Comrades in Conscience: The Story of an English Community's Opposition to the Great War

by Cyril Pearce

Genres: Nonfiction

369 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Herrholz Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does any government have the right or the moral authority to demand of its citizens that they go to war on its behalf? Perhaps this very question resides in the realm of political science and can only be addressed in theory. In the hard realities of war the cat appears amongst the pigeons. What we have here in this book is a study of one community`s reaction to this dilemma. We hear that the anti war movement in Huddersfield was relatively robust and that those adhering to it were tolerated to a large degree, and that this was due in part to the thread of socialism running through the community. This does not seem to have been the case in other parts of the country. The book goes into great detail surrounding the personalities involved in the social, political and professional organisations mainly in Huddersfield of the time, and how these people react to the war. It also gives an outline of the activities of the same in the period leading up to the war which gives an interesting introduction to the pressures and tendencies already in place in that society before the subject in question arose. The book is a kind of socio/political document and would perhaps find its target in a more scholarly audience. The general reader may find it a little specialist. But it remains truly edifying and well worth the effort. The appendices make up a good portion of the book and provide case notes on many conscientious objectors and other prominent figures, as well as further statistics relevant to the subject.