MEN WHO SAID NO | ROAD TO CONSCRIPTION | OBJECTION | PRISONS | SENTENCED TO DEATH | TRIBUNALS | WIDER CONTEXT |
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MEN WHO SAID NO | ROAD TO CONSCRIPTION | OBJECTION | PRISONS | SENTENCED TO DEATH | TRIBUNALS | WIDER CONTEXT | |
| WILLIAM RAMSAY 1887 - |
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| George and William Ramsay were both Absolutist Conscientious Objectors who were motivated by their religious belief to oppose war. William Ramsay was one of the first group of men called up under the Military Service Act and his Tribunal in Tunbridge Wells was early, on the 16th of March 1916. He was refused exemption and sent to the army, beginning a cycle of court martial, sentencing and prison that would only end in January 1918 as, with his health deteriorating, he was released from Walton Prison, Liverpool. Throughout his experiences he had resolutely declined to sign papers or accept army pay, refusing to give even that slightest inch of compromise to the military system. George Ramsay was also an absolutist who underwent a similar experience to his brother. Experiencing the same cycle of release and punishment until 1917, George's health began to fail him and, as the year went on, he became increasingly ill. By November 1917 he had been discharged as unfit for the army and accused of "delusional insanity". Many COs suffered debilitating long-term mental illness as a result of their treatment during the war, particularly in prison, where isolation, abuse and despair caused many serious issues.
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