Conscription and Conscientious Objection
"You brought it to a human level, with the story of the white feather because the children became the characters. They could enter into the experience and see how people felt at the time."
Vicky Parsons Year 4 Teacher Barlborough Primary School
Key to this work is an understanding of -
- How the First World War started;
- How propaganda was used for recruitment;
- how conscription was introduced.
"It's been fun and I've learnt that the government tried to get people in to war as I didn't know they used so many techniques."
Year 5 pupil Grassmoor Primary School
"The children understood propaganda; how and why it was used. They had the chance to think deeply and explain if they agreed or disagreed with the concept."
Julie Brown Y6 teacher Charnock Hall Primary School
Bert Brocklesby
The day can look at Bert Brocklesby and his family. The Brockelsby family lived in Conisborough, Doncaster. They had four sons. Two went to the front, one was a recruiting officer and the fourth was Bert a conscientious objector.
Derbyshire Stories
Derbyshire is also rich with stories. This photograph shows Year 5s at Grassmoor Primary School recreating an actual Conscientious Objector tribunal in Buxton from a newspaper transcript. Another story is of a military family in Belper struggling with 2 of their 3 sons becoming COs during the First World War.
Alice Wheeldon
Year 6 pupils at All Saints Primary School, Matlock, are meeting Aice Wheeldon, a Derby woman who paid heavily for her belief in peace and support for COs. (Gertie is in role as Alice Wheeldon in November 1918)
Using Primary Sources
Primary and Secondary school students are excited when handling real documents such as the one shown here. WAT encourages them to infer and to gather information themselves.
"It was hard to be a Conscientious Objector because you were basically against everyone else in society."
Year 9 student Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School
"It was hard to be a Conscientious Objector because you were basically against everyone else in society."
Year 9 student Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School
