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At the beginning of World War One, there were over 733,000 soldiers in the British Army.

New recruits were desperately needed, and recruitment drives were held all over the country. Millions of men flocked to do their duty – they volunteered. But the high number of fatalities and injuries meant that by 1916, conscription was introduced for men between 18 and 40 years of age.

However, thousands of men refused to go to war because of their religious beliefs. They were known as conscientious objectors, otherwise known as conchies.

Meanwhile, thousands of other men were claiming exemption from war duties for domestic reasons. All around Britain, military tribunals were being held to determine whether these men should be exempted or not.

Around 16,000 conscientious objectors obtained exemption certificates through the Military Service Tribunals.

Sidney Collins, a 24-year-old from Leicester went to prison rather than going to war and he wasn’t alone. Before conscription Leicester had a very low rate of volunteering compared to other cities.

Location: Crafton Street, Leicester LE1 2DE
Image: Conscientious objector, SW Collins with friends, courtesy of Jean Wilks

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