History Internal 91230 Marie Poff (12VT)

Times of Protest: Conscientious Objectors in NZ During WWII

A conscientious objector (CO) is an individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion. In general, conscientious objector status is only considered in the context of military conscription and is not applicable to volunteer military forces. This paper is a report on the protests of conscientious objectors (COs) during World War Two (WWII) in New Zealand (NZ). This report entails some of the causes and consequences of this protest, as well as detailing what happened to COs during WWII, and the significance of their protest to NZ.

Causes:
The main cause of conscientious objection during World War II, was of course the announcement of war. NZ officially declared war on Germany at 2130 hours on 3rd September, 1939. At first, enlistment in NZ for the Special Force was voluntary, and for the Maori Battalion it was to remain so for the duration of the war due to the relatively high number of volunteers. However conscription was introduced in NZ on the 18th of June 1940, and all men between the ages of 19 and 45 were required to register for military service. The National Service Emergency Regulations were issued and men were eligible for call-up in the armed forces for service in New Zealand or overseas, except for the few exceptions extended to men who were needed at home, or were unfit for service. However several men objected to being forced to killed, and were labelled conscientious objectors. The beliefs of COs were what they stood for, and were what made them refuse service and become conscientious objectors during WWII. WWII was considered a necessary war by much of NZ, and those who were COs tended to be because they had strong religious or other beliefs. These people believed firmly in the sanctity of human life, and the absence of any right to take someones life. This tended to link with strong religious and pacifist beliefs, such as Christian Pacifists, who would rather be killed, than to kill anyone else. When Jack Rogers was interviewed by a Board as he appealed to become a CO in WWII he was asked, What would you do if the Japs landed on the beach at Castlecliff near Wanganui and came to rape your mother? Jacks reply was, I dont know, but I hope I would do my utmost to protect her by standing between her and her attacker, but I wouldnt have a gun. The Methodist annual conference in 1935 accepted a number of declarations, including; the Christian Church accepts as an integral part of her redemptive mission a duty to promote peace and prevent war; we believe war is a crime against humanity and must be utterly repudiated as a method of settling international disputes; and we press for a world-wide reduction of armaments, limitation and control of their manufacture and sale. The various faiths of COs were what often lead them to protest against conscription and forced service, for example A.C. Barrington, who was a Methodist, and was later to be a founder of the Christian Pacifist Society (CPS) in WWII. He stated, Pacifism, brotherhood, reconciliation, non-violence I found to be the very essence of faith. Ernic Crane, who wrote Ormund Burtons biography wrote, Burton believed in the theory of the Cross, he believed that if you wanted to overcome your enemies, good will and reconciliation was the only solution. Faith was an important reason why many became conscientious objectors, because they stood by their faith and their convictions that war was a crime against humanity. Another cause that contributed to conscientious objection in WWII was the fact that pacifist and anti-war ideals and resistance were already present in New Zealand long before WWII, and so there was this former experience for COs during WWII to draw on. These previous movements meant that conscientious objection was not a new concept, and so COs werent completely in the dark about taking a stand for their beliefs. Examples of these previous movements were the Maori of Parihaka, and the Moriori on the Chatham Islands, who developed and practiced ideas of passive resistance, and were averse to any fighting or killing despite harsh treatment at the hands of English

soldiers. There was also resistance when in 1909 compulsory military service was introduced for men between the ages of 14 and 25. By 1914 almost 5000 young men had been convicted for resisting, which added to the base of anti-war protesters already present in NZ before WWII. In WWI, conscription was introduced in 1916, and like in WWII only genuine Quakers (a religious group known for their pacifist ideals), Christadelphians and in WWI Seventh-day Adventurists were automatically exempted from service. There are several similarities between the conscientious objectors in WWI and WWII. Like in WWII, COs in WWI appealed to committees such as the Military Service Board, and several fled to countries such as Australia or went bush. Those who appealed did not always refuse to participate in the war, and so several COs were simply put into medical units that operated behind the lines. A Quaker medical unit was particularly known for helping the neediest, despite orders to bring back those who would be able to return to war service first. However even Quakers were considered with suspicion by some, and were labelled shirkers a term carried into WWII and meant people who shirked their duty. Several cartoons depicted cowards joining the Quakers as an excuse not to do war service. On the other hand, COs who were convicted by the Boards because they refused service, were forced to do several years hard labour, and some were returned to prison if they still refused to comply. Mark Briggs and Archibald Baxter were two such COs, and were two of fourteen to be forcibly transported to the Western Front as a particularly harsh punishment. These were called Field Punishments, and included punishments such as Briggs being dragged for a mile along duckboards and dumped into a shell hole. Archibald Baxter was put through Field Punishment Number One, which meant a CO was tied to a post in freezing and dangerous wartime conditions and left there despite the enemy danger. Like in WWII, convicted COs were denied voting rights and were officially banned from employment in public service or local bodies for the following 10 years. Hence the treatment of COs in WWI was very similar to the treatment of COs in WWII, and therefore meant that COs in WWII had the experience of COs in WWI draw on. This made it easier for COs in WWII to protest especially since no COs suffered Field Punishments during the Second World War. Leading on from WWI, another cause of conscientious objection in WWII is the change of opinion of powerful figures such as former Prime Ministers Michael Joseph Savage (-1940), or Peter Fraser (1940-49), as well as other Labour MPs such as Paddy Webb. Michael Joseph Savage, though not a CO during WWI like Fraser, had encouraged conscription of wealth not men during this time, but by WWII labelled those who did not fight, ie COs, dreamers. Several Labour MPs, including Fraser, had been against conscription during WWI, and some were even imprisoned for resisting. However in WWII their opinions changed, and by WWII Prime Minister Peter Fraser was set on conscription for NZ, stating we can have no consideration for any person who sets about manufacturing a conscience for the occasion. Despite a previous statement in February 1940 by several Labour MPs declaring There will be no conscription while Labour is in power, Peter Fraser wanted conscription, and due to the weakened anticonscription group in Parliament due to the expulsion of John A. Lee and accompanying resignations of others such as Speaker of the House, conscription was reintroduced. This was because WWI was considered a war of empires by politicians such as Fraser, and therefore he was against WWI due to his political conscience, not a religious or other conscience. Whereas WWII was considered a just war against the evil of the Nazi regime, and so was considered necessary, though carried out without the pomp and excitement for adventure felt at the beginning of WWI. This change of opinion meant that people like Fraser who had the power to end conscription and therefore the need for conscientious objectors, did not, and was therefore a cause of conscientious objection in WWII. A further cause leading on from WWI, is that peoples opinions of war changed after they had experienced the atrocities and terror or WWI, which the country was initially excited for, and had celebrated with a lot of pomp and parades. However the fallout from this war claimed the lives of an estimated 18,500 New Zealanders and wounded more than 40,000. Places thousands of miles from home with exotic-sounding names such as Gallipoli, Passchendaele and the Somme were forever etched in the national memory during what became known as the Great War. WWI took more than 100,000 New Zealanders overseas, many for the first time. Some anticipated a great adventure but found the reality very different. Being so far from home made these New Zealanders very aware of who they were and where they were from. In battle they were able to compare themselves with men from other

nations. Out of this came a sense of a separate identity, and many New Zealand soldiers began to refer to themselves as Kiwis. However for some this experience meant that they refused to return to war, and became conscientious objectors. Some men were utterly devastated when they came back from WWI, and they simply refused, they couldnt, put themselves into that situation again, especially if they had been in a particularly brutal part of the war. This meant that some objectors werent born of conscience, but of experience. Some men, such as Norman Law, came back from the war and simply disappeared, saying Im not going back, they can take what they like. Ormond Burton went from being a stretcher-bearer at Anzac Cove to a highly decorated infantryman on the Western Front, and believed that somewhere between the landing at Anzac and the end of the battle of the Somme New Zealand very definitely became a nation. However when NZ announced they were going to war against Germany in WWII, Ormund became a very prominent conscientious objector. Burton had fought in the Great War because he believed the destruction of Prussian militarism would usher in a new age of peace and freedom through forgiveness and reconciliation. Horrified and disillusioned with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, he became a resolute convert to Christian Pacifism. The disappointment of the end results of WWI meant that he had probably lost hope that war could end in good; he had enough of war. It wasnt just Burton however, WWI had left a nasty taste in everyones mouth, because of the huge casualties and futility of fighting for weeks on end just to be pushed back to where they had started. However despite the fact that the people of NZ now knew the desperation of war, and there was less eagerness to fight, there was more pressure applied on people because this war was considered necessary, to protect the world, including NZ, from the evil of Nazis. Most people saw it as their duty to fight in the war, and if they had any misgivings they were often shamed into not stating them. This meant that those who objected on the basis of conscience tended to stand out more, but in spite of this, COs in WWII were strong-willed and refused to be pressured by others into fighting.

What happened:
Those who protested against the war, and refused to go, usually attended illegal meetings where several options were discussed. Options to avoid being conscripted included; going bush, denying the Governments right to conscript, ignoring the call-up, or acknowledging it, but then refusing to attend military inspection as it was an Army order, make a public anti-war statement and be arrested, or appeal for exemption as a conscientious objector. In WWII about 5000 applied to be exempted from service, but only Quakers and Christadelphians were automatically exempt, as well as those whose jobs were deemed to be in essential industries. Those who objected were to present themselves to Committees to appeal for exemption, such as the Armed Forces Appeal Board, and unsuccessful applicants (of which there was definitely a majority only 10% of applicants in Wanganui were successful) were fined or put into employment at fixed maximum pay, or forced into, usually non-combative, service. Teachers whose appeals were not accepted were dismissed from their positions for the duration of the war. Jack Rogers, who refused to appear at Drill Hall as he was ordered to after his appeal, was sent a bluie, where a policeman delivered to Jack a summons to the Magistrates Court in Wanganui. According to the New Zealand Herald of November 15, 1941, Mr Luxford stated in regard to these appeal boards, When the Court finds that the person is a straight-out slacker he will go to prison. If he is betwixt and between he will go to prison for a shorter term and then be sent to a defaulters camp. If he is just a poor misguided person with an inflexible idea, he will be sent straight to a defaulters camp. Appeal Board members were probably qualified to deal with cases of undue hardship and essential industry. But, most had little or no understanding of the bases of conscientious objection, nor did they pay much attention to legal procedures. Witnesses were often disregarded or insulted, and appellants who had been active members of the two main pacifist organisations of that time, the Christian Pacifist Society (CPS) and the Pledge Peace Union (PPU) got little sympathy. As well as this, most COs were prepared to serve in stressful and dangerous work, such as medical units, as long as they were not forced to participate in the killing. A lot of COs lost friends and social status for their beliefs, but instead of considering this proof of sincerity, the appeal boards seemed to think the opposite. There was

a strong suspicion that the appeal boards were a deliberate attempt to remove any war resistance from the public eye, and they were often regarded as unfair and unlikely to grant appeals. Even if COs were exempted from service, they faced civil penalties, where they were employed on such work of a civil nature and under civil control as the public interest requires, and that there financial position shall be no better than it would be if he were serving in the Armed Forces. About 800 were deemed to be military defaulters, and so were usually imprisoned in jail for a short time, to be then held in detention camps for the duration of the war. Prison conditions were harsh, in July 1942, a CO in Mt Eden Prison was given 10 days solitary confinement with bread and water for refusing to salute the superintendent! There were similar conditions in the detention camps, of which there were up to 12 in the North Island, including Hautu Detention Camp, near Turangi, and Strathmore Detention Camp. At these camps they were put into work gangs, to do activities such as ditch-digging, milking and looking after a dairy herd, clearing scrub, and other labour in work gangs. To help each other, the men organised classes, discussions and study groups a barbed-wire university. Depending on the men responsible for each camp, punishments could be harsh. In Hautu Detention Camp, or the bad boys camp, a special compound containing single huts was set aside for punishment purposes, and a group of men in the winter of 1944, who had refused to work in the camp, were kept in solitary confinement on a reduced diet. This was a severe ordeal, as for 23 hours a day the men were confined in unheated huts, in the depth of winter. One hour a day was allowed for exercise. The only recreational material allowed was the Bible or one educational book. Two men were kept in this state for three months, and the others for shorter periods, before being transferred to gaol. If COs tried to escape but were caught, they were thrown back into prison. Merv Browne and Chris Palmer were both COs who were put into detention camps for the duration of WWII, and had escaped. They continued to urge the public for peace by negotiation using pamphlets or speaking on the steps of parliament. Alan Graham was one of the convicted COs to be thrown into detention camps, and wrote about his experiences in his book, A Matter of Conscience: A Pacifist Through Six Wars. He writes that at an early hour each day, the detainees were put to hard labour, mostly outside the barbed wire fences as they cut scrub to make the land more suitable for soldiers coming back from war. Lunch was taken out by each work gang, but breakfast and dinner was served in a common mess hall. The doors of huts were locked at 8pm every night, and they were left to their own devices. They were issued nondescript uniforms, including shirts without collars, presumably to help identify escapees as there were few men who wore this style of shirt. Visitors were permitted, but for most their families were unable to visit. This was because most detention camps were situated far away from major population centres, and prisoners were moved around with no regard for where their families and relatives lived. When Nancy Bay from Motueka went to see her fianc Jack Willietts in Hautu Camp, she had to catch the steamer to Wellington, cycle to Wanganui, train to National Park, and then finally bike to camp. Cycling was a common method of transportation, as petrol was rationed and few people owned locomotives, and so women banded together to make the long journeys from Wellington or Auckland. Face to face visits were infrequent, and mail was limited to two letters per week. Privileges like this, and others including a weekly tobacco allowance, were often used by screws (guards) to control behaviour at camp. Several other examples of COs detained in detention camps in NZ during WWII include Terrence Baxter and Ormund Burton. Ormund Burton had served in WWI, and had turned CO in WWII after seeing the atrocities of war and refusing to partake in it a second time. Burton was imprisoned and put to hard labour several times as he refused to comply and continued to voice his objection to war. Peter Fraser and other pro-war politicians didnt want a large anti-war protest movement and so tried to suppress particularly charismatic speakers like Burton. Terrence Baxter came from a heritage of conscientious objection; during the Great War six brothers of the Baxter family were all imprisoned as COs, and three of them were deported and treated brutally using Field Punishments overseas. In WWII, six Baxters of the second generation were also imprisoned as COs, including Terrence. During the war, campaigns and organisations were set up to help end conscription and support COs. These organisations helped campaign against conscription, and were made up of pacifists, left-wing groups, unions, students, womens groups, all in support of conscientious objectors, or who were COs themselves. One such group

was the Christian Pacifist Society, which was founded in 1936 by A. C. Barrington and Ormund Burton, a Methodist minister (though he was expelled after refusing to compromise with the 1940 Manifesto on Peace and War which, while recognising the rights of conscience, banned clergy from proclaiming an anti-war message). An example of their activities was how they would stand on soap boxes and speak to the crowd, such as Burton did on Manners Street, where he started saying, while holding up his Bible, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, which resulted in him being arrested immediately and sentenced to two years and six months in prison. Some speakers even toured through other towns, and secretly delivered pamphlets during the night to garner support for conscientious objectors. Printing and distribution of anti-war and anti-conscription posters and pamphlets around the city to mailboxes, church noticeboards, shop windows - occurred mostly in secrecy at night. The problems occurred when the posters were ripped down the next day, so some COs hired an empty shop, put their posters inside the windows, then locked the door and threw away the key. The posters remained in public view for over a week, which was quite an achievement. This was due to the heavy wartime censorship of the media by the Government, who did not want a large protest movement undermining them and stretching their resources even more than they already were. The Government responded to COs by launching an all-out drive against the anti-conscriptionists and conscientious objectors. Groups such as the Wellington Peace and Anti-Conscription Council (PAAC) or Jehovahs Witnesses, and others who supported conscientious objection, were particularly targeted, raided, and their meetings broken up. In the end Jehovahs witnesses were banned outright, making membership illegal and punishable with detention or prison. Halls owners were pressured into not hiring halls to these subversive groups, and printers were pressured into not printing for them. Members were sacked from their jobs, their homes raided, and some were even arrested, tried and goaled. Norman Bell, a well-known Christchurch pacifist who said would refuse conscription, had his home raided on an almost weekly basis. These regulations means that conscientious objectors were treated harshly and unfairly, in February 1941 an Oamaru man got a mere 2 months prison sentence for shooting a Jehovahs witness in the leg, which resulted in an amputation. From the beginning of WWII onwards, police broke up anti-conscription meetings on streets and speakers against conscription were invariably arrested. An example is Bill OReilly, of the Communist Party of NZ (CPNZ), who in February 1940 was sentenced to a months hard labour after speaking at one such meeting. Punishments and arrests like this were common, especially when people such as the Mayor of Wellington at this time, Thomas Hislop, personally declared such meetings would be stopped. After the war ended, the detained COs were released, but their protest and the Governments treatment of them was not without consequences.

Consequences:
The consequences of this protest had a great impact on the individual conscientious objectors and their families, but also had long-term effects on people and communities. A direct consequence of the amount of COs being imprisoned and/or detained was a huge cost to the country in wasted production. A 1945 pamphlet by Lincoln Efford, stated that, This great waste, especially in time of shortage of food, is exemplified by the news (Christchurch Press, February 3, 1945) that a dairy farm in Taranaki of 200 acres had been completely out of production since the owner was sent to detention in September, 1942. At that time it was carrying 84 head of dairy cattle. The farm had been unattended all that time; the Minister of Agriculture refusing to take over the running of it as it might involve the Crown in a number of similar actions. Although those COs in detention camps were put to hard labour, it was mostly useless work in terms of making up for the wasted resources of detaining the COs in the first place. A further consequence on COs because of their protest during WWII, was that even after all convicted defaulters were released, they were deprived of voting rights for 10 years, werent allowed Government jobs, and were looked upon with disapproval by the rest of the community, making it difficult to find respectable high paid work. Alan Graham described in his book that though he was released, he was not yet free. His official status meant that he

could be recalled to detention at any time, and he was manpowered to essential industry. His right to vote was taken away, and he had to apply to have it restored. This was the same for many of the other COs that protested during WWII. Due to their loss of status as convicted military defaulters, the rest of the community often regarded COs with disapproval. This was usually due to the fact that COs were considered to have shirked their duty to their country, an attitude carried on from WWI. However this attitude affected not just the COs, but their families as well, who had to share in the stigma, and were often targets off hostility and censure. Many relatives of COs lost friends and neighbours, and were rejected by sports, church, or other groups. Some were sent white feathers, which was a mark of cowardice. One child, whose father was a convicted CO, was denied the top academic prize at his school. As well as this, usually the male COs with families who were taken to detention camps were the bread-winners, and so werent able to support their families. Relationships were also put under strain because of partners who were COs being held in detention camps letters were censored, phone calls were impossible, and journeys to visit the camps were often long and tough. This, and the harsh social stigma, meant that families of COs often struggled to survive both during and after WWII. Another consequence of conscientious objection during WWII was that these COs continued their protest even after WWII had ended. This was due in large to compulsory military service being reintroduced in 1949 under the Compulsary Military Training Act after a public ballot proved to be in favour of this, and therefore groups such as the Organisation to Halt Military Service (OHMS) continued to protest. They believed that military training was against their beliefs as they were being taught to kill, and that not being to refuse service was taking away their liberty and freedom to exercise these beliefs. CMT was abolished in 1958 by the Labour Government under Walter Nash, but then was reintroduced yet again some years later in 1962 by the National Government under Holyoake. In 1972 the founder of OHMS, Geoff Woolford, was imprisoned for, refusing to learn to kill as OHMS pamphlets stated, and the organisation used this to inspire public support from others. At least in some part due to the conscientious objectors who had built a solid base of experience and organisation during WWII, and so had continued to protest after WWII, compulsory military service was definitely ended in 1972. Ormund Burton was one of the more prominent COs during WWII, having protested on the steps of Parliament and thrown in jail for several years. Even after the war ended, he continued to protest against issues such as CMT. In 1942 Burton was charged with making a subversive document when he became chief editor of the CPS newsletter. He was imprisoned for two and a half years, and the judge present stated that there was a time when the mouths of cranks would have to shut. The consequences of his conscientious objection during and after WWII continued long after he stopped protesting however, due to the social stigma aforementioned the only job he was able to find after WWII was as caretaker at Wellington High School. That is not to say that these mens protests were insignificant or that they changed nothing. After WWII, all NZ military engagements since WWII have been carried out by volunteer, not conscripted, troops, which would be in part due to the resistance from conscientious objectors during both World Wars. In the present day, war is widely condemned if too prevalent, and although it took a long time after WWII for this thinking to become acceptable, the conscientious objectors who protested during WWII and before, started this pro-peace attitude. In 1949, A. Baxter was still being abused for protesting against compulsory military training. However by the time protesters such as Moana Cole, who damaged a U.S. military base in protest of war, began to protest, this thinking was finally becoming accepted. Peace activists and other groups are still actively protesting against war and continuing the legacy of those first COs during the World Wars. A Baxter noted in a recent speech that, at last, war has become wholly indiscriminate, and that men are not accepting it easily. He still firmly believes that all wars are atrocious, and no war can be called just. Thanks to him and other COs, both before and after WWII, this is an attitude that is finally becoming accepted and even desirable. The ultimate consequence of COs actions during WWII is that now, instead of seeing war as our only option of settling international disputes, we negotiate and compromise, and strive for world peace.

Significance to New Zealanders:

As well as having a direct impact on those who took part in conscientious objection in WWII, this protest was significant to New Zealand and future protests. The role of conscientious objectors in NZs path to peace is often overlooked, yet conscientious objectors paved the way for future protests in NZ. They are now historical figures, and their courage in standing up for what they believed in inspired the many protesters that came after them, including many of todays peace activists. The conscientious objectors of WWII lead by example by showing that it was possible for New Zealanders to have a political conscience and take a stand for what they believed in, despite the possibility of harsh treatment by others. David Grant (historian) says that two qualities allowed them to survive, Stubbornness, [and] a determination that they would not fight under any conditions. These COs, such as Ormund Burton, acted as an inspiration for the generations that followed. Their example as protesters for peace set the stage for the protests in NZ that had yet to occur, and was an inspiration for the passive resistance and non-violent protests that became more common as NZ slowly gained a political conscience. Those COs showed New Zealand, and the rest of the world, that every New Zealander could be heard, as long as they were brave enough to voice it. The main reason these COs were protesting was because of conscription, and this seems to have had an effect and significance to NZ because all military engagements since WWII have been carried out by volunteer not conscripted troops. COs helped shape NZs fight for peace, inspiring later groups such as OHMS ( a pun on the electrical unit of resistance and the acronym On Her Majestys Service), who protested against the re-intoduction of CMT despite the very militaristic attitude at that time, and the fact that a lot of the public were actually in favour of this. Some young men considered it an adventure, but they had no choice in whether they went or not. OHMS believed that CMT was just teaching young men how to kill, and that not being able to refuse took away the publics liberty and freedom. They succeeded, and CMT was abolished in 1972. As NZ gradually acquired a political conscience going into the late 1900s, and inspired by the protests of COs from both World Wars, New Zealanders began to protest against issues of importance that have shaped New Zealands history and identity. Several protests that shaped NZs history include the Springbok Tour protests in 1981; the protests during the Vietnam War between 1964-71 that challenged the philosophy underlying NZs National Security Policies as well as the benefits and drawbacks of its alliances; and even the protests against nuclear testing in the Pacific during the mid-1960s, which showed the world, as well as the NZ Gvt, that New Zealanders had a voice and were prepared to use it. NZ remembers and thanks its soldiers for their bravery, tenacity and loyalty on ANZAC Day and has turned these characteristics into part of our identity. But another group of men and women, while not having been to war, showed integrity and courage by taking a stand for what they believed in, and so are now being recognised as much a part of NZs identity as our ANZAC soldiers. COs during WWII in NZ helped lead the way forward into the presentday, where war, if too prevalent, is widely condemned. They have inspired modern day peace activists, such as Moana Cole or Rod Donald, and made it easier for them to protest and take a stand in their own time decades later. There are even organisations such as White Poppies for Peace, which both honours our soldiers and the COs who protested and made organisations like this even possible, and who offer peace scholarships for all over the world. Rod Donald, a past Green Party politician, said at Riverside Peace Festival in 2005 (a festival that celebrates what COs stood for), Our generation owes the conscientious objectors in both world wars a particular debt of gratitude. Without their sacrifice it would not be so easy for us to campaign for peace today.