Battles of Conscience - British Pacifists and the Second World War (Hardcover)

A ground-breaking new study brings us a very different picture of the Second World War, asking fundamental questions about ethical commitments Accounts of the Second World War usually involve tales of bravery in battle, or stoicism on the home front, as the British public stood together against Fascism. However, the war looks very different when seen through the eyes of the 60,000 conscientious objectors who refused to take up arms and whose stories, unlike those of the First World War, have been almost entirely forgotten. Tobias Kelly invites us to spend the war five of these individuals: Roy Ridgway, a factory clerk from Liverpool; Tom Burns, a teacher from east London; Stella St John, who trained as a vet and ended up in jail; Ronald Duncan, who set up a collective farm; and Fred Urquhart, a working-class Scottish socialist and writer. We meet many more objectors along the way -- people both determined and torn -- and travel from Finland to Syria, India to rural England, Edinburgh to Trinidad. Although conscientious objectors were often criticised and scorned, figures such as Winston Churchill and the Archbishop of Canterbury supported their right to object, at least in principle, suggesting that liberty of conscience was one of the freedoms the nation was fighting for. And their rich cultural and moral legacy -- of humanitarianism and human rights, from Amnesty International and Oxfam to the US civil rights movement -- can still be felt all around us. The personal and political struggles carefully and vividly collected in this book tell us a great deal about personal and collective freedom, conviction and faith, war and peace, and pose questions just as relevant today: Does conscience make us free? Where does it take us? And what are the costs of going there? '[An] excellent book' - DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A moving tribute' - SPECTATOR

General

Imprint:	Chatto and Windus
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	April 2022
Authors:	Tobias Kelly
Dimensions:	245 x 170 x 35mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	384
ISBN-13:	978-1-78474-394-9
Categories:	Books > Fiction > True stories > Discovery / historical / scientific Books > Fiction > True stories > War / combat / elite forces > General Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Peace studies > General Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Battles & campaigns Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Peacekeeping operations Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Other warfare & defence issues > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War Books > History > British & Irish history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War
LSN:	1-78474-394-1
Barcode:	9781784743949

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