‘Imagine Christ dressed in khaki, thrusting his bayonet into another man. This was what some conscientious objectors to the war of 1914-18 urged their co-patriots to do. In telling the intriguing stories of these men, Lois Bibbings brilliantly exposes the contradictions of manliness in wartime.’ Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck College
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*Telling tales about men* explores some of the ways in which conscientious objectors to compulsory military service were viewed and treated in England during the First World War. In doing so it considers these men’s experiences, their beliefs, perceptions and actions.
This volume will be essential reading for scholars in the fields of the First World War, pacifism, militarism and gender. It is also aimed at those with a general interest in the Great War and the military as well as in peace movements and pacifism.
Acknowledgments
List of illustrations
Introduction
Prologue
1. ‘Despised and Rejected’
2. Of cowards, shirkers and ‘unmen’
3. Deviance: degeneracy, decadence and criminality
4. The ‘national danger’
5. Conscientious objectors
6. Patriots and heroes
Conclusion
Epilogue
Select bibliography
Index
*Telling tales about men* explores some of the ways in which conscientious objectors to compulsory military service were viewed and treated in England during the First World War. In doing so it considers these men’s experiences, their beliefs, perceptions and actions.
This volume will be essential reading for scholars in the fields of the First World War, pacifism, militarism and gender. It is also aimed at those with a general interest in the Great War and the military as well as in peace movements and pacifism.