Great War Scottish Topic Part 2: Domestic Impact of War – Society and Culture Checklist: Military Service Act (conscription) Conscientious objectors DORA Women’s Work & Rent Strikes Death and Losses in Scottish society Commemoration and Remembrance

Conscription and Conscientious Objectors ISSUE 2 – The effect of the war on life in Scotland Conscription and Conscientious Objectors

Lesson starter Write AGREE or DISAGREE for each statement It is a man’s duty to fight for his country If a man will not fight for his country during in wartime, the government should make them Pacifists (those against war) are cowards Anyone who refuses to help their country in times of war must be punished.

We are learning to… Describe the government response to the recruitment crisis Describe the Scottish reaction to conscription I can… Answer questions & share answers with my group

Anti-war attitudes Even as late as 1918 the vast majority of Scots supported the war, however there were prominent anti-war groups: The Independent Labour party (ILP) was a socialist party separate from Labour who had a strongly pacifist attitude, its pacifist newspaper “Forward” was closed down. The Union of Democratic Control (UDC) was an anti-war organisation that opposed conscription, censorship and other DORA restrictions.

The Military Service Act Individual Note This law was passed in January 1916 and came into force on March 2, 1916. It was a response to falling numbers of volunteers and high casualties on the Western Front. The Act specified that men from 18 to 41 years old were liable to be called up for service in the army unless they were married, widowed with children, serving in the Royal Navy, a minister of religion, or working in one of a number of reserved occupations. Coal Miners and skilled farm workers were reserved occupations. A second Act in May 1916 extended liability for military service to married men, and a third Act in 1918 extended the upper age limit to 51.

Opposition to Conscription Why would some people be unhappy with the Military Service Act? Make a list of reasons in groups.

Conscientious Objector or ‘Conchie’ One who objected to fighting on moral, religious or political grounds. They refused to fight.

Treatment of Conchies Those wishing to avoid military service had to appear before a military tribunal to prove their case. Tribunals needed as many men as possible for the war so rejected most cases. 16,000 men in the UK objected to fighting, around 7,000 conchies agreed to join the army in non-combatant duties e.g. stretcher bearers, ambulance drivers. Alternativists did non-military work of national importance e.g. farming or coal mining, a hard, dirty and dangerous job. 1,500 Absolutists refused all military service and were sentenced to military prison and hard labour, at least 73 died in prison.

Treatment of Conchies- continued The families of ‘conchies’ suffered too, many were ostracised in local areas, refused service in shops etc. Some conchies were not released from prison or work camps til August 1919 showing the depth of ill feeling towards them still. Even when released after the war many conchies found it hard to get work.

Dyce Camp, Aberdeenshire Opened in late 1916, Dyce Camp near Aberdeen was made up of 250 conscientious objectors. As an alternative to prison, their punishment was to break rocks in a granite quarry and suffer the indignity of being branded as “degenerates” by the local press. The objectors were drawn from all walks of life: teachers, academics, shopkeepers and labourers. But they were in the main well educated and articulate - and even set up their own camp newspaper, The Granite Echo. Living conditions at the camp were basic and many of the men were unused to hard labour. But when one of the objectors, Walter Roberts from near Stockport, died of pneumonia, Dyce Camp came to wider attention. The other men stepped up a letter writing campaign complaining about the conditions. There were visits to the camp by a Home Office committee and by future Labour prime minister Ramsay McDonald. On the 19th of October, following a debate in Parliament, it was announced that Dyce camp would close. Barely two months after their arrival, the conscientious objectors were dispersed to prisons across Britain to complete their sentences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XROrVLPUzY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BtXSeWsiY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxuHhVWFcVA