REFUSING TO FIGHT THE “GOOD WAR”: Conscientious objectors in the North East of England

Histories of the Second World War have paid scant attention to either conscientious objectors or the North-East of England. This book fills a gap in the historiography by looking beyond the region’s industrial significance during this period and exploring social, moral and religious attitudes to the war – both on the part of objectors, and those who dealt with them. As a regional case study, it also sheds light on wider structures and attitudes relating to conscientious objection in Britain during the war, providing an in-depth understanding of the profile of objectors, the working of a tribunal, and the response of the authorities, public and media to conscientious objection. The book explores the difficulties experienced by objectors in the Armed Forces and those who worked on the land, and also considers women who objected to compulsion extended to them for the first time. For many objectors the cells of Durham Prison or Northallerton Detention Centre were to be their temporary home, and the conditions there are examined. The Second World War became a moment of transition in the treatment of conscientious objectors, between the excesses of the First World War and its current recognition as a basic human right. This was a transition in which objectors in the North-East of England played a significant role, both in their local and in the national context.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Pacifism and the North-East of England in Context Profiling Conscientious Objectors in the North-East of England Judge Richardson and the Newcastle Tribunal Treatment of Conscientious Objectors (Local Authorities) Treatment of Conscientious Objectors (Press, Public and Priests) Treatment of Conscientious Objectors (Prison, Land and Medical Experiments) Women Conscientious Objectors `You’re in the Army Now’` Summary Appendices Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Stuart did not enter the academic world until his retirement in 2007. He spent nearly forty years working in local government, mainly with the City of Sunderland, qualifying as an accountant in 1980. One of the many jobs he undertook was Managing Director of Sunderland Empire Theatre and later was the Project Manager for the £12million refurbish-ment of the theatre. Stuart obtained his BA in History from Newcastle University in 2010 and his MA in British History in 2011. He completed his PhD thesis on Conscientious Objectors at Northumbria University in 2016. His previ-ous dissertations have covered Crime in County Durham during WWII and the Loyalty of Northern Ireland’s Loyalists during WWII. His leisure interests include being a life-long supporter of Sunderland AFC, coaching swimming and playing Table Tennis, the latter showing a sharp decline as the years advance. He has been married to Liz for forty-two years. They have two children and four grandchildren.