Over the next few months, I am going to transcribe some of the letters and post cards that my grandfather Sidney Waterfall sent to his parents and siblings while he in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War 2. When the war started, Sidney did not immediately sign up, as he had registered as a conscientious objector.  At the local tribunal, held in Leeds on the 27th February 1940, Sidney stated
My objection is based on religious grounds. I am a birthright member of the Society of Friends. I have regularly attended Quaker Meetings since I was about seven years old. I was educated at the Friends School at Ackworth, Nr. Pontefract, Yorkshire, and i have been a member of the Skipton meeting all my life.
I wish to state, however, that I am quite willing to undertake non-combatant duties.
The result of the tribunal was that Sidney should be put in the R.A.M.C. The photo below is of Sidney in his uniform in about 1940.


 

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