Thomas Huitt was one of four brothers, three of whom became COs. Alfred, Thomas and George were all religious COs who believed very strongly that their Christian principles meant that they could play no part in the war. The fourth brother, Henry, volunteered for the army in 1915 but it is likely that he also shared his brothers’ religious principles as he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a non-combatant, working to save lives rather than destroy them, on the Western front. Thomas was 26 and working as a teacher when conscription was introduced in 1916.

Thomas would have faced conscription much earlier than his brothers. The youngest, he would have been the first to be called up in the group system. As Conscription meant forcing every man aged between 18 and 41 into the army, the population was divided into groups which would be called up at different times. Thomas, seven years younger than his eldest brother, had to apply for exemption as soon as the act came into force in March 1916.

He would have applied for exemption at the Greenwich Tribunal, and must have had his case heard early in March-April. He was given “Exemption from Combatant Service Only” which meant he would still be forced into the army, but into a special unit set up for Conscientious Objectors - the “Non-Combatant Corps” or NCC. This would mean joining the army, but being promised that he would never have to carry or use a rifle. For some men, this was an acceptable compromise, but not to Thomas.

As a Methodist, it’s likely that Thomas believed very strongly in the Christian principles of peace and non-violence. This may have meant that he would have seen no difference between someone joining the army directly - and therefore killing in war - and joining the NCC, which was helping the army in France - effectively helping other people to kill.

Thomas was sent to the 4th Northern Company of the NCC but refused to obey orders while there, probably to put on uniform, or fall in during a parade. He was soon court martialled on the 19th of May 1916 and found guilty of disobeying military orders. His punishment was to be 112 days detention, to be served in Richmond barracks. When this sentence was served, Thomas, like other COs up and down the country, left prison only to be sent back to the army. Immediately again under a charge of disobeying orders, he was sent back to prison! Some COs endured this pointlessly cruel cycle of release, arrest and prison sentence up to five times during the war.

This time, in July 1916, Thomas did not have to serve his sentence in military prison. The government, realising that the Army simply could not handle the brave, moral and (often extremely!) stubborn Conscientious Objectors, passed Army Order X, transferring all COs from the hands of the Military to civilian prisons.

Thomas was sent to Durham prison, where he would have served at least six months. At the expiration of this sentence, he would have been released, but there are no surviving records of what happened to Thomas until his final release and demobilisation from the army in 1919.

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