A Disputed Identity: Women Conscientious Objectors in Second World War Britain

Abstract

British women were conscripted to the military for the first time during the Second World War. The legislation introducing this measure incorporated a conscience clause, which allowed women to become conscientious objectors to military service. A total of 911 women were granted this status by tribunals. However, at least three times that number identified themselves as conscientious objectors. This discrepancy was the result of a complex and often contradictory legislative position, combined with the contrasting definitions of the category applied by the authorities and individuals. Refusal to assist the war effort brought many women into conflict with a government which only recognized objection to military service and refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of objection to civilian work and civil defence duties. Women who identified themselves as conscientious objectors were not all reacting to state compulsion and many adopted the identity as a result of deeply held beliefs which predated the outbreak of war. The varied experiences of female conscientious objectors are tied together by their identification with a category from which the majority were officially excluded. The problems faced by women who wished to register a conscientious objection to the Second World War are explored in this article, along with the motivations and affiliations which led them to do so.