The work camp for men who refused to go to war
Breaking granite in an Aberdeenshire quarry was the fate of some First World War conscientious objectors, finds Alison Campsie
More than 250 conscient i o u s o b j e c t o r s we r e s e n t t o b r e a k g r a n i t e at a quarr y at Dyce, Aberdeen, in a secret work camp that soon lit a local outcry.
The camp at Dyce Quarries was set up in August 1916 as the Home Office f a c e d a r i s i n g p r i s o n p o p u l a t i o n , which was partly driven by those who refused to embark on military service following conscription.
The men, who were mainly from England and usually university students or professionals, were sent to the North East of Scotland to break granite for ten hours a day.
A s t h e c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t o r s arrived i n Aberdeen, t he Battl e of the Somme was raging in northern France.
At D y c e , t h e m e n s l e p t i n c o n - demned tents used in the Boer War wi t h e a c h man g i ve n a s t r aw b e d and three blankets. Prisoners complained of poor health, severe weather and leaky accommodation.
Within weeks, the camp became c ommon knowledge i n Ab e r deen and fired up an increasingly hostile exchange of letters in the local press.
When the men at the Dyce camp started to complain about their living conditions following the death of a comrade, WJ Roberts, of Stockport, from pneumonia, the contempt towards the camp could not be contained.
The men were branded “degenerates” in the local press, with one correspondent suggesting that vital revenues for the war effort be raised by running trains of passengers to view these “humbugs”.
Another letter writer, from Dyce, described them as “social lepers” during wartime who had no right to vote during peace. It was suggested that, like aliens, they should have no contact with the outside world.
One ser ving soldier, who wrote to the Aberdeen Evening Express, said: “It seems pretty evident that the malcontents are aristocrats of the Labour movement and over- educated prigs.”
Corresp ondence from a soldier’s mother followed on 18 S eptember, 1916. She said: “We think of our brave sons up to the waist in mud and water and suffering untold hardships to enable these comrades to have a soft job, even if it is at Dyce Quarries.”
Me n f r o m t h e c a mp , wh o we r e robustly defended in the newspapers by local clergy, started corresponding with local papers with a camp news sheet – the Granite Echo – also formed.
One letter came from Guy A Aldred, from London, who became a prominent figure in the CO movement after being sentenced to nine months in prison in June 1916 for failing to comply with militar y orders. First sent to Winchester Prison, he was later transferred to Dyce.
His correspondence with The Press and Journal followed a failed camp vote to work ten hours a day. A five hour shift was later settled on given the poor physical condition of many of the men.
Mr Aldred wrote: “If manual labour is useful, I will perform it. I view it as no penalty. But I will not be conscripted into slavery all the time.”
The Press and Journal reported on 16 September, 1916 that Aldred was among several men from the Dyce camp who spent a Saturday evening in the city.
The newspaper reported how the men stood out for not wearing a hat – “a distinctive peculiarit y of most members of the fraternity” – with the group also marked by their “long hair and demeanour, which differs widely from that common in this part of the country”.
Following the death of WJ Roberts at the camp, pressure from the Com- mittee for Conscientious Objectors at Dyce forced a visit by a Home Office deputation on 16 September, 1916 and a subsequent inquiry into conditions there.
It was decided tents should be abolished and arrangements made with local farmers for the men to stay in lofts and barns. Improvement to food was also to be considered. However, it was announced in the House of Commons the following month that the Dyce Camp was to close with the men transported out within a week. Some went to other work camps – while others preferred to go back to prison.