1WW CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS WALKING IN PRINCETOWN

Conscientious Objectors in Princetown c.1916. Officially there were 16,000 conscientious objectors in Britain during World War One. Although the numbers are relatively small, their impact locally and nationally was great. In March 1917; 300 convicts were removed from Princetown Prison and over the next 15 months perhaps as many as 1,100 conscientious objectors were housed there. The locks on the doors were removed and the men were able to leave the prison on days off. Their work included farm work, quarrying and the building of a Dartmoor road. Princetown was controversial from its beginning, but gained national notoriety in February 1918 when one conscientious objector (Harry Firth) died and the men (possibly as many as 800) went on strike in protest.