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Scale And Legal Process Of Conscientious Objection
- Around 60,000 people in Britain registered as conscientious objectors during WWII and many more avoided service without registering.
- Tribunals decided exemptions, often directing objectors to alternative service or risking prison if refused.
Two Pacifists’ Wartime Paths
- Tom Burns volunteered with the Friends Ambulance Unit and served across multiple fronts until capture in Greece.
- Stella Singen sheltered the homeless during the Blitz and later refused industrial conscription, choosing jail over compelled office work.
Shift From Shaming To Conditional Tolerance
- Public attitudes in WWII shifted from hostility (WWI) to general tolerance if objectors made alternative sacrifices.
- Many tribunals granted exemptions when objectors contributed non-combatant public service.