We say no!: British Conscientious Objection in the Second World War

在第二次世界大战期间被征入伍的英国人中，有1%的人出于良心反对。然而，尽管他的第一次世界大战对手的重点，良心拒服兵役者在很大程度上是缺席的第二次世界大战在英国的流行和文化代表。与第一次世界大战不同的是，征兵是为1939年至1945年的冲突预先计划的。1939年《国民服役（武装部队）法》不仅规定了战时征兵，而且允许男子以良心为由拒绝服役。在第二次世界大战的六年中，近60 000名男子申请拒服兵役者地位，而在第一次世界大战期间的两年征兵中，有16 000名男子申请拒服兵役者地位。这项研究建立在一个由国际卫生条例Scouloudi研究补助金资助的试点项目的基础上，该项目表明，英国CO在两次世界大战中的战时经历存在根本差异。在第一次世界大战期间，军官与国家之间的关系是敌对的，英国政府利用其权力，以武力吸引军官加入军队，并判处长期徒刑。相比之下，在第二次世界大战期间，英国政府试图最大限度地利用良心拒服兵役者的人力。在声称出于良心拒服兵役的人中，12，204人被拒绝，3，577人被完全豁免。45，000人，占绝大多数，被指示在民事和军事领域从事被认为是“国家重要性”的工作。同样，绝对主义者也很少。许多（如果不是大多数）CO愿意为战争努力工作，特别是在人道主义背景下，只要他们不必挥舞武器。正如Tegla Davies在他的贵格会附属之友救护队的历史中写道：“他们认为，和平主义已经得到了国家的认可，应该在行动中表明它可以做些什么来减轻多年战争必然产生的痛苦和痛苦。“然而，尽管这种关系非常不同，也更加复杂，但关于良心拒服兵役的学术研究仍然专注于第一次世界大战，忽视了非常不同的战争，实际上也忽视了发生第二次世界大战拒服兵役的非常不同的英国。从根本上说，有一个不为人知的故事需要恢复，这不仅是理解英国第二次世界大战的核心，也是理解英国抗议态度的关键部分。到目前为止，英国还没有一项关于良心拒服兵役的社会历史研究。Rose（2004）顺便指出，出于良心拒服兵役者对理想化的男性气质的概念与同龄人不同。事实上，现有的工作，例如Rachel Barker（1982）和Tobias Kelly（2015）专注于反对的国家和制度过程，而不是对反对拿起武器的男性的社会影响。这项研究将使用未充分发掘的来源，最显着的是口头证词和自传，结合重要的档案资料，以了解英国战时良心拒服兵役者的生活经历，因此，把男人谁反对在研究的核心第一次。

1 per cent of all men who were conscripted in Britain during the Second World War conscientiously objected. However, despite the heavy focus on his First World War counterpart, the conscientious objector is largely absent from popular and cultural representations of the Second World War in Britain. Unlike the First World War conscription was pre-planned for the 1939-1945 conflict. The National Service (Armed Services) Act 1939 not only made the provisions for wartime conscription but also allowed men to object to service on the grounds of conscience. Nearly 60,000 men applied for objector status during the six years of the Second World War, in comparison to 16,000 who men applied in the two years of conscription during the First World War. This research builds on a pilot project funded by an IHR Scouloudi Research Grant that has suggested that there were fundamental differences in the wartime experiences of British COs in the two world wars. During the First World War the relationship between COs and the state was hostile and the British Government used its power to draw COs into the military by force as well as imposing lengthy prison sentences. By contrast, during the Second World War the British state sought to make best use of the manpower of conscientious objectors. Of those who professed a conscientious objection, 12,204 were rejected and 3,577 were granted complete exemption. 45,000 men, the overwhelming majority, were directed to work deemed of "national importance" in both the civilian and military sphere. Similarly, there were very few absolutists. Many, if not most, COs were willing to work for the war effort, especially in a humanitarian context, provided they did not have to wield arms. As CO Tegla Davies wrote in his history of the Quaker-affiliated Friends Ambulance Unit: 'They felt that pacifism having been recognised by the state, should show in action what it could do to relieve the suffering and agony which years of war were bound to produce."Yet, despite this very different, and more complex, relationship, scholarship on conscientious objection remains fixated on the First World War and ignores both the very different war and indeed the very different Britain in which Second World War objection took place. Fundamentally, there is an untold story to be recovered which is not only central to understanding Britain's Second World War but also a key part of understanding British attitudes to protest. To date, there is no single socio-historical study of conscientious objection in Britain. Rose (2004) notes, in passing, that conscientious objectors held differing conceptions of idealised masculinities than their peers. However, there has been no systematic study of these ideas nor the more general lived experience of the CO. Indeed, existing work, for example by Rachel Barker (1982) and Tobias Kelly (2015) focus on the state and institutional processes of objecting rather the social impacts on men who objected to taking up arms. This research will use underexplored sources, most notably oral testimony and autobiography, in conjunction with significant archival sources to understand the lived experiences of Britain's wartime conscientious objectors and, therefore, put the men who objected at the heart of the research for the first time.