption of the right to takeover, and in many case take, their lives (with particular reference to the London Borough of Ealing), with a note of their "tags".

In reverse order of publication (with links to the most popular/ most viewed so far):

13/10/2015 An Ealing Conscientious Objector’s Work of National Importance (asylums, Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War, work of national importance)

01/09/2015 Ealing’s WW1 COs: Five More from Hanwell. (Appeal Tribunals, Conscientious Objectors, First World War, Hanwell local history)

13/08/2015 Ealing’s Conscientious Objectors: A successful appeal. (Archibald Montague Mather, Conscientious Objectors, Ealing Local Tribunal, First World War, Middlesex County Times)

02/07/2015 Ealing’s Conscientious Objectors: Hanwell (continuing) (Conscientious Objectors, First World War, George Brodie, Hanwell Local Tribunal)

15/06/2015 Neighbours in Refusal to Bear Arms. (Conscientious Objectors, First World War, Hanwell local history, Hanwell Local Tribunal)

31/05/2015 Brothers in Refusal to Bear Arms. (Conscientious Objectors, First World War, Hanwell local history, Hanwell Local Tribunal, Langford Jones)

15/05/2015 For COs’ Day, May 15 (anti-conscription, anti-militarism, Book review, Conscientious Objectors, First World War)

04/03/2015 A Look Around Ealing’s First World War Dissidents. (Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War)

20/01/2015 A Clear-Sighted Optician: "War neither sensible nor satisfactory". (Alfred Melhuish, Conscientious Objectors, Ealing Local Tribunal, First World War)

13/01/2015 Musician Against Conscription and the Dance of Death, Spring 1916. (Appeal Tribunals, Conscientious Objectors, film composer, First World War, John D. H. Greenwood)

21/12/2014 Seeking Absolute Exemption in WW1: a Case from Acton. (Acton local history, Appeal Tribunals, Conscientious Objectors, First World War, Percy Carter)

04/12/2014 From Ealing to Dyce and Dartmoor: a Third Man in the Picture. (Appeal Tribunals, Conscientious Objectors, Dyce camp, Ealing local history, First World War, Fred Bromberger)

28/11/2014 Ealing’s Conscientious Objectors: Case Study No. 5 (Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War, Southall, William Burr)

16/10/2014 Ealing’s Alternative First World War Heroes: Part 2.  (Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War, Oscar Ricketts)

10/11/2014 Ealing’s Conscientious Objectors: A Partial Overview. (Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War, Pearce Register)

05/11/2014 Ealing’s Conscientious Objectors: Case Study No. 3 (Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War, Hanwell local history, Morley Jones)

15/10/2014 Timeline for WW1 COs (anti-conscription, Conscientious Objectors, First World War, grounds for exemption)

06/10/2014 Ealing’s Alternative First World War Heroes: Part 1. (Alfred Evans, anti-conscription, anti-militarism, Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War)

16/10/2014 Ealing’s Alternative First World War Heroes: Part2. (Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War, Oscar Ricketts)

29/09/2014 COMING SHORTLY: Alternative War Heroes 1916. (anti-conscription, anti-militarism, Conscientious Objectors, Ealing local history, First World War)

03/09/2014 Another Appeal against Conscription, 1916-1918. (Alfred Evans, anti-conscription, anti-militarism, Conscientious Objectors, First World War, Southall)

01/09/2014  Appeal against Conscription, 1916. (anti-conscription, anti-militarism, Appeal Tribunals, Conscientious Objectors, First World War, Oscar Ricketts)

25/07/2014 A Pacifist’s Parody on Kipling’s “If” (anti-conscription, First World War, poetry) - 

An Ealing Conscientious Objector’s Work of National Importance

As a 24-year-old single man, Hector Welsman Smaldon of 37 Elers Road, West Ealing, became liable for military service in early 1916. He applied for absolute exemption in February, stating his reasons:

I have a distinct objection to Combatant military service, indeed to every form of military service, consequent upon holding certain views in relation to Christianity [... Biblical quotation, “My Kingdom is not of this world...”] This scripture shows clearly that, as a servant of Christ and a follower of Him, I cannot undertake Combatant service. Nor, as  belonging to the Kingdom of God, could I take up any service in support of a system, in which Violence, and the taking of human life, have place, without contravening my principles. (16^th Feb. 1916)

When he failed to convince the Ealing Local Tribunal, he took his case to the Middlesex Appeal Tribunal (Case Number: M5513), restating his position:

As a Christian I have great objection to Combatant Military Service as contrary to the Spirit & teaching of Christ. I consider that to serve in the Army in any capacity would be a surrender  of Christian principles. (March 8. 1916)

The Local Tribunal explained its decision:

The appellant stated that he belonged to the Plymouth Brethren: that he could not undertake military service, either combatant or non combatant, for that would sacrifice his christian principles: that he felt it his duty to do all the good he could, but not as a part of any military system.

The Tribunal did not consider that there were any difficulties of conscience, particularly as two other members of the same religious body had expressed their willingness to undertake non combatant service, and the application was therefore refused.

The Military Representative made no observation on this case.

!3/3/16

By the time the Appeal Tribunal recorded its decision, after an adjournment of the hearing, Hector’s situation had changed.

Decision [1st May 1916].

Temporary exemption 6 mos. from today conditional upon his remaining in the position as an attendant at the City of London Lunatic Asylum, or in a similar position elsewhere.

The exemption was granted on the ground that “a conscientious objection to military service has been established”. His normal employment had been as a Traveller for a firm – the firm* – of Ostrich Feather Manufacturers, Botibol & Co., but he had been referred to the Committee on Work of National Importance which wrote to the Appeal Tribunal on 12^th April stating they had been informed that the Medical Superintendent of the City of London Asylum located in Dartford, Kent, had “employment suitable for Mr. Smaldon” and that it was desirable he should take up his duties on the 17^th. The arrangement evidently suited him; he asked for it to be made permanent rather than temporary. Instead he had to go through the process of applying for repeated extensions of his exemption throughout the war, resulting in a massive 80-page compilation of filed paperwork. 

He was not usually required to attend the hearings, however. The Medical Superintendent testified to the quality of his work, and didn’t want to let him go A couple of attempts by the local Military Representative to have his exemption withdrawn got nowhere. He stayed in post at least until the end of the war, possibly longer – it was in Dartford that he married, in 1921.

Hector Smaldon was far from being the only CO directed to work in a “lunatic asylum” (there were upwards of 60 as recorded on the Pearce database) but must have been one of the first, and possibly least reluctant. Among his co-workers in 1916-19 were about a dozen overall, for varying lengths of time; Richard Thomas Shirley of Westminster found the work didn't suit him, while Robert William Miller of Islington complained that the strain 'of 14 hour days with lunatics' was making him ill. About 30 COs appear to have been recorded as ‘certified insane’ during the war, but there are few if any matches between the asylums to which they were committed (including Hanwell in at least 4 cases) and those to which their (to some extent) co-thinkers had been sent to do their 'work of national importance'.

Smaldon Family background

Hector’s older brother William James was also a CO, whose objection was recognised by the Ealing Tribunal to the extent of granting him Exemption from Combatant Service only. Apparently without lodging an appeal, he was drafted into the Non-Combatant Corps, and within a few months was in France. He survived to be demobbed after the war, late in 1919.   


The 1911 Census shows the Smaldon household: Hector Welsman (mistranscribed as Welsham on ‘Find my Past’) aged 19, a Clerk in a Drapery Warehouse, living at 37 Elers Road with his widowed mother, and 26-year-old brother William James, a Tramway Motor Man. Both brothers had been born in Hull. There were three boarders, William and Harold Lucas, probably father and son, and Harold Davies whose brother (probably) was also present on census night, visiting from Taunton. In 1901 Hector's and William's father, a ship's watchman, was still alive, and the family were living in Kingston upon Hull.

The Smaldons’ (and boarders') address in West Ealing

Hector eventually returned to his county of birth, Yorkshire, where he died in 1987.

*Botibol: a name to conjure with in ostrich feather circles...

A. Theft from a specified place, 8th October 1912: BREWER, William (32, carman) pleaded guilty, of ... breaking and entering the warehouse of Cecil Munton Botibol and stealing therein 144 ostrich feathers and other articles, his goods...          Sentence: Three years' penal servitude.      http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t19121008-16

B. Lady Hawk's Folly - Google Books Result. Amanda Scott - 2013 - ‎Fiction      https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1480415294            “... to Oxford Street and the premises of W. H. Botibol, plumassier, in order for Mollie to purchase a pair of ostrich feathers to wear in her hair that evening...”

C. The works of William Makepeace Thackeray: i. "By Saint Botibol, say not false," groaned the elder warrior...        ii. "... A small prince's coronet of gold, from which rose three pink ostrich-feathers...”       https://archive.org/stream/.../workswilliammak15thacgoog_djvu.txt

A further sidelight on asylum attendants around this time.
Source: https://libcom.org/files/occupational-hazards.pdf - p.53 of pdf, 48 of pamphlet

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).