Abstract
ABSTRACTThe First World War, 1914-1918, was sudden and took everyone by surprise. After the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force with great loss of life in August 1914, it became evident that many more men would be needed to fight. The Derby Scheme of 1915 for voluntary enlistment, failed to recruit enough men and in March 1916 the Liberal Government reluctantly introduced conscription under the Military Service Act. The majority of eligible men enlisted but some, Conscientious Objectors, refused on grounds of religion or political beliefs. Their only way to contest the call up was to go before a local Military Service Tribunal who would decide if they were eligible to be exempt, given a non-combatant role or ordered to join a regiment. Using local studies of the men who refused to fight, this article examines the extent of conscientious objection in Nottinghamshire.
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