With many records relating to First World War Conscientious Objectors now either lost or destroyed, many CO stories are known only by a few key facts. Peter Campbell’s story is dominated by his death in prison in April 1918, but little is known about his life or experiences as a CO.

The first record of Peter’s Conscientious Objection that is currently known is his appearance before the Central Tribunal in Wormwood Scrubs in November 1916. In mid 1916 the decision was made to channel Conscientious Objectors around the country through Wormwood Scrubs to be heard by the Central Tribunal committee. Not to reassess their cases as Conscientious Objectors but to assess who could be offered the Government’s new plan - the Home Office Scheme. The HoS formed a compromise of sorts that was offered to Absolutist COs in prison - better conditions in exchange for vaguely nationally useful work. Many COs refused to accept the scheme, seeing it as a deplorable compromise with military authority and chose to reject the offer - returning to civil prisons.

It is not known how long Peter took to make his decision, but, as a firmly absolutist Conscientious Objector, he ultimately refused to accept the Home Office Scheme conditions.

It was a decision that would ultimately cost him his life. Having refused the Home Office scheme, Peter finished his prison sentence at Wormwood Scrubs and was released, only to find himself again eligible for military service and once again under court martial in Inverness. He started his second sentence on the 19th of January 1917, of six months hard labour. His third would begin in June 1917 and his fourth and last in May 1918.

It was during this last prison sentence that Peter fell ill. Soon after arriving at Inverness prison for a 2 year long stretch of hard labour, he died. After four prison sentences, served with virtually no respite between them, Peter would have been suffering from their effects and Conscientious Objectors that had been cycled through prison and release like Peter were, by 1918, physically drained, malnourished and often severely ill. In many cases, the shock of being sent back to prison with punishing work schedules, inadequate food and isolation was enough to push men into serious illness, and kill those who had arrived unwell.

Whether Peter’s death was due to negligence, malice or illness is currently unknown. What is known is his position on war and conscription. As an absolutist CO, he made the choice to make no compromises with military authority and, even at the cost of his life, to resist all war.