Speaking with Shadows

Episode 4: Voices from the Walls – Richmond Castle’s Conscientious Objectors

Beside Richmond Castle’s imposing Norman keep lies an unassuming military cell block with an extraordinary secret. Its fragile walls are inscribed with thousands of graffiti, many of them left by conscientious objectors imprisoned there during the First World War. These were men from all walks of life, united by one belief: that war was wrong. 

Thanks to the very personal graffiti these men left behind, we’ve been able to piece together the stories of some of their lives. Josie Long walks in their footsteps in episode 4 of Speaking with Shadows – the podcast that listens to the people that history forgot.

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At Richmond Castle, Josie meets historian Megan Leyland and curator Kevin Booth to discover the stories behind the cell block graffiti. Ruth Ecuyer tells Josie about a wedding march written especially for her by John (Bert) Brocklesby, one of the conscientious objectors known as the Richmond Sixteen. And we hear about newly researched letters between conscientious objector James Burchell and his employer, Edith Ellis, from volunteer Carol Chappell and Judith Ellis, Edith’s great-niece. 

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Image gallery

The Richmond Castle cell block

The Richmond Castle cell block

The Richmond Castle cell block
This 19th-century building beside the castle gate was used as a cell block during the First World War
Cell block interior

Cell block interior

Cell block interior
The interior of the cell block, where many conscientious objectors were held during the First World War. Inscribed on its walls are over 2,300 pieces of graffiti
‘The worker’s only salvation’

‘The worker’s only salvation’

‘The worker’s only salvation’
In this piece of graffiti, someone has scrubbed out the word ‘Socialism’ before ‘The worker’s only salvation’, and written instead: ‘No my lad. Worrrk!!’
Annie Wainwright/My Kathleen

Annie Wainwright/My Kathleen

Annie Wainwright/My Kathleen
A portrait by John (Bert) Brocklesby, one of the Richmond Sixteen, of his fiancée, Annie, dated May 1916. A later prisoner in the cells at Richmond has relabelled the drawing ‘My Kathleen’
John (Bert) Brocklesby’s timeline

John (Bert) Brocklesby’s timeline

John (Bert) Brocklesby’s timeline
This makeshift calendar and timeline record the journey of John Brocklesby from his home in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, to the cells at Richmond Castle
James Burchell’s graffiti

James Burchell’s graffiti

James Burchell’s graffiti
James John Burchell objected to the First World War on religious grounds. In 1916 he was detained in the cell block for his beliefs. There he wrote some of his story on the wall
Letter with a white feather

Letter with a white feather

Letter with a white feather
During the war white feathers, a symbol of cowardice, were given to young men who were not in uniform to shame them into enlisting. A white feather is attached to this letter, which was probably posted through someone’s letterbox
Postcard in support of conscientious objectors

Postcard in support of conscientious objectors

Postcard in support of conscientious objectors
This 1917 postcard, issued in defence of conscientious objectors, shows some of the ordeals faced by those applying for conscientious objector status
James Burchell’s application for exemption

James Burchell’s application for exemption

James Burchell’s application for exemption
In this form, dated 29 February 1916, James Burchell sets out the reasons in support of his application for exemption from military service. James was subsequently enrolled in the Non-Combatant Corps at Richmond Castle, but refused to obey military orders and was imprisoned in the cell block. (© North Yorkshire County Record Office, NRCC/CL 9/1/48)
‘Conchy’ figurine

‘Conchy’ figurine

‘Conchy’ figurine
This ceramic figurine of a conscientious objector typifies the way in which objectors were often vilified and ridiculed for their beliefs. It is titled ‘Conchy’, a belittling term for a conscientious objector
Graffiti by John Hubert Brocklesby in the cell block at Richmond Castle

Bonus Episode

In this bonus episode Ruth Ecuyer tells the full story of how John Brocklesby, one of the Richmond Sixteen, came to write a wedding march for her. We also hear extended extracts from the march itself.

This photograph, taken at Dyce Camp, near Aberdeen, in September 1916, shows 11 of the Richmond Sixteen, who served part of their sentence there after their trial. They include John (Bert) Brocklesby (third row, far right), and Alfred Martlew (back row, far right)
This photograph, taken at Dyce Camp, near Aberdeen, in September 1916, shows 11 of the Richmond Sixteen, who served part of their sentence there after their trial. They include John (Bert) Brocklesby (third row, far right), and Alfred Martlew (back row, far right)
© Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain

The Richmond Sixteen

In May 1916 a group of 16 conscientious objectors – who became known as the Richmond Sixteen – were forcibly transported from Richmond Castle to France. They had been held in the cells at the castle for refusing to take part in any war-related work. 

Once they were in France, the men were court martialled for refusing to obey orders, and faced a potential death sentence. Their story demonstrates how far conscientious objectors were prepared to go in order to uphold their beliefs.

   

Read the full story of the Richmond Sixteen
An inscription written by Percy Goldsbrough, who was put into the cell block for ‘refusing to be made into a soldier’
An inscription written by Percy Goldsbrough, who was put into the cell block for ‘refusing to be made into a soldier’

Gallery of Graffiti

The thousands of drawings and inscriptions on the walls of the Richmond Castle cell block provide an extraordinary and unique record of dissent, rebellion, politics, faith, friendship and pride across the 20th century. Each piece of graffiti represents one voice, one story, one moment.

This gallery highlights some of these graffiti, including inscriptions and drawings created by First World War conscientious objectors such as the Richmond Sixteen. 

Explore the Graffiti Gallery

Further reading

  • The #White Feather Diaries
  • Remembering the Men Who Said No: Conscientious Objection 1916–1919
  • Lives of the First World War
  • Ellsworth-Jones, W, We Will Not Fight: The Untold Story of World War One’s Conscientious Objectors (London, 2008) [about John (Bert) Brocklesby and his brothers]
  • Pearce, C, Comrades in Conscience: The Story of an English Community’s Opposition to the Great War (London, 2014) 
  • Barrett, C, Subversive Peacemakers: War Resistance 1914–1918: An Anglican Perspective (Cambridge, 2014)
  • Perkins, G, Bible Student Conscientious Objectors in World War I – Britain (Charleston, SC, 2016)


Download a transcript of episode 4


Download a transcript of the bonus episode

Episode credits

Presenter: Josie Long

Producer: Katharine Kerr for Fresh Air

Contributors:

  • Megan Leyland, English Heritage historian
  • Kevin Booth, English Heritage collections curator
  • Ruth Ecuyer, daughter of a conscientious objector
  • Judith Ellis, great-niece of Edith Ellis of Wrea Head
  • Carol Chappell, English Heritage volunteer on the Richmond Castle Cell Block Project

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