Born in 1880, Ronald was in the army in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) not fighting, but, because he was a farmer’s son, assigned to look after the horses. By 1915 he had five children and had become a pacifist, based on Quaker beliefs. His conscientious objector status was accepted because farming was a reserved occupation. During the Depression he retrained as a carpenter and was for 30 years the Clerk of Abingdon Quaker meeting, and later an active member of the Baptist church. He lived to be over 100.