Whatever the Penalties

Synopsis: This short film tells the story of an almost forgotten gathering of conscientious objectors in World War One. They represented a small minority who defied the 1916 Military Service Act - the law that introduced conscription to Britain for the first time. Members and supporters of the No Conscription Fellowship, they stood by their religious and political convictions, and refused to join the war, whatever the penalties. In doing so they faced intense public hostility, ridicule, violence and even death. (17 minutes)

Also includes an interview with the historian Cyril Pearce, who explains the wider context of the events shown in the film, the reasons for conscription, the response of those resisting the war and how the military and civilian authorities dealt with them. He is the author of ‘Comrades in Conscience’ and creator of the world’s most extensive database of WWI Conscientious Objectors, hosted online by the Imperial War Museum in London. (49 minutes)
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2016
Notes: See the White Feather Diaries project for more resources about conscientious objectors in World War One: http://www.whitefeatherdiaries.org.uk/
Subjects: History
Keywords: conscientious objectors; World War 1; pacifism; Quakers

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Notes: A long-established, not-for-profit organisation with a large collection DVDs, specialising in the sectors of general and mental health, child care, race relations, war and peace, addictions, the third world, ecology, civil rights, personal relationships, educational issues, and social work training. Concord also handles titles made for the Graves Medical Audio-visual Library. Sale on DVD. Formerly known as Concord Video and Film Council. In 2014 Concord began to offer selected films as Video on Demand, via Vimeo.

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