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ASHELFORD HERBERT WILLIAM 1885 -  

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The Military Service Act 1916 that introduced Conscription into British Law did not automatically come into force in the Channel Islands, and for the small community of anti-war sympathisers in both balliwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, it may have seemed that the islands would escape compulsory service altogether.

Herbert William Ashelford was one of these men, living and working in St Helier when Conscription came into force in England, Wales and Scotland in March 1916. It may be that he followed the story of Conscientious Objection as it unfolded, but a year later, with the Jersey Military Service Act (1917), his own Conscientious Objection to warfare would be put to the test. Herbert was a member of the Primitive Methodists, a Christian denomination which produced many Conscientious Objectors who believed that killing in warfare was antithetical to their religion.

Herbert’s religious convictions did not convince the St Helier Tribunal to grant him exemption, and by December 1917 he was in the hands of the military, taken under guard to the Gloucester Depot where he faced a court martial for disobeying orders. It seems likely that Herbert had undergone a short sentence prior to this court martial, as both the date and location suggest that elements of his story as a CO have been lost. It is probable that he was sent to the mainland in mid 1917, and would possibly have faced an earlier court martial in one of the Depots or Barracks on the Channel coast.

Though this earlier part of Herbert’s story is unknown, it is clear that his court martial appearance in Gloucester in 1917 was a direct result of his refusal to compromise on his principles and decision to reject military service. Holding fast to his Christian objection to warfare, Herbert was sentenced to four months hard labour, to be served at Wormwood Scrubs. He would remain in Wormwood Scrubs for only two of these months as after appearing before the Central Tribunal, he was passed suitable for the Home Office Scheme and on the 8th February 1918 sent to Knutsford Camp, where he most likely remained until the end of the war.

 

 

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CO DATA

Born: 1885
Died:
Address: 21 Dorset Street, St Helier, Jersey
Tribunal: St Helier
Prison: Wormwood Scrubs
HO Scheme: Knutsford [1]
CO Work:
Occupation:

Motivation: Primitive Methodist
[2]
ABSOLUTIST

 


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WIDER CONTEXT | more
ROAD TO CONSCRIPTION
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CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION
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TRIBUNALS | more
SENTENCED TO DEATH | more
PRISONS | more
HOME OFFICE CENTRES | more

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