Conscientious objection was first enshrined in law in the UK in January 1916, in the first Military Bill that introduced compulsory conscription.
The first conscientious objectors included several Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. Such men faced prison, rebuke from their families or church community, and even death, for their principled refusal to take up arms.
15th May 2016 is International Conscientious Objectors Day, and materials have been prepared for services on this theme for 8th May.