Spotlight on Pacifism and War
Spotlight on Pacifism and War
Many boys in John’s school year joined the armed forces, and then went on to university after the war finished. In the normal course of events, John would have done the same, perhaps becoming a soldier, or joining the Navy or the Royal Air Force. But he did not want to do this as he was a pacifist. His father became a major general in the medical corps, and found John’s pacifism very difficult.
Arnold Stott felt it was John’s duty to serve the nation by joining the forces. But John could not go against his conscience. The difficult relationship with his father over this time was painful to him, and he wrote long and careful letters to his parents, from school, and then from Cambridge, to try to help them understand.
John’s father resolved not to pay for John’s university expenses after his first year, if he would not join up. This was a huge blow to John for there were no student loans then. But still John felt he could not go against his conscience. His mother broke the news to John about his fees in a letter, soon after the beginning of the Lent Term, in January 1941. He made some notes in the margin of the letter:
‘The order is not State 1st, JESUS 2nd, but JESUS 1st, State 2nd. I must ‘obey God rather than men’
(Acts 5:29).
John wrote back affectionately to his mother, to say he would think about things further and would like to talk again with his father. He wanted to reassure her that he was not seeking his own comfort by staying at university during the war, but that he honestly believed this was his duty. He signed the letter ‘Always your loving son’.
His mother wrote often, and tried hard to persuade John to change his mind, but he felt unable to do so. With care always to express his honour for his parents, and his deep affection for his family, John carefully outlined his reasons. The draft remains of one letter in John’s small handwriting, which ran to nine sides. He yearned that his father would come to understand. Arnold Stott came to Cambridge to meet with John’s tutor, and it was agreed that John would talk with senior churchmen in the town, which he willingly did.
Lily Stott felt caught in the middle. Over this period, she wrote to her son every few days, addressing him fondly as Johnnie, and sometimes Johntie or Jonathan. She believed in her heart that John’s father was right, and that John should join up, for non-combatant duties if he preferred. She longed for him to change his mind, or for Arnold to relent. It was a heart-rending time for all three of them.
John’s end-of-year exams began on 2nd June. They counted towards his final degree, so he wanted to do well. He kept on working hard, playing some sport, participating in the CICCU, and squeezing in some birdwatching with Oliver or other friends where possible. One can imagine his heavy heart, and the stress of the money issue always on his mind. Then three weeks before his exams began, on 19 May, he received a telegram. Telegrams were the fastest and surest way of getting news to a person in those days, hand delivered by a boy on a bicycle. When a telegram arrived, you knew it contained serious news – sometimes congratulations, but more often not. Telegrams were always written in capital letters, with the words stuck onto the sheet of paper. There was no punctuation, so a full stop would be written as ‘STOP’. The message was then folded into an envelope and sealed. Telegrams were kept short, as their cost was based on the number of words. STOP counted as a word, which is why it was sometimes left out.
John quickly slit open the envelope and pulled out the paper. He could barely believe what he saw. His prayers, and the prayers of his friends, had been answered in a wonderful way. The telegram read:
AM CONSENTING STOP BUT WITH GREAT RELUCTANCE AND UNHAPPINESS STOP STOTT
John would now be staying at Trinity to complete his degree. With thankfulness to God in his heart, he raced around to share the news.
He wanted his father to be proud of him, in the best sense of taking pride in one’s children. His father was proud of Joanna and Joy for their contributions to the war. If only he could be glad that John was making best use of all his parents had given him – a sharp intellect, a sense of loyalty to his family and to his nation, and much delight in the natural world. John knew there was a lot of work to be done to restore their relationship.
The Stotts had been a warm, affectionate family, and now things were so different. John’s mother and his sisters all felt the same, that he had made a big mistake.