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Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000–present

Case studies: conscientious objectors and Derek Bentley

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

Conscientious objectors and their tribunals, alternativists and absolutists, their treatment in both world wars, then the Bentley case of 1952, the criticised verdict and its effect on the death penalty.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Who were the conscientious objectors?

Key term

What was the difference between an alternativist and an absolutist?

Key term

How was the treatment of objectors different in the Second World War?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who were the conscientious objectors?

    Model answer

    Men who refused to fight on religious or moral grounds after conscription made military service compulsory.

  2. 2

    What was the difference between an alternativist and an absolutist?

    Model answer

    An alternativist accepted work that did not involve fighting, such as carrying stretchers, while an absolutist refused any part in the war at all.

  3. 3

    How were absolutists treated during the First World War?

    Model answer

    They were handed to the army, court-martialled and given hard labour in prison, and a group taken to France was sentenced to death before the sentence was lifted.

  4. 4

    How did the public treat objectors during the First World War?

    Model answer

    They were denounced as cowards, handed white feathers, often sacked from their jobs, and afterwards barred from voting for five years.

  5. 5

    How was the treatment of objectors different in the Second World War?

    Model answer

    Tribunals were chaired by judges and no longer included a military representative, most objectors were given useful civilian or non-combatant work, and far fewer were imprisoned.

  6. 6

    What work did objectors do during the Second World War?

    Model answer

    Farming, mining, ambulance driving, bomb disposal and hospital work.

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