Postal worker Robert Climie had been a lifelong activist in the international peace movement before he was conscripted in 1916. A tribunal hearing initially backed his case, but a retired army officer pursued the matter and saw it overturned.
Like hundreds of other Scottish objectors, he was imprisoned at Wormwood Scrubs, before being moved to a labour camp by Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute to work on forestry. He wrote to his daughter Cathie for her first birthday, while at the camp.
The letter says: “The first year of your life … will in later years be known as one of the worst years in the History of the World.” It continues: “A most fearful war is raging. The World is just now divided into nations and the people of each nation believe themselves to be fighting on behalf of their own particular country. However, there are men and women who believe that all men and women are brothers and sisters. These people are known as Pacifists.”
University archivist Carole McCallum said: “When Robert Climie was put to work in the labour camp, he befriended a fellow pacifist called Sandy Stewart.
“The men stayed in touch, and Robert’s daughter Cathie went on to marry Sandy’s son – who she supported when he became a conscientious objector in the Second World War.
Actor Gary Lewis has now recited a letter Mr Climie wrote to his daughter Cathie for her first birthday, while at the camp. Mr Lewis said: “Men like Robert Climie were victimised and persecuted because of their stance, but it was a principled stance. It wasn’t that they were cowards – it was because of their very firm conviction that men should not fight.”
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