Timeline for WW1 COs

 Main source for dates is David Boulton, Objection Overruled (Francis Boutle, 2014)

1915                

summer            ILP pamphlet: The Peril of Conscription 

October          Stop Conscription meetings across country (ILP)           

1916                

January 6th       Military Service Bill first reading

January 27th     Military Service Bill became law: men aged 18-40, single, liable for call-up

February           War Office Form W 3236 sent to those liable     

March 2nd         Date for lodging exemption claim          (poster)

March 9th          1st issue of The Tribunal (N-CF)

April 8th - 9th    2nd N-CF National Convention:  Pledge by 2,000 to resist

April                 N-CF branch members fined/imprisoned re anti-recruiting leaflets

May 7th - 8th     CO prisoners taken to France with NCC 

May 17th           8 N-CF Nat Comm. members charged re leaflet 'Repeal the (DoR) Act'    

May 25th           Military Service (General Compulsion) Act: married men now liable          

June 2nd           COs' courts martial at Boulogne begun  

June 15th          Parade ground sentences:         35 'guilty of disobedience'

June 24th          A W Evans' court martial (later than others due to illness)           

June 28th          PM statement:   COs being shipped back

August              Dyce work camp set up

September, early           Death of Walter Roberts in Dyce camp  

October, end     Dyce camp closed       

1917                

April                 Military Service (Review of Exemptions) Act      

April 6th            N-CF message to Provisional Govt. in Russia: "our comrades"   

March               Several work settlements closed down  

May 17th           Meeting of nearly 900 at Dartmoor work centre (for ‘real’ work with civil rights)     

June 3rd           Leeds conference welcoming Russian Revolution          

June 15th          N-CF Nat Com confirms refusal to sponsor or organise work strikes by COs       

July                  Act making certain categories of aliens subject to conscription  

December 12th  Death of Arthur Butler in Preston; doctor exonerated by inquest jury       

December         Govt. "concessions" to COs having served >12 months: excluding labour, diet   

December         German peace offer     

1918                

early                 Newcastle, Maidstone, Wandsworth, Winchester, Carlisle, Canterbury, Hull –                                            Hunger strikes by COs:

January             Powers to cancel occupational exemptions       

January 16th     Death of Arthur Horton in Shrewsbury (pneumonia); doctor exonerated by inquest jury

February           Hunger strike at Newcastle over "incompetence and inhumanity" of prison doctor

February 4th      Death of H W Firth at Dartmoor 

February 9th      Prosecution of Bertrand Russell and Joan Beauchamp re letter in The Tribunal    

February, mid    Police raid on N-CF premises; copies of paper seized   

Guy Aldred

April                 Upper age limit 51, provision for further cancellation of exemptions etc.                                                          Proposal to extend conscription to Ireland, withdrawn

April 30th          Lords debate re ‘work of national value’ for COs

October               Work strike by 20 COs in Wandsworth (Guy Aldred)      

Similar actions in Leicester, Leeds, Pentonville, Liverpool, Newcastle, Preston    

November 11th  Armistice: COs remained in prison         

December 12th  Aldred and other strikers in Wandsworth moved to basement cells    

 (cat-and-mouse release after a week's hunger strike)      

1919                

            Several 'unofficial' [not N-CF supported] work strikes by COs throughout year.   

February           New governor at Wandsworth tries to impose iron discipline; open rebellion continues                              Parliamentary enquiry, eventually

April                 Releases of COs begin with "2-year men"          

April 29th          FSC lists "20-monthers" awaiting release; 24 get out of Pentonville and Wandsworth

May Day           Call for general prison strike (J H Hudson, Manchester)  

May                  CMs continue: sentences of hard labour

June                 Joint  Board for Assistance of COs and Their Dependants formed         

1920                

January             Joan Beauchamp sentenced to 21 days as publisher of The Tribunal; serves 8 days.

January 8th       Last issue of The Tribunal         

May 20th           Announcement of orders for release of all conscripts     

1921                

August 31st      Official end of war: Military Service Acts lapse. 

COs =  Conscientious Objectors
N-CF  No-Conscription Fellowship
NCC  Non-Combatant Corps
ILP  Independent Labour Party
FSC  Friends Service Committee (Quakers)

Applications for exemption could be made to Tribunals under the following headings:

a. On the ground that it was in the national interest that the man should, instead of being employed in military service, be engaged in work in which he was habitually engaged;

b. On the ground that it was in the national interest that the man should, instead of being employed in military service, be engaged in work in which he wished to be engaged;

c. That the man was being educated or trained for any work, on the ground that it was expedient in the national interest that, instead of being employed in military service, he should continue to be so educated or trained;

d. On the ground that serious hardship would ensue, if the man were called up for Army service, owing to his exceptional financial or business obligations or domestic position;

e. On the ground of ill-health or infirmity;

f. On the ground of a conscientious objection to the undertaking of combatant service; and

g. On the ground that the principal and usual occupation of the man was one of those included in the list of occupations certified by Government Departments and that it was expedient in the national interest that he should continued in such occupation.

A group of COs with supporters

See many subsequent posts for lots more about First World War COs.

Ealing’s Alternative First World War Heroes: Part 1

Two who refused to kill and were prepared to pay with their lives...

The sudden transference of COs [Conscientious Objectors] to France in May, 1916, marked the crest of the wave in the efforts of the military authorities to ‘break’ the [no-conscription] movement. Riding rough shod over the promises of the highest civil authorities that objectors would not be taken out of the country, they transferred to France from Landguard Fort, Harwich, from Richmond Castle, Yorks and from Seaford some fifty men, thirty five of whom received the death sentence.

The first rumours of the intended move came from Harwich, where the Eastern N.C.C. was stationed and where a party of the earliest arrested COs was in irons at Landguard Fort. A Quaker Chaplain was hurried down as soon as possible, but before his wire was delivered saying that the men were gone, information was received that the N.C.C. and its C.O. prisoners were on their way to Southampton. This warning was conveyed by a letter thrown out of the train by one of the ordinary N.C.C. men while passing through a London suburb.

Efforts were promptly made to reach the party at Southampton, where they were delayed by the discovery of an outbreak of measles in the corps; but before this could be accomplished and before personal representations to Mr. Asquith led to the sending of a telegram ordering their retention in this country, the prisoners had been separated from the rest of the men and shipped to Le Havre—sure evidence that the Army authorities intended making an "example" of them.`- http://www.ppu.org.uk/cosnew/cos12.html

As previously posted, two of these men, in the Harwich group were :

Alfred William Evans of 26 Endsleigh Road, Southall

and

Oscar G Ricketts of 73 Mayfield Avenue, West Ealing

The story continues:

They were told that they would be 'under active service conditions', and if they refused to obey orders they would be shot [...]

The sentences were read out in public, in front of thousands of soldiers in formation [...] commuted in each case (after a dramatic pause in the reading) to penal servitude for 10 years. They were shipped back to Britain, this time to civilian imprisonment [...]Two hundred men were placed [in Dyce Work Camp near Aberdeen, where Ricketts and Evans are identified in an iconic photograph] to work at quarrying stone, and they endured harsh conditions, leaky tents, little sanitation, not much to eat, and no treatment for illness. A young CO called Walter Roberts died, and after that the camp was closed.

- The STORY OF THE HARWICH 'FRENCHMEN' at http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/cos/st_co_wwone3s2.html

Alfred Evans is among the better known COs of the First World War, having evidently recounted his experiences in some detail. He is mentioned several times by name in the above account, as follows:

·         Alfred Evans, an apprentice piano tuner, was another Harwich detainee. He was the son of a committed trade union man - and connection with a trade union was a risky thing in those days. He was at first willing to join the RAMC, and was granted a non-combatant certificate on that basis. When he reported to his local recruiting office, 'the lieutenant asked for my certificate and promptly tore it up: I was going to be put in the NCC, he said. I flatly refused, and he called the guard - two men and a corporal with fixed bayonets - and I was taken to Hounslow Barracks.'

·         Moved to Boulogne, the 17 were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs in a timber cage roughly 12 feet square, with one toilet bucket between them. After protests such extreme treatment was stopped, but conditions still weren't good. After a month Alfred went down with dysentery. Too weak to move, he couldn't go to the aid of a wounded man whom a medical orderly had let fall. The orderly hauled his patient up, pointed at Alfred and said, 'There's the bloody man who wouldn't help a wounded soldier'.

·         All 50 'Frenchmen' were brought together at Henriville military camp in June for court-martialling. Just before the trials, a captain told Alfred that his papers were marked 'Death': was he going to continue to resist? Alfred said, 'Yes. Men are dying in agony in the trenches for the things that they believe in and I wouldn't be less than them.' To Alfred's astonishment, 'he stepped back and saluted me, then shook my hand.' 

·         [After comutation of sentence and return] Alfred agreed to be assigned to manual labour under the Home Office Scheme [and after Dyce closed] was sent to a waterworks in South Wales. 'It was a slave-driving job and they put professional slave drivers over us.' Alfred soon found out that the managers were creaming off much of the government's labour grant into their own pockets. He called 'our boys' together; the COs went on strike and were promptly sent back to prison.

·         After 1919 [when COs were finally released] Alfred had difficulty getting work. 'I was drummed out of London.'     Out of London, however, he had better luck than most of his fellow COs: 'There was a shortage of piano tuners, you see. It was purely economic: they wanted a tuner and so I got a job.' 

                                                                                             Picture: Alfred at Dyce

In We Will Not Fight:  the untold story of World War One’s conscientious objectors, (London, Aurum, 2008),  Will Ellsworth-Jones describes him as driven by socialism rather than by his religion, reported to be Roman Catholic (rather unusually for a CO), and adds further information, also referring to his own account. He was willing to join the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) because “prepared to take risks of war without inflicting death on other people.” Reportedly in the recruiting office, Ealing Broadway, a lieutenant tore up his exemption certificate – rather pointlessly since he had not been granted absolute exemption and so was liable to service in the Non-Combatant Corps (NCC). Evans refused to sign on for the NCC, insisting that he could not, on principle, take the military oath. He was escorted to Hounslow Barracks by soldiers with fixed bayonets, and “the Army gained a problem”. (p.120) On being ordered to peel potatoes he “wasn’t going to do it as military order”,  and so was sent as a prisoner to Harwich.

In France, at “Cinder City” outside Le Havre, he was apparently the focus of special attention, involving persuasion, threats, and priests, to try to make him change his mind, but did encounter one sympathetic sergeant of guard, “a grand lad who did us proud”, even organising a party. (p.143) Evans’ court-martial was held after the others (late June) because he was so ill, having been in hospital with dysentery, but he received the  same sentence:  “To be shot”, commuted to 10 years penal servitude.

According to the same book (p.250), Evans maintained his CO stance in the Second World War, refused to participate in fire-watching duty when ordered, and served two months in Bedford jail.  The author somewhat judgmentally alludes to him as seeming to have been “rigid” with “little time for anyone else’s point of view”, and claims that although his parents supported him throughout his First WW ordeal, they didn’t endorse his stance in the Second.

In late 2014 at least part of his family is happy to celebrate his memory:

25 November: Experiences and Beliefs of Alfred Evans, World War 1 CO threatened with Execution – Malcolm Pittock (his nephew).

Organised by Bolton Quakers and all welcome.

http://noglorymanchester.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/lovelywar/

Ealing background

The 1911 Census records the  Evans household as living at 85 Darwin Road, Ealing, with Alfred William     as a 15-year-old Grocer's Errand Boy, born in Fulham. Other family members were:

(Last name: all Evans)

First name(s)	Relationship to household head	Marital condition	Gender	Age	Birth place	Occupation
William Thomas	Head	Married	Male	37	London Chelsea	Coach Painter
Maud Emma	Wife	Married	Female	38	London Chelsea	-
Alfred William	Son	Single	Male	15	London Fulham	Grocer's Errand Boy
Richard Lionel	Son	-	Male	9	Chiswick	School
Albert John	Son	-	Male	8	London Fulham	School
Joseph Arthur	Son	-	Male	4	Ealing	-

[This may not be the whole family; there could easily have been more children born after 1911.]  

         

Middlesex Military Appeals Tribunal records available (free) from the National Archives include:

Case Number: M56. Alfred William Evans of 26 Endsleigh Road, Southall . Occupation: Apprentice to ...Central Military Service Tribunal and Middlesex Appeal Tribunal : Minutes and Papers. Middlesex Appeal Tribunal. Case Number: M56. Alfred William Evans of 26 Endsleigh Road, Southall . Occupation: Apprentice to Pianoforte Tuning . Grounds of Appeal: F: On the ground of a conscientious objection to the undertaking of combatant service. ...

• Collection: Records created or inherited by the Ministry of Health and successors, Local Government Boards and related bodies
• Date range:1915 - 1922
• Reference: MH 47/8/36
• Subjects: Conscientious objection | Labour

       (Download size approximately 1.5 MB)

The chairman of the Tribunal (presumably the local one) to which Evans applied for exemption is said by Ellsworth-Jones to have been in the same NUR (National Union of Railwaymen) branch as Evans’ father. Tribunals did customarily have a (more or less token) “labour” representative as well as a (much more influential) military one. The above file includes a letter in support of Evans from Southall Trades Council. See transcription on this blog, September 2014.

Chronology according to Pearce (database):

April 1916 gave himself up; (Report of arrest and handing over 18.5.16)        Absentee         Hounslow; Felixstowe - 28 days in Harwich redoubt;

France; Court Martial Boulogne  24.6.16 sentenced to death com. to 10 years; Winchester Civil Prison;

Home Office Scheme [alternative work] Aug.1916 Dyce Camp Aberdeen; Oct.1916 Dyce Camp (photo); Nov.1916 Wakefield; Feb.1917 Penderyn; March 1917 - gave up HOS work on learning that it was a private contract.         

May 1917 Pentonville; Maidstone - released 12.4.19  

Sources for above Including: Labour Leader 18.5.16; No-Conscription Fellowship Souvenir History p.47; IWM taped interview 000489/11; Friends Service Cttee.1916/20;  Writings in Liddle Evans CO/030 Mss. typed reminiscences; Typed transcript of interview.

COMING SHORTLY: Alternative War Heroes 1916

The “Harwich Frenchmen”* from Ealing

Two of the men (starred names) in this picture had addresses in the (present-day) London Borough of Ealing at the time of their arrest:

Alfred William Evans of 26 Endsleigh Road, Southall

and

Oscar Gristwood Ricketts of 73 Mayfield Avenue, West Ealing

More details to follow of their part in the story of opposition to the First World War.


* Picture and caption from Objection Overruled: Conscription and Conscience in the First World War, by David Boulton, Dent, Cumbria, Dales Historical Monographs in Association with Friends Historical Society, 2014: p. xxxvii Profiles of the 35 ‘Frenchmen’: The Harwich 12. [In an evident slip of transcription from the Pearce Register of British COs, Ricketts' middle name is given as Greenwood instead of Gristwood.]

Another Appeal against Conscription, 1916-1918

by Alfred William Evans, Conscientious Objector (more on his story later too).

Excerpts from Central Military Service Tribunal and Middlesex Appeal Tribunal: Minutes and Papers, Case Number: M56. (National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/)

Handwriting on front of file: JONES, ALFRED WILLIAM

Notice of Appeal. (Received) 6-3-16. (2) Grounds on which appeal made: I am a Conscientious Objector and absolutely refuse to take the Military Oath. I consider it inconsistent with the doctrines of Christ and absolutely abhorrent and although I am willing to perform R.A.M.C. [Royal Army Medical Corps] work for which I was recommended by the Local Tribunal I cannot do so under the Military Oath. (Signed: A.W. Evans). [Aged 20]

Reasons for the decision of the Local (Southall-Norwood) Tribunal

Applicant had offered his services for the RAMC and was still willing to undertake that service.   [4-3-16]

Appeal dismissed 21/3/16

Reasons in support of the Application

            Religious and Moral convictions.

I absolutely refuse to take human life as I consider it inconsistent with the doctrines of Christ.

I firmly believe in the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of Man, and as God gave me my life I have no right to take it, still less indeed that of a fellow man.

I cannot take the Military Oath.

Signed: A. W. Evans   Feb. 21^st 1916.

Decision of the Tribunal: Exemption from combatant service only. F [as a CO]. The Tribunal recommend that Applicant be put in the R.A.M.C.             1/3/16

15-3-16 Appeal to be heard 21^st March, Guildhall.  23-3-16 Decision that the Appeal be dismissed. 

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. HC Deb 01 August 1916 vol 85 cc10-210

Winchester military prison

§10. Sir W. BYLES  asked the Secretary of State for War whether a young apprentice named Alfred Evans, a conscientious objector under the Military Service Act, was called up on 25th April, was sent to Felixstowe, where he refused to obey military orders, was sentenced to twenty-eight days' imprisonment, and confined in Harwich Circular Redoubt; whether, after serving one week, he was sent to France, where, still refusing to obey military orders, as they were opposed to his moral and religious principles, he suffered various penalties, including extension drill; whether, on 24th June, he was court-martialled and sentenced to death, the sentence afterwards being commuted to ten years' penal servitude; whether he was brought to Winchester on 13th July and his parents visited him on 18th July, having some conversation with him through the double grille; whether he had, in ignorance of the rules, incurred a further penalty by speaking to a fellow conscientious objector and had been given solitary confinement; whether he is aware of the effect of the experience of the past few months on these lads, who are intelligent, clean-living fellows whose only offence is their devotion to their God and refusal to take part in the destruction of human life; whether he and his companions now in Winchester Gaol are to be sent to Portland Convict Prison; and whether, in view of the Prime Minister's pledge that the men who are held to be genuine conscientious objectors will be released from the civil prison on their undertaking to perform work of national importance under civil control, and that all the men whose objection to active military service is founded on honest conviction ought to be and will be able to avail themselves of the exemption which Parliament has provided, he proposes to take any action in the matter?

§Mr. FORSTER [replied] In view of the fact that this case will be considered by the Central Tribunal, no action in the matter is necessary.

24-4-18. Letter: Southall Trades & Labour Council to the Middlesex Appeal Tribunal.

[Alfred Evans was living in Southall at the time of his arrest; his workplace, or at least his employers' address, was in central London]

Gentlemen,

In view of the facts that Tribunals have now been asked to forward the names of persons who would have been given absolute exemption had the Tribunal realised it lay in their power, I am directed by the above Council representing approximately 2,000 Trades Unionists to forward the following resolution.

Resolution

That this Council calls upon the Appeal Tribunal to reconsider the case of Alfred William Evans, a C.O. who has suffered various terms of imprisonment in this Country, also sentenced to Death n France and now undergoing a  term of imprisonment in Maidstone Gaol.  We Demand that this same be immediately forwarded to the Local Government Board, furthermore that all papers be obtained from the Local Tribunal who states that this case has passed out of their jurisdiction; also that this Council and the Parents be notified Date and Time of hearing, so that representatives may be the present on behalf of the above.           

[Signed by Secretary]

See also (for multiple references to Alfred Evans, indexed): We Will Not Fight:  the untold story of World War One’s conscientious objectors, by Will Ellsworth-Jones, London, Aurum, 2008; and http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/cos/st_co_wwone3s2.html -references and quotes.

Appeal against Conscription, 1916

... and denunciation of war,

by Oscar Gristwood Ricketts, Conscientious Objector (more on his story later).

Under the Military Service Act which was made law on 27^th January 1916 and became operational on 10^th February, all single men aged between 18 and 40 became liable for combatant or ‘alternative’ military service unless they could prove grounds for exemption.

Excerpts from Central Military Service Tribunal and Middlesex Appeal Tribunal: Minutes and Papers, Case Number: M561. (National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/)

Date of Application: February 11^th 1916.  “I object on (1) Moral Grounds  (2) Religious Grounds “      Application refused 28/2/16          

8-3-16 Notice of Appeal. (2) Grounds on which appeal made:

My Appeal to the Local Tribunal on Monday, Feb. 28^th –16, received disgusting treatment which was based solely & entirely on bias & prejudice. The Tribunal did not only not apparently understand my views, but was disrespectfully unwilling to have them explained or perhaps, to be “bothered” with them.

            I wish now to state fully and comprehensively my objections to participation in any form of Military Service whatsoever.  I claim absolute  exemption from any & every branch of Military Service. My objection to war is a conscientious objection based on (1) Religious  grounds and (2) Moral grounds.

Combatant Service

Religious  Grounds . I belong to no religious  denomination,  but my religion is a profound belief and acceptance of the teachings of Christ, whose teachings are only comprehensible to me when I think of their root and formulation as being  peace and love.

[Continued] Christ  recognised that no matter what the circumstances may be, a man must be consistent, and permit his convictions only, to weigh, as against his interests. He plainly said that -: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”, so that if a man overcomes his “enemy” by violence , he cannot expect to “reap” peace, since he has sown the seeds of, and indeed even staked his future on, violence. Violence meeting violence can only conceivably breed violence, for the same reason that two natural processes, whether working in harmony or independently, can only possibly produce something natural.

Therefore having allotted my life to a definite pursuance of love & peace, I cannot take any man’s life, or assist somebody else to kill another man. Nor can I possibly allow any kind of circumstances to interrupt or molest the very sacred views which are my spiritual life.

Moral Grounds

War is to me clearly and definitely immoral. That two persons, on failing to agree on a certain point, should immediately commence and endeavour to maim, and even butcher and kill one another, is wholly repulsive to me. I am filled with utter repugnance when I realise that men offer as a means of settling their conflicting opinions, such repellent & forbidding devices as those wich are embodied in warfare. How can one, with reason, temper one’s mind with the idea that individuals  are doing a right and justifiable thing, when they proceed to hack & mutilate the bodies of their fellow creatures?  Such an idea affords me not the slightest reflection that it is even possibly or comparatively moral. I am a vegetarian, and the same feeling of repulsion which flesh eating would inspire in me, is only corroborative evidence of that nauseous feeling, which is inherent in my mind and whole being, and which dictates my repugnance to war. I could not do this thing.

Non-Combatant Service

If I consented to undertake Non-Combatant Service I should be yielding my principles  & beliefs up to a huge compromise , & this I flatly & absolutely refuse to do.  I could not satisfy myself morally, if I assisted any person so to remedy & prepare his broken health  that he might take up again those heinous weapons which do but dislocate & confuse the body. I could not total up those guilty columns of figures, which would be to me but the equivalent of so many tons of shells for the destruction of more bodies. I could not mine-sweep, & so facilitate  the passage of some vessel carrying thousands of “guillotines” destined for the slaughter of many many lives. These things I cannot do.

            I would, then, carefully remind you, that war in any of its phases, is repulsive and revolutionary to my nature and whole being. It carries with it the greatest sting which I could possibly be called upon to encounter. That sting must not wound my principles and conscientious beliefs. So strongly do I hold these convictions, that, although I may suffer because of them – should your decision be an adverse one – I am fully prepared to take any consequences, however  rigorous, indeed, I must take the consequences, as my conscience permits of no alternative. I should like to say that I have held these views since being able to form an opinion of my own. For the last four years I have led, comparatively, a hermit’s life, my business only, drawing me into the midst of the public. This fact may help you to realise the cause and ardency of my views.

(Signed) O G Ricketts [aged 21 at the time] 1^st March 1916)

4-3-16 Notice of Appeal           Reasons for the decision of the Local [Ealing] Tribunal

Appellant stated that he belonged to no religious denomination, that “he had his own soul to save and no one elses [sic]”, and that he objected to all kinds of military service.  

As it appeared to the Tribunal that as appellant’s position was as consistent with a growing desire not to fight or assist in any way the prosecution of the War as with the development of conscientious objections, the application was rejected.  [6-3-16] 

Exempted from Combatant Service.  20-3-16

This sort of hasty scribble sealed many fates:

21-3-16  (letter: “form sent 22-3”) beg leave to appeal against decision of 20/3 [on grounds]: (1) That the Appeal Tribunal negatived my case without giving any reasons whatsoever, for so doing. 

22-3-16 Notice of Decision: from Combatant Service only     

“conscientious objection to combatant service has been established.”

23-3-16 Notice of Appeal to Central Tribunal.

I appeal on the following grounds

(1) That the Appeal Tribunal grievously misunderstood me, & dealt most improperly with my appeal. My Statements were negatived without any satisfactory reasons being given for so doing.  (2) That my case was fully established & proved conclusively my claim to absolute exemption.  (3) That exemption from Combatant Service only means nothing at all to a conscientious objector, who cannot take part in any branch of military service.  (4) That my convictions are such that I really believe myself to be doing the greatest service to the State, in filtering amongst my fellow men a generous conception of human brotherhood.

(5) That my conscientious beliefs are irrefutable, except by those who are given such unlawful power, by which they claim and use the right to destroy those, who are unable to think like themselves. I am appealing for a full and proper recognition of what I believe is right.  # (6) I ask for that full and only true justice, which will allow me my individual rights, & will give to me that freedom of conscience, which is the just due of every person.

27-3-16 “This is not in my opinion a case which warrants any leave to appeal.”

Important question of principle involved                     No

Special reason why appeal should be allowed              No

April 18^th 1916 [Grounds for appeal for a variation of his Certificate].

That the Appeal Tribunal has recognised my conscientious objection to military service, although it granted a Certificate of exemption from combatant service  only. I now appeal for a variation of this Certificate, since my religious & moral convictions are such that I cannot undertake any form of military service. I can never, therefore, accept non-combatant service , which is directly opposed to my conscience. 

The only work I can conscientiously perform is some work of national importance, which would be consistent with my principles & convictions. I have had a little experience of poultry rearing and some branches of farming.  (Signed) O G Ricketts. 18^th April.

Supporting statement, application for variation of certificate:

(1) That I conscientiously object to war which is repulsive to my nature and whole being. War involves a surrender of the Christian ideal and a denial of human brotherhood. It is an evil for the destruction of which the world is longing; but freedom from the scourge of war will only be brought about through the  faithfulness of individuals to their inmost convictions under the guidance of the Spirit of Christ.

(2) That my religious & moral convictions are such that I cannot undertake any form of military service whatsoever  

(3) That my present certificate of exemption, from combatant service only, is impossible for me to accept] because I refuse to compromise my principles. 

(4) That I can conscientiously perform such work as is not based upon, designed for, organised for, or consequent upon, war, but which is exclusively identified as a peaceful occupation, and recognised as a normal and unexceptional employment.

The Local Tribunal declined to consider the application for a review [...], the application for exemption having been finally disposed of by the District Tribunal. 

Moreover [...] even if valid they could exercise a discretion not to consider the application, as they were of the opinion that it was made merely for the purpose of gaining time...

26-4-16 Appeal to be heard 1^st May, Guildhall.

Handwriting on back of file: “This is the man who was arrested” and “The application  is valid and should have been considered - ? does an appeal lie?”  

  From Hansard (Parliamentary Debates) online:

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.  HC Deb 10 May 1916 vol 82 cc646-50 646 § 28.

Sir W. BYLES asked how many young men are now in military prisons and suffering privations and punishments for conscience sake?

Mr. TENNANT: This information is not in possession of the War Office.

Sir W. BYLES  asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that Oscar Gristwood Ricketts, a conscientious objector to military service, was arrested, charged at Brentford Police Court, fined two guineas, and handed over to the military authorities, and that in conveying him to Felixstowe they exposed him to the shame of being handcuffed in the public streets and railways; whether he is now in the Harwich circular redoubt, confined to a cell, and his only food dry biscuits and water; whether this young man has resigned a good post in a city bank and offered himself for any work of national importance that is consistent with his religious and moral convictions; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

Mr. TENNANT [replying to this and others] I am going to make an appeal to my hon. Friends, and to Members in all quarters of the House, not to press me for answers to these and similar questions involving inquiries into the cases of individuals. The labour involved in procuring answers to such inquiries is enormous [...].

Mr. OUTHWAITE: Will the right hon. Gentleman grant facilities to Members to make personal inquiry into the conditions to which these men are being subjected, so that they can find out the facts for themselves?

Mr. TENNANT: I am asking the House not to believe all this tittle-tattle.

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1916/may/10/conscientious-objectors

See also: http://www.ppu.org.uk/cosnew/cos12.html