During WW1, men over the age of 18 would fight for their country. Whether that was fighting in the front line, or working as a doctor healing the wounded soldiers who fought in battle. However, there were some people who simply did not want to fight and refused to have any input in the war effort. These people were called Conscientious Objectors.
‘Conscies’ as they were known in the time of war would refuse to fight because of several reasons. Either, they were against war and killing other people, they didn’t believe that Germany was their real enemy, or because of their religious beliefs. Overall, it must have taken great courage to refuse to serve a country which every other citizen is.
What also shows their bravery was that in 1916, a conscription was made saying that every made had to ‘do their bit’ in helping Britain through the war. There were some who offered to work in the background, but most refused to even get involved.
Also, to say that someone that doesn’t want to fight is cowardly is not correct. The conscientious objectors had to face the public intimidation and the prison sentences along with the years of hard labour. They were also restricted with lots of jobs and working at certain places. I definitely would not call that being a coward.
To conclude, I don’t think that refusing to fight in the war is cowardly because they are not denying the war just because they don’t want to. They have a very good and clear reason for not wanting to fight and I don’t think that they should have been forced to work in the war.