The Pearce Register Of First World War Conscientious Objectors which contains details of almost 20,000 COs underpinned much of the research we have done in Bristol on local COs, just as it has with similar research in other parts of the country.
Now Cyril Pearce, who compiled the Register over many years, is publishing his new book ‘Communities of Resistance – Conscience and Dissent in Britain during the First World War‘.
The book is an exploration of the histories of more than forty war resister communities across Britain from rural villages and industrial towns to the urban villages of greater London. It tells the stories of the men and women who stood by their own judgements on the war and as individuals and in like-minded communities found their own ways to resist it. Bristol is one of the places featured.
Publication of the limited edition hardback is at the end of September. – 550 pages with over 70 illustrations. There is a pre-publication offer allowing you to buy the book at a discounted price. Details are on the publishers’ website here. A paperback edition will follow.
“A well-crafted, scholarly tribute to men and women war resisters, it details the hitherto unchronicled distribution of supportive local communities, identifying the places, social spaces and networks that sustained anti-war outlaws, prisoners and their families during the First World War” – Julian Putkowski, co-author of Shot at Dawn
“Cyril Pearce is the established go-to source for anything you want to know about the peace movement and conscientious objection in the First World War. Communities of Resistance is destined to become the movement’s encyclopaedia, its veritable bible, packed with erudition and inspirational story-telling. A masterpiece” – David Boulton, author of Objection Overruled
“Communities of Resistance is an astonishing piece of scholarship. .fascinating….”– Bruce Kent
For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com