The Lost Files
The Lost Files explore the experience of individuals who for moral, religious or political reasons refused to participate in World War One. Conscientious objectors were vilified in their own time, some were initially sentenced to death, many thousands were imprisoned and many continued to be ostracized by society long after the war ended. There is scant information about the conscientious objectors, no official records were kept during or after the war, and unofficial records have since been lost.
The installation suggests an office that has been subject to desecration. Twelve white wooden containers that could be the drawers from lost filing cabinets, ammunition boxes or even small coffins, are scattered, piled or propped around the space, suggesting abandonment and disrespect. Utilising a variety of media; sculpture, found objects, sound, archive material and photographs, each box references an aspect of war resistance
The Lost Files offer a glimpse into how it might have felt, at great personal risk, to stand against the conventions of society.
Heard: In the London Boroughs of Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green, now Haringey, there were 350 Conscientious Objectors, an astonishing number, and the highest proportion of conscientious objectors in a single borough in Britain. A soundtrack lists them all, giving their occupations and addresses, and some of the reasons they refused to participate in WW1.
Principled: Conscientious objectors came from a wide range of backgrounds and belief systems, but a principle on which they all agreed was the determination never to take a life
Courageous: After conscription was introduced in 1916 the conscientious objectors had to make a presentation to the tribunals who would decide if they were to be exempted from military service. For the majority exemption was denied.
Humiliated. The experience of the tribunals, facing a group who were making a judgment about their convictions, must have must have been extremely unnerving for the conscientious objectors. There were five or more tribunal members, and their job was to send people to war.
Loved: We know very little about the women who supported and sustained the conscientious objectors. They would, like the men, have had to face hardship and ostracism. The mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are shadowy but supportive figures.
Despised: Men who refused the call-up were sometimes given white feathers, to symbolize cowardice. The box here contains 16,000 white feathers, one for each of the conscientious objectors in Britain.
Isolated: Absolutists - conscientious objectors who refused to participate in the war in any capacity were imprisoned, many in terrible conditions. After the war they were still ostracized, excluded from voting for 5 years, and often denied opportunities for further education and jobs.
Determined: the imprisoned conscientious objectors were determined to communicate with each other despite prison restrictions. Tiny newspapers written on toilet paper were eagerly read, and communications were tapped out in morse code on the water pipes.
Punished: ‘Field punishment number 1’ was a military punishment. The conscientious objector was tied very closely to an external fence or wooden post with very limited movement, and left for several hours. It was known as crucifixion.
Tortured: Despite their stoicism some COs were treated appallingly during their imprisonment, and were tortured or humiliated by their military or prison guards.
In Britain 6,000 conscientious objectors were imprisoned, and 73 died as a result of the harsh treatment they received. Many were not released from prison until the summer of 1919.
Condemned: In May 1916 thirty-four conscientious objectors who were already in prison were secretly removed to France Their location was revealed to family and colleagues in a field postcard. For disobeying orders in the war zone they were sentenced to death. The death sentence was later commuted to 10 years penal servitude.
Understood: As many of the conscientious objectors suspected, WW1 was not ‘the war to end all wars’. Britain has been involved in 18 major conflicts since 1918, and the number of deaths caused by war in the 20th century is estimated at 187 million.
In the event of a war, what would you do?
The installation suggests an office that has been subject to desecration. Twelve white wooden containers that could be the drawers from lost filing cabinets, ammunition boxes or even small coffins, are scattered, piled or propped around the space, suggesting abandonment and disrespect. Utilising a variety of media; sculpture, found objects, sound, archive material and photographs, each box references an aspect of war resistance
The Lost Files offer a glimpse into how it might have felt, at great personal risk, to stand against the conventions of society.
Heard: In the London Boroughs of Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green, now Haringey, there were 350 Conscientious Objectors, an astonishing number, and the highest proportion of conscientious objectors in a single borough in Britain. A soundtrack lists them all, giving their occupations and addresses, and some of the reasons they refused to participate in WW1.
Principled: Conscientious objectors came from a wide range of backgrounds and belief systems, but a principle on which they all agreed was the determination never to take a life
Courageous: After conscription was introduced in 1916 the conscientious objectors had to make a presentation to the tribunals who would decide if they were to be exempted from military service. For the majority exemption was denied.
Humiliated. The experience of the tribunals, facing a group who were making a judgment about their convictions, must have must have been extremely unnerving for the conscientious objectors. There were five or more tribunal members, and their job was to send people to war.
Loved: We know very little about the women who supported and sustained the conscientious objectors. They would, like the men, have had to face hardship and ostracism. The mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are shadowy but supportive figures.
Despised: Men who refused the call-up were sometimes given white feathers, to symbolize cowardice. The box here contains 16,000 white feathers, one for each of the conscientious objectors in Britain.
Isolated: Absolutists - conscientious objectors who refused to participate in the war in any capacity were imprisoned, many in terrible conditions. After the war they were still ostracized, excluded from voting for 5 years, and often denied opportunities for further education and jobs.
Determined: the imprisoned conscientious objectors were determined to communicate with each other despite prison restrictions. Tiny newspapers written on toilet paper were eagerly read, and communications were tapped out in morse code on the water pipes.
Punished: ‘Field punishment number 1’ was a military punishment. The conscientious objector was tied very closely to an external fence or wooden post with very limited movement, and left for several hours. It was known as crucifixion.
Tortured: Despite their stoicism some COs were treated appallingly during their imprisonment, and were tortured or humiliated by their military or prison guards.
In Britain 6,000 conscientious objectors were imprisoned, and 73 died as a result of the harsh treatment they received. Many were not released from prison until the summer of 1919.
Condemned: In May 1916 thirty-four conscientious objectors who were already in prison were secretly removed to France Their location was revealed to family and colleagues in a field postcard. For disobeying orders in the war zone they were sentenced to death. The death sentence was later commuted to 10 years penal servitude.
Understood: As many of the conscientious objectors suspected, WW1 was not ‘the war to end all wars’. Britain has been involved in 18 major conflicts since 1918, and the number of deaths caused by war in the 20th century is estimated at 187 million.
In the event of a war, what would you do?
