Edward William Harby was born to Herbert and Alice Harby in Brondesbury in 1894. By the 1911 census the family had moved to Greenwich where his father was a school attendance officer. By that time he had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. The eldest of his sisters, Doris, who was 16 in 1911, was working as a domestic servant.

In March 1916 Edward's name appears in the local paper, the Kentish Mercury because he came before the Lewisham Military Tribunal claiming exemption from conscription on political and religious grounds. His address was given as Ladywell Park, Lewisham. In his representation he argued that he was an internationalist who believed that the world was his country and had a conscientious objection to the war. He was already a member of the No Conscription Fellowship in Dulwich and of the International Labour Party. At his Tribunal hearing, he stated: “As a citizen of the earth I believe the world to be my country and all the world to be my countrymen. In no circumstances will I take human life”. He clearly had a number of supporters at the tribunal because the report states that at the end of the hearing they applauded and sang The Red Flag.

In the same paper on April 14th his name again appears as coming before what the paper identifies as the House of Commons Appeals Tribunal. Here he repeated his claim for exemption, saying that he believed all men to be his countrymen and therefore could not contemplate killing. He made a lengthy statement to the Appeal Tribunal arguing that the war was started by capitalist war-mongering and, as such, he could have no part of it. His appeal was denied and he was directed to serve in the non combatant ranks. But Edward was an absolutist who was not prepared to accept any role that might contribute to the war effort. He was arrested as an absentee in May 1916. At the Greenwich Police Court, Edward’s father refused to support him and denounced his views.

Soon after, Edward was taken under escort to the 3rd London Regiment and moved to Salisbury training camp. He refused to obey orders and found himself before a court martial on the 7th of June 1916. He was sentenced to 9 months detention at Wormwood Scrubs.

In May the government set up the Home Office Scheme under the direction of the Brace Committee. This was so that men who refused active service could be employed 'under conditions as severe as those of soldiers at the front' or 'equal sacrifice'. After a Central Tribunal hearing on his objection, Edward was deemed to be a genuine conscientious objector and sent to Haverhill to mend roads. However, he believed that this work was aiding the war effort since the roads could be used for military purposes. On 26th October he left Haverhill with a pass to go to Wakefield where there was a work centre. Instead he made his way to London to protest at the work he was being asked to undertake.

There is no record of the result of this attempt but Edward was returned to prison as a fugitive and discharged from there and re-called to the army in December 1916. He disobeyed orders and was again court martialed, this time in Torquay. He was sentenced to 2 years' hard labour, later commuted to 6 months. On completing this sentence his name again appears in the list of those court martialled in January 1918. His sentence of eighteen months was to be served in Wandsworth prison.

Already in October 1918 there was unrest in Wandsworth prison due to the damp and filthy cells, dreadful food and inhuman conditions. In January 1919 a warder mocked one of the peaceful COs saying that he was benefitting from the improvements achieved by the rioters. In response the man in question began to smash up his own cell. His punishment was immediate and severe. The prisoner was put in a straightjacket and attempts were made to force feed him. Major Blake was brought into the prison as acting Governor to restore order, but according to a letter from Edward Harby from the prison he immediately paraded the COs before him and said, 'I will not have these COs mix with respectable men...To hell with COs.' According to Major Black the COs were shouting, making a noise and singing the 'Red Flag' which could be heard outside the prison walls. In May 1919 an article appeared in the Dundee Courier about the subsequent Parliamentary Enquiry conducted by Sir Albion Richardson, MP for Peckham. In the newspaper report it is claimed that the riots were instigated by conscientious objectors; that they set the rules, held meetings and sang the 'Red Flag'. But conscientious objectors argued that their living conditions were appalling and that it was their rights that were being abused. In the article it was claimed that protestors 'disturbed the whole prison nearly every night by banging cell doors with stools and boards'. Soon after the arrival of Major Blake conditions appear to have improved, although one source claims that the Richardson Enquiry was mostly 'written in whitewash' and that evidence from the COs supported the version presented by Edward Harby.

In part the general disquiet was due to the fact that after the Armistice there were still many COs still in prison. Eventually they were released, although this was carried out in stages to reduce the publicity feared if too many were released at once. Edward was finally 'dishonourably discharged' from Wandsworth under the two year rule in April 1919 and is recorded as living at 134 Stanstead Road, Forest Hill which is the address of another conscientious objector, Sydney Rose.
Edward William Harby died in Liverpool in 1968.

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