Series - Conscription and conscience: Part two
In the second article of a three-part series, David Boulton looks at Quakers in the first world war
Everyone knows what Quakers did in the 1914-18 war. Inspired by their historic Peace Testimony they were united in opposing it. While soldiers joined up to kill the enemy, Quakers chose to bind wounds rather than inflict them, to cure rather than kill, except that it was rather more complicated than that. Quakers are not exempt from the tendency of all groups – religious, political, social or whatever – to simplify their past, airbrushing out inconvenient truths and refurbishing the narrative with a brighter gloss. So, although our best historians have given us a fuller picture, many Friends remain ignorant of the complexities that make for a more complete understanding of what happened.
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.