Lees Greenwood

Oldham Tribunal 6 March 1916
Reported Oldham Chronicle 11 March 1916

Several claims for exemption from service under the Military Service Act on conscientious grounds were heard on Monday before the Oldham Tribunal, the Mayor presiding.

The first application for exemption was that of a young insurance agent named Lees Greenwood who lives at 5 Ceylon-street. His principal ground of objection was that of conscience on the highest religious, moral and ethical grounds. He also said that he was the only son at home of a widowed mother and his health was not good. He has a brother in the Army, unmarried, and there is a sister (who is employed) at home.
He said: If I am sent into the army it only means prison for me because I simply could not go to fight. How could I go and kill a man? I could not do it.
The Mayor: There is other work in the army.
Applicant: If I got an injured soldier round, I should only get him round to go and Kill another man. Why should my mother rear me to go and kill another man's son?
The Mayor pointed out that there was a proviso in the Act whereby a man with a conscientious objection against taking life could be put in a non-combatant branch.

Councillor Frith put it to the man that the first man he helped if he was in a non-combatant section might be the brother who was in the army. Surely it would be worth taking service for that.
Applicant said he had a conscience and he recognised that other men had the same. He had not interfered with his brother going. He spoke of Christ and Buddha and Socrates as having followed the light of conscience.
Alderman Hurst: Have you any objection against going in the army apart from the fighting line?
- Yes I have. If I have to go as a non-combatant, I am going to assist in the animalish murder.
Councillor Frith: Would you not go if you thought you could save your brother's life?
- That is a possibility but it is not a probability.

In reply to Captain Almond, he said that he was brought up as a Methodist. There might be Methodists or even Quakers fighting but that did not say he should fight.
Captain Almond pointed out again that there were branches of service to which he might go that would not call on him to take life. He put it to the man that it was his bounden duty to enter that non-combatant service.
Applicant: If I go to assist a wounded man, I help in the war.
Mr Jackson: You are preventing the other man from doing the killing.
Applicant, with emotion, said that it only meant prison from him.

Alderman Hirst: What objection have you against helping the wounded?
- I should be helping a man to get round and go and kill someone else.
Alderman Hirst: You would be saving life and alleviating suffering.
Applicant: If I help one man round and send him back to the trenches and he kills half-a-dozen more man, would that be a credit to me?
Councillor Frith said that there were men who wanted help in order to get back fit to industrial life.
Alderman Hirst: Supposing you do help a man to get round and he goes and fights again, does that absolve you of your duty to help him get round? Are you to leave him dying in a ditch?
The applicant said that if he had to give help of that kind he would have to come under the military regime and he would not do that. He would go to prison first.
Councillor Schofield: By paying your rates and taxes, don't you help to carry on the war?
- I don't pay rates and taxes, I am not a householder.
Councillor Schofield said that he drank tea, no doubt. Why did he not give up drinking tea?
- Why should I deny myself of the lawful necessities of life?
Applicant said he was sure Mr Asquith intended in the Bill that men like himself should not come under military service. He was only a young man. Surely they would not crush him out.

The Tribunal decided that he must go for service in the non-combatant section.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

South East Lancashire Appeal Tribunal, Town Hall Manchester, 30 March 1916
Reported Oldham Chronicle 1 April 1916

The South-east Lancashire Appeal Tribunal sitting in two sessions at the Town Hall Manchester on Thursday afternoon, heard appeals for total exemption from service made by a number of young men of Oldham, conscientious objectors, who had been sent to non-combatant service in most cases by the Oldham Tribunal and, in a few cases, to combatant service. Judge Mellor K C presided over one section and Mr J M Yates K C over the other …

… Lees Greenwood, of 5 Ceylon-street, insurance agent, did not appear to back his appeal for exemption and it was dismissed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oldham Tribunal 7 June 1917
Reported Oldham Standard 7 June 1917

An Oldham man [named in the Chronicle report as Lees Greenwood] appeared before the Oldham Tribunal on Wednesday willing to cancel his conscientious objection and go to and scrap like the rest.

He was an insurance agent and all he asked for now was a month's exemption so that he might train someone up to keep the book going.

It transpired that the man had placed himself outside the jurisdiction of the Oldham Tribunal (who had heard his conscientious objection and ordered him to non-combatant service) by lodging an appeal at the Manchester Appeals Tribunal. However, when they sat he did not attend to support his appeal It was disallowed and he was sent to military service.

The man has now received his call up papers. Captain Almond said that under the circumstances he would try to get them cancelled.

The man said that if he could have the month to train someone, he would join up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The WO 363 records for Lees Greenwood survive (held at The National Archives, available online via Find My Past):

13 April 1916 Called up, relegated to Army Reserve
28 June 1917 Remobilised. Joined 6 Northern Company Non-combatant Corps
Service number 4305 Height 5 ft 6 ½ ins Weight 8 sts 3 lbs
17 July 1917 Posted to Kinmel Camp
15 September 1917 Posted to Oswestry Camp
17 September 1917 Absent from 6.45 parade and insolence to an NCO - 7 days confined to barracks.
8 December 1917 Disobeyed an order - refused to fall in when ordered.
14 December 1917 Court Martial - 6 months with hard labour at Wormwood Scrubs.
25 January 1918 Released from prison, accepted work with Home Office Scheme. Posted to Knutsford Work Centre.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He has an entry on the Pearce List HERE.
The Pearce List of over 17500 WW1 Conscientious Objectors can be found on the Imperial War Museum's website HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Born Lees, Oldham, 26 April 1891
Died Kidderminster, 19 July 1946

1911 census
17 Woodend Street, Springhead, Oldham
Single with widowed mother, younger sister and brother
Occ: Cotton piecer

1939 register
176 Chester Road North, Kidderminster
With wife Elsie and possibly two children redacted
Occ: Insurance inspector

Contributed by Dorothy Bintley