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William 'Bill' Edwin Law


Darlington conscientious objector who became one of the 'Richmond Sixteen'


Bill Law was exempted from Combatant Service by the Darlington Military Tribunal. However, he was forced to join the Non-Combatant Corps No.2 Northern Company.

He was an Absolutist, and therefore refused to do anything that might be considered helping the war effort. He became one of the ‘Richmond Sixteen’, along with his brother. He was detained in a cell in Richmond Castle and then taken illegally to France. In France he refused to obey orders and was sentenced to death on 12 June 1916. One man threw a note from a train window in London and John Brocklesby sent a coded postcard to alert friends of their case. A campaign was started for their release. The sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison and Bill Law was transferred to England 4 July 1916.

His Service Record survives at The National Archives.

For more about the ‘Richmond Sixteen’ see the following website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8342000/8342995.stm

It seems that he may have inherited his strong convictions from his mother. On the 1911 census his father wrote in the column entitled ‘Infirmity’: ‘Wife delusional; thinks she ought to have a vote.’

Civil Parish: Darlington

Birth date: 1891

Armed force/civilian: Civilian

Employment: Painter & Decorator (1911 census)

Family: Son of Thomas Stephen Law & Mary Ann, 11 Elton Parade, Darlington.
Married Jane McLoughry 13/11/1915, Address: 35 Elton Place, Darlington.

Military service:

Non-Combatant Corps

Gender: Male

Contributed by Mavis Dixon | Durham County Record Office