Conscientious Objectors who took up Work of National Importance (WNI) were not simply left to their own devices once they had been sent to approved appointment. Harrassment, monitoring and arbitrary transfers ensured that, just like any other CO, they were consistently punished for their beliefs.

James Johnstone, of Dalmarnock, Glasgow, was no exception. 33 and working as a clerk for the Glasgow Corporation Gasworks, he applied to the Glasgow Tribunal in mid-1916 for exemption from conscription as a Conscientious Objector. He must have had a difficult initial Tribunal appearance which did not grant him a form of exemption he was able to accept, as after application to the County Appeal Tribunal, his case was heard by the Central Tribunal, then meeting in Edinburgh on the 19th of June 1916. The Central Tribunal passed him exempt from the Army provided that he found Work of National Importance within three weeks - and his case was passed to the Pelham Committee, which oversaw COs on WNI.

The Pelham Committee was supposed to oversee what kinds of work COs could do while undertaking WNI, as well as ruling on their conditions, treatment and pay, but it was not the only group interfereing with the lives of these men. Employers had the right to try and retain their workers, and Tribunals could, seemingly at will, attempt to override any other decision. James’ employer, the Glasgow Corporation, surprisingly radical for a local government authority, attempted to keep him on in his work with the gas board. Skilled and important work such as this, however, could not save James from the petty interference of the Tribunal system. The Central Tribunal would not allow such an “easy” option and instead recommended that James be sent to do similar work in Leith or Waverley. This was a clear acknowledgement that James was valuable to the national economy and that his work was important - so why the seeming controversy over where he worked?

The answer comes in the form of the “principle of equal sacrifice”. This unwritten rule of WNI dictated that Tribunals and Pelham committee alike made the lives of Conscientious Objectors as intentionally difficult as possible. WNI COs were supposed to suffer equally with a soldier at the front, in case anyone assumed they were taking up the “easy option”. This pathetic attempt to save face on the part of the Government system arbitrarily sent men around the country, docked their pay and forced them into work they often had no training or ability for. Distance, low pay and unfamiliar work combined to make Work of National Importance inefficient, punishing and intentionally arbitrary.