- Norman Westmore, personal communication
- Frank Neal, Sectarian Violence, The Liverpool Experience, 1819 - 1914, Manchester University Press, 1988
- www.unilever.com
- www.unilever.com
- www.christs-hospital.org.uk and manuscripts-guidhall@corpoflondon.gov.uk
- A. W. Westmore, The Story of the 63rd Field Ambulance
- 920/DER/17/27/1, L.R.O. Towns and regions differed markedly in the management of tribunals. On the Llyn peninsula, almost all appeals were accepted. Minute books for local authorities reluctant to enforce conscription report many resignations from tribunals.
- Documents in the No Conscription Fellowship archive at the Cumbria Record Office, Carlisle, record many of the conscientious objectors battles with authority and investigations into the abuse they experienced in prisons and at penal work camps. Marshall papers, D/Mar/4/, C.R.O. Carlisle
- For statistical data on WWI conscientious objectors, see www.ppu.org.uk
- Survey of the religious and political affiliation of absolutists, June, 1916, D/Mar/ 4/7 C.R.O. Carlisle.
- Francis Ramsey Bourne, 1910, copy of a letter sent to German friends, after their holiday in July 1910.
- Costume and shoe historians approached through the V & A believe that Fred's clothes and walking shoes are of German origin. Photographic experts at the National Media Museum believe Frank's camera was one of three possible German models.
Identifying Frank Bourne wasn't easy. Unlike Westmore,Pulford and Gleave, the name Bourne wasn't uncommon. None of the Frank Bournes found in WWI military records appeared to match the 'Nomad' profile. Meeting Norman Westmore was crucial to establishing Frank's identity. Norman knew Frank as his de facto godfather (actually the godfather of his elder brother, Kenneth), adding that 'Frank wasn't in the war'. (1) Today, only a minority of British children receive Christian baptism, but choosing godparents for these children remains an important decision. The ceremony invites strong personal commitment to that child until adulthood. The Westmore brothers had been very close to Frank, who loved animals, kept goats and chickens and grew all his own vegetables too. At first, Norman was reluctant to say more, though he had already offered detailed information about his father's war service, including Alec's reason for choosing the unarmed RAMC. Alec could not have used a weapon against anyone.
The energetic Frank seemed an unlikely reject. Inspired by Arthur Leonard, in 1912, the backpackers were celebrating international friendship and respect for other cultures and faiths. Protestants, from a city of fierce sectarian conflict, in Catholic France they'd found 'the nature which makes us all kin.' (2)
In a later interview, Norman explained that Frank was a conscientious objector. In 1919 all conscientious objectors were released from prisons and work camps. Lever Brothers offered Frank a job. (3) This was important information. Post-war, even men awarded the Victoria Cross struggled to find work. Some people would say even now that Frank didn't do his duty. Firms had been urged never to employ former 'conchies'. Lever Brothers (now Unilever) were unusual employers. Founded in 1885 by devout Congregationalist brothers, the firm had a strong tradition of respecting its employees values. At Port Sunlight, they built one of the first non-denominational Christian churches in Britain. Unilever's archives identified Frank as 'Francis Ramsey Bourne', born in Spitalfields, less than a mile away from his London born friend, Fred. (4) Educated at Christ's Hospital School, he was an outstanding student. (5)
How two of Frank's close friends responded to his decision not to fight is very clear and a tribute to their enduring friendship. Asking Frank to be godfather to their first child, Alec and Gladys Westmore demonstrated the greatest possible respect for Frank's faith and his courage. In 1915, the Westmores' decision wasn't made lightly. The godfather they chose could soon be supporting a fatherless child. By September, 1915, Frank's own position would be increasingly difficult. Recruiting campaigns now urged men to enlist voluntarily, rather than face the shame of conscription. Already, for contravening the Defence of the Realm Act, men had been jailed merely for distributing extracts from the New Testament. Kenneth Westmore was born on September 15th, 1915. Five days later, Alec was serving as a stretcher bearer at the Battle of Loos. (6)
In 1916, the Military Service Act became law. Joining the armed forces became compulsory, a civic duty, organised by local authorities. The Act acknowledges a man's right to freedom of conscience. Among the Allies, no other country allowed so much. Specifically, the Act recognised religious faith, but not political beliefs. In practice, even when men gave strong faith-based reasons for refusing to fight, the outcome of any case depended very much on the attitude of local tribunals. In Liverpool, a Methodist lay minister was not granted exemption. (7)
Conscientious objectors believed that the state did not have the right to order people to do something which was against their conscience. (8) In 1916, many conscientious objectors believed that they were being ordered to break the Ten Commandments and reject the teachings of Jesus. For some men, including Bertrand Russell and Clifford Allen, their rejection of the war was political and ethical. (9)
During WWI, 'peacemakers' were called many things. 'Children of God' isn't on the list and 'conchie' was one of the kinder insults. Men like Frank were denounced as traitors, shirkers, 'peace-freaks' and cowards. They deserved to be shot. Many so-called 'absolutists' were repeatedly jailed, many were sentenced to lengthy periods of 'Field Punishment Number One', often known as 'Crucifixion'. When some conscientious objectors agreed to undertake 'work of national importance', decent patriots refused to work with them. Absolutists in the peace movement despised them too. Some regarded stretcher-bearing as support for the war effort. Many determined conscientious objectors held stubbornly and unpatriotically to their Christian faith. Some were Jewish and at least one conscientious objector known to the No Conscription Fellowship was a Buddhist. (10)
Records in the Unilever archives led, via a newspaper appeal, to Frank's descendants. Like Norman Westmore, they offered vital data, including Frank's copy of a letter he'd written to some friends, after a holiday in the Peak District in 1910… (11) Liebe Freunde… It's only a brief note, sent with some photos. Today, he'd send jpegs. Any history would be lost forever.But who were these friends? How long had Frank known them? (12)