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THE MEN WHO SAID NO | ROAD TO CONSCRIPTION | CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION | PRISONS | SENTENCED TO DEATH | TRIBUNALS | WIDER CONTEXT | INDEX |
CHRISTOPHER FAITHFULL 1898 - | |||||||||
Christopher Faithfull was one of the youngest Conscientious Objectors to be conscripted in 1916. Living in Newport and working as a Cinema Violinist, Christopher was only 18 when the Military Service Act came into force, and was rapidly called up as a soldier. He went before the Newport Tribunal in early March, and made his case as a Conscientious Objector on the grounds of his faith. Christopher was a member of the International Bible Students Association, or IBSA, now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. The IBSA produced many Conscientious Objectors who saw themselves as following God’s law over man’s, making it impossible for them to both follow their conscience and become a combatant soldier. Though many IBSA COs decided to take up Non-Combatant Service, Christopher rejected this compromise when it was offered by the Newport Tribunal, and elected to disobey any and all military orders. This quickly saw him thrown into conflict with the military and civil authorities. He was arrested for failure to report to barracks in late April, and by May was firmly in the hands of the military, held under guard at Cardiff Drill Hall. There, Christopher met other Welsh COs who were determined to make a coordinated protest against both their conditions and the practice of Conscription itself. They formed a Guard-room branch of the No-Conscription Fellowship and managed to smuggle a letter out of the guard room, addressed to the NCF chairman. The letter read: “Hope to smuggle you just a word. Escorted to roller rink, Cardiff, on Monday Evening. No supper, no beds. Slept on floor. Tuesday morning, no breakfast. Taken before major and asked to sign rations form, refused. Asked to see doctor and sign papers, refused. Threat by Major of death penalty, or anything less court martial shall determine. All orders disobeyed. Still no food. After 24 hours fast asked again to sign rations form or send out for food. Refused to do either. Victory at last! Bread and cheese for supper. Delicious beyond words! Blankets!! Salmon for breakfast!!! Wild excitement. Flag flying cheerfully. Concerts on guard-room floor a speciality. Soldiers learning the “Red Flag”. Whatever lies before us we can face it.” Christopher, acting in concert with eleven other COs, inspired hundreds of other men around the country to do the same, and soon, guard-room NCF branches became a source of mutual support and advice for COs in the hands of the military. But for Christopher, signing the letter was only the first stage in his struggle against Militarism. From Cardiff he was sent to the training depot at Kinmel Park where, again refusing orders, he would face a court martial and be sentenced to two years in prison. While serving this sentence in Liverpool prison, he was transferred to Wormwood Scrubs to have his case heard by the Central Tribunal. They judged him a class A, or “genuine” CO, but this did not mean release, and Christopher was instead offered a place on the Home Office Scheme, which he accepted. By December 1916 Christopher had been sent to the Dartmoor Settlement, the largest Home Office Centre. There, along with hundreds of other Conscientious Objectors, he would work as an agricultural labourer until the end of the war.
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