One hundred years after 16 men who refused to participate in the First World War were imprisoned in Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire, the graffiti they drew, etched and scratched on their cell walls will be saved from crumbling into oblivion by English Heritage, thanks to a major £365,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

In May 1916, 16 conscientious objectors – mainly from the North – were incarcerated in the 19th-century cell block at Richmond Castle before they were shipped off to France to face court martial and a possible firing squad. The prisoners, known as the Richmond Sixteen, included a Sunderland FC footballer, a clerk at the Rowntree’s chocolate factory in York, and a bookseller from Ely. Among the group were Quakers, Methodists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and socialists.

They and other conscientious objectors covered the walls of their cells with hundreds of pencil drawings and inscriptions, including political slogans, religious hymns, poetry, portraits of loved ones, even a few examples of dark humour. “You might just as well try to dry a floor by throwing water on it, as try to end this war by fighting.” wrote Richard Lewis Barry, a socialist who worked in a lace manufacturing factory in Derbyshire. Hidden behind the door of one of the eight cells is an inscription written by Percy Fawcett Goldsbrough, a West Yorkshire socialist, who was imprisoned for disobeying orders or as he put it, for “refusing to be a soldier”.

Their graffiti are a unique and important record of the conscientious objector movement during the First World War. However the cell block was not constructed for the long term, rain water has penetrated through cracks in the roof and the walls, and because of the high levels of moisture and damp, the layers of lime wash and plaster on the walls are flaking off, taking the graffiti with it.

At present the graffiti are in such a delicate state that access to the cells is strictly limited: a group of people within a single cell breathing warm, moist air into the space can damage the graffiti while touching the walls will dislodge lime-wash flakes. Once the levels of moisture are brought under control and the lime-wash and plaster surfaces of the walls are stabilised, the public will be able to visit the cells. Until then, people will be able to visit the cells virtually, via the English Heritage website which has a wide range of new resources exploring the history of the Richmond Sixteen and showcasing the graffiti.

Kate Mavor, English Heritage’s Chief Executive, said: “These graffiti are an important record of the voices of dissent during the First World War. It is remarkable that these delicate drawings and writings have survived for 100 years. Now we can ensure that they survive for the next century and that the stories they tell are not lost.”

Fiona Spiers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Yorkshire & the Humber, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players this project will help tell one of the less well known stories of the First World War. The graffiti provides a fascinating insight into the history of dissent, and we are delighted to be involved in its preservation for future generations.”

Marjorie Gaudie, daughter-in-law of Norman Gaudie, centre forward for Sunderland FC and one of the Richmond Sixteen, said: “On the eve of Conscientious Objectors’ day it is important to remember men like my father-in-law, Norman Gaudie. They were courageous men. He acted from the deepest conviction that all life is sacred. He knew it was wrong to take a life and so he refused to fight. He was prepared to die for his belief and that took immense courage.”

As well as the graffiti of the Richmond Sixteen, the walls of Richmond Castle cells are covered in thousands more drawings, etchings and inscriptions from the first half of the 20th century, from the First World War to the Cold War. For the first time, a full inventory of all the graffiti will be compiled to give a deeper insight into all those who spent time within the walls. English Heritage will be asking local people to support the project and help to conserve the building and research its history.

On 29 May 1916, the Richmond Sixteen were taken from their cells and sent with other conscientious objectors to Henriville military camp, near Boulogne in France. Some in the War Office and army were determined to make an example of these men. The men were given 24 hours to consider if they would follow orders or risk being shot for continuing in their disobedience. Soon after the men were ordered to help unload war supplies, they refused and were sent for court-martial.

In the meantime, however, news that the men from Richmond were going to be sent to France had leaked out and Arthur Rowntree, MP for York and a Quaker, took up their case at the highest level and was soon calling for their release.

On 24 June 1916, in a dramatic scene, the court-martial passed a sentence of death but this was immediately commuted to 10 years of hard labour under orders from Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. Perhaps Asquith hoped that by keeping this order from the public until after the sentences were read out, the threat of being shot would deter unconscripted men from seeking exemption for military service.

One of the conscientious objectors later wrote, “We came to realise that a great, perhaps decisive victory had been gained. Once and for all, we hoped the government had been brought to face the question of its ultimate treatment of COs.”

For further information on Richmond Castle, the Richmond Sixteen, and the Voices of Rebellion project, visit the English Heritage website at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/richmond16