No Conscription Fellowship
National organisation of conscientious objectors
Founded in November 1914 by Fenner Brockway and Clifford Allen. Campaigned against conscription and required its members to “refuse from conscientious motives to bear arms because they consider human life to be sacred.” When the Military Service Act 1916 brought in compulsory conscription, the Fellowship lent support to those punished for their refusal to fight. The No-Conscription Fellowship produced a newspaper called “The Tribunal”.
The No-Conscription Fellowship was active in County Durham. A contemporary list (1915?) from the Working Class Movement Library in Salford shows 12 County Durham members. However, it seems possible that these were branch contacts and that there were other members in the county, particularly once conscription came into force.
For more information about the national organisation, please see the websites below:
http://www.wcml.org.uk/contents/protests-politics-and-campaigning-for-change/no-conscription-fellowship/
http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWncf.htm
Founded: 1914
Dissolved: 1920
Contributed by Durham County Record Office
