Thomas Stewart, a 26 year old Dyer at the time of his Conscription in 1916 was one of between 6 and 8 thousand Conscientious Objectors who refused to make any compromise with the civil or military authorities during his stand against death and militarism during the First World War.

In his mid twenties, single and lacking employment in a nationally important industry, Thomas was in one of the very first groups to be called up under the Military Service Act, and he would have applied to the local Tribunal in Perth for exemption as a conscientious objector in March 1916. His hearing on the 6th of April granted him the most common form of exemption for objectors - “ECS” or Exemption from Combatant Service Only. This verdict would have sent him to the Army as a Non-Combatant, not expected to take up a fighting role, but still expected to wear uniform and obey orders. Thomas refused to make this compromise and ignored the verdict.

In most cases this would be followed by a swift arrest as an absentee from the Army, as under the Military Service Act, refusal to go when ordered was both a civil and military crime. For Thomas, however, this arrest came in November 1916, suggesting that Thomas deliberately hid from civil and military authorities. This form of active disobedience showed the complete disregard many COs felt for the conscription system. Refusing all compliance - even refusing to be arrested, showed a complete rejection of conscription and the war that made it possible.

Thomas’ time on the run could not last forever, and his arrest in November 1916 saw him sent under guard to the 3rd Scottish Battalion of the Non-Combatant Corps, where he would refuse orders and swiftly earn himself a court martial. Conscientious Objectors who were posted to military units while still resisting often faced a difficult ordeal, but the court martial process was usually fair - for cases of clear disobedience as in Thomas’ where he refused to obey orders, sign documents or answer questions the trial and verdict were delivered quickly. Found guilty of breaking military discipline, he was sentenced to four months hard labour - to be served in civil prison.

By the end of 1916, the first prison sentence a CO received would usually be in Wormwood Scrubs, London. COs were sent there to be heard by the Central Tribunal, who were empowered to release them onto the Home Office Scheme (HoS), the Government’s plan to remove some of the many thousands of Conscientious Objectors who were filling prisons around the country. After a month in the terrible conditions of Wormwood Scrubs, Thomas’ hearing was on the 8th of December and he was passed a “Class A” or “Genuine” CO, able to take up the HoS provided he agreed to abide by the rules of behaviour laid out by the Brace Committee - in charge of regulating the Scheme.

This was necessarily a form of compromise. Taking up the HoS meant release from prison, with better conditions and the chance of doing useful labour. It also meant giving up some freedoms, agreeing to relinquish any attempts to agitate for an end to the war and the acceptance of a transfer to the army reserves, officially out of the regular army. It was, in many ways, a difficult decision and it appears that Thomas spent several months deciding whether or not to take it on. In February 1917 he agreed, and was transferred onto the Scheme. He was most likely sent to one of the major Work Camps, either in Dartmoor, Wakefield or Knutsford for a time, and in January 1918 he was sent to Talgarth, Wales. Transfers and movements around the Home Office Camps were not unusual, and it is likely that Thomas was moved between several camps after his time at Talgarth, eventually being allowed to return home in mid 1919.