The above group photo is of the staff - The Western Front Association

A Favourite Postcard: Andrew Brooks
In 1994 I gave a talk to the Durham W.F.A.
on Conscientious Objectors (C.O.) in WW1 and
I used slides of picture postcards to illustrate
the talk. This card is one of a small collection
concerning Recruitment, the Derby Scheme,
Military Tribunals and C.O.s that I formed
during this period.
Drawn by Donald McGill, who was of course
more famous (infamous?) for his saucy
seaside postcards, this particular card makes
fun of the question that was usually put to all
C.O.s by members of the tribunals set up by
the Military Service Act of 1916. The heading in
the newspaper held by the mother reads ‘The
Tribunals More Conscientious Objectors.’
Accounts of the tribunals were reported in all
local newspapers and in many the objectors
were named. Of course many went before the
tribunal because of their work and most were
granted a period of time before they might be called to the colours at some later date.
Men who did not satisfy the tribunal with their reason for not being called up for
service could appeal to a County Tribunal and finally a National Tribunal.
The title of the card ‘Would you let a German kill your Mother’ was a milder form of
the question asked by the more militant members of the
tribunal!
MUSEUM REPORTS
King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum,
Lancaster: Peter Donnelly
It’s been pretty quiet on the Western
Front as far as the King’s Own Museum
in Lancaster has been concerned with
attention turned elsewhere. The year
opened with ‘The King’s Own – The
National Service Years’ exhibition in the
ground floor of the City Museum. So
popular was the exhibition and lunchtime
12
THE PATH OF DUTY LEADS THROUGH
DEATH TO LIFE ETERNAL - Pte H W
Tyler, Royal Inniskilling Fus
lecture, attended by over sixty people,
work has taken place to re-organise the
exhibition so it can feature in the King’s
Own gallery and by the time you read this
the exhibition will be open!
The January exhibition created so
much interest that it has resulted in more
than 400 photographs being added to the
collection, along with some interesting
objects including a pair of plastic
rickshaws and a six piece tea set from
Hong Kong.
When not been busy with the National
Service era attention has been drawn as
far back as 1680 with an officer’s
commission from the first day of the
regiment, however the four figure price
tag was well in excess of what the