This is a film of Steps Against War, a history walk with puppets and song, telling the stories of Bedminster people who resisted the First World War. Bedminster, a district of South Bristol, was home to at least 40 Conscientious Objectors, and others who took part in networks of resistance. The walk was a community production led by Otherstory in collaboration with Remembering the Real World War 1, and was performed in Bedminster in April 2019. The project was supported by the National Lottery […]
Not A BRHG Event
Earlier this year, a group of local people worked with Otherstory and Remembering the Real WW1 to discover untold stories of Bedminster people in the First World War. Together we created Steps Against War, a history walk with puppets to tell these stories: The 40 Bedminster men who refused to fight: who went to jail, or who took to the hills; the local detective always on their tracks; the women running networks of resistance - and the secret hideaway at the heart of Cannon Street... Come and […]
Not A BRHG Event
Bedminster Library, 4 Bedminster Parade, Bristol BS3 4AQ Earlier this year, a group of local people worked with Otherstory and Remembering the Real WW1 to discover untold stories of Bedminster people in the First World War. Together we created Steps Against War, a history walk with puppets to tell these stories: The 40 Bedminster men who refused to fight: who went to jail, or who took to the hills; the local detective always on their tracks; the women running networks of resistance - and the […]
Foreword During the Second World War, over 60,000 men and 1,000 women applied to register as conscientious objectors (COs) in England, Wales and Scotland. Although this was at least three times as many as in the First World War; it has remained something of an under reported history. The experience of First World War and Second World War COs vary in a number of ways. Sympathetically framed legislation and the fact that the tribunals came under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour rather than […]
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'The Art & Nature of Conscience' explores World War 1 conscientious objectors' thinking about conscience alongside their words and artwork. It also show-cases contemporary artists' reflections on these men, including a new piece by Stephen Raw, 'The Absolutist’s Position' (pictured).
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Otherstory puppetry will be leading a history walk using the medium of puppetry to tell the untold stories of Bedminster people who resisted the First World War, and who refused to kill. Otherstory have devised and organised the walk with local people and in collaboration with Remembering the Real World War 1. The walk will start from the foyer of M Shed, cross the river, wind its way through Southville, along North Street and part of East Street, ending up at the Steam Crane pub. At points […]
For this project, David Harbottle (vocals, acoustic guitar and stomp box) and Freya Jonas (vocals, harmonium and concertina) have reimagined several songs from the WW1 Conscientious Objectors (COs) Songbook. Whilst the words of the songs remain untouched, the duo have composed new vocal melodies and musical arrangements for each piece, breathing new life into the songs but allowing the words to speak as they once did. David and Freya have recorded and pressed onto CD the three songs from the COs […]
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Taking a Holiday is a tale of conscientious objectors and others who went on the run from conscription during the First World War – and of the networks that supported them. A story of struggle in wartime – full of intrigue, escapes, comradeship…and bikes. What does it mean to be a refugee and on the run in your own country? Who will give you a bed for the night, a job… or a means of escape? A table top and shadow puppet show based on the true stories of ordinary people in 1916/17 and the hidden […]
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A rich and complex history: conscientious objection to the military in the First World War (Lois Bibbings) This talk revisits what we know about objectors – in terms of their thoughts, motivations, decision-making and actions as well as how they were seen and treated – in order to reflect on the importance of portraying this (and other) rich and complex stories of protest and resistance. John Percy Fletcher, Thomas Gregory, and the Quaker campaign against compulsory military training in New […]
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'It is up to women to start a crusade for peace!' Bradford Women’s Humanity League, 1916-18 (Eve Haskins) Existing research on female war resistance in Britain focuses mainly upon the educated middle-class women who had the time and resources to oppose the war, however the peace seeking efforts of working-class women has been little acknowledged, especially in individual regions. Recent research on the nationwide anti-war organisation the Women’s Peace Crusade has begun to address this research […]
