Patterns of Dissent in Britain during the First World War

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to suggest new ways of identifying those communities in which opposition to Britain’s involvement in the First World War was most marked. The principal indicators used here are conscientious objectors (COs). It will be argued that existing calculations of their numbers are unreliable and that conclusions based on those calculations are, therefore, unsafe. A new approach using the newly compiled Pearce Register of British Conscientious Objectors will be outlined and, by means of a sample of area studies of Essex and Northumberland, its potential for mapping patterns of dissent demonstrated. We further argue that this process may then inform different routes to a better understanding of popular attitudes to the war.

Keywords:

• wartime dissent
• conscientious objection
• war resistance
• military service tribunals