Pacifism
Pacifism is a belief that violence, even in self-defence, is unjustifiable under any circumstances and that negotiation is preferable to war as a means of solving disputes. Pacifists believe in the sanctity of life and that war is wasteful and ineffective.

Conscientious Objectors
During the First World War pacifists became known as Conscientious Objectors (COs). Some pacifists refused to fight but many were willing to help the country by working in non-combative roles such as medical orderlies, stretcher-bearers, ambulance drivers, cooks or labourers.

Some pacifists, known as absolute conscientious objectors (including Clifford Allen, Fenner Brockway and Bertrand Russell) rejected any involvement in the war. Allen and Brockway formed the pressure group, the No-Conscription Fellowship (NCP). After the Military Service Act was passed in 1916, the NCP mounted a vigorous campaign against the punishment and imprisonment of COs. Many appeared before Military Tribunals and were sentenced to hard labour, over 200 were given prison sentences ranging from 25 years to life and 17 men were sentenced to death but their sentences were later commuted.

In April 1939, Neville Chamberlain announced a return to conscription. This time, Tribunals, sitting without military prosecutors, dealt with claims for exemption on grounds of conscience and granted some absolute exemptions. Over 59,000 people registered as conscientious objectors during the Second World War. Their treatment varied as public opinion reacted to various crisis in the war. Some workers refused to work alongside them while other employers sacked staff registered as pacifists.