Daily Mail, 16 May 2014: They were mocked - and sometimes imprisoned - during their lifetimes, but today men who refused to fight in the First World War for moral reasons were honoured in a ceremony.
A memorial was held today in Bloomsbury, central London, for around fifty men who maintained 'the right to refuse to kill'. Descendants of the men and sympathisers gathered and laid white flowers on a memorial stone.
In First World War Britain, conscription laws exempted men who had moral objections - provided they could defend their beliefs in a tribunal. Women at home who saw so-called 'Conchies' would often present them with white feathers - an accusation of cowardice - in an attempt to shame them into fighting. At least 16,000 men were objectors.
Some agreed to carry out non-combat roles, such as driving ambulances, bearing stretchers and otherwise caring for the wounded of supplying the army. Others who refused to cooperate in any way were imprisoned.