Harris, Ted

Harris, Ted

Ted Harris was our father. Much of what follows is taken from his memoirs, which he wrote upon retirement in the 80s. He died in 2006.Full name Esmond Julian Lewis Harris, born 14/3/1916 from Telfont, Wiltshire, given absolute exemption at Bristol tribunal.                                       

Through the Peace Pledge Union in Norwich in the '30s, he found like-minded people who were also very concerned about the dangerous international situation in Europe at the time. (He sold Peace News in the Market Place on a Saturday evening.) A BBC radio series "The Causes of War" convinced him that for a Christian, pacifism was the only way.

In 1939 he decided that he wished to make a change in direction, to work on the land. He found work on a farm in Wiltshire.  "I was not oblivious to the growing shaping up of the country to fight a war and indeed of the artificiality of urban life." "I was keen to ensure that I did not have a net pay higher than a serving soldier. I did not disguise the fact that I was a pacifist and I was not reserved, i.e. left to work on at something because of being rated indispensable.

When my call up papers came I went to the nearest Labour office. The clerk on being told that I was going to register as a CO went quite pale telling me I'd better shut the door. Of course I did not show any shame. After some months I was called to the tribunal at Bristol, where that body had earned the reputation of being the fairest in the country, determined to put the law into practice. There were five or six on the panel, chaired by Justice Wetherhead, others were a Professor Field who wrote an objective book on the whole subject, a Trades Union man and two I can't recaII, but there was a woman. I was able to observe several cases before my own came up and I was very impressed by the way that they seemed determined to ascertain the motivation of the applicant, going to a lot of trouble to put each person at his ease. Their logic, consistency and general humanity were more impressive than some of the COs. They awarded absolute exemption, or a place in a reserved occupation (whether the CO was actually already in such or not), or direction to a non-combatant corps (Medical or Pioneer corps), or total rejection.

My case was heard sympathetically and the judge even spoke of respecting my attitude. In response to a question "when did you start......." I had replied "The BBC series the Causes of War” some five years earlier. I had needed to defend my position over many years of course, particularly with a particular friend, who though no warmonger himself had taken the conventional "every right has a corresponding obligation " never acknowledging that taking a pacifist line was also a heavy obligation and not just an escape from personal danger or inconvenience. That's the rub perhaps - a pacifist that is not actually working for peace is in a weak position, even that working for peace in some may take a personal rather than a more political course.

The tribunal said they were satisfied but could not give me exemption until they had some supporting letter (I had come with nothing). My boss was happy to do this for me and the newspaper simply reported that my case was deferred. It was some months before anything happened - I was recalled. The same judge said that he remembered my case, but the tribunal had been reconstituted a smaller number and did not feel that it could ratify the earlier panel's near-decision. My reappearance was a formality but the judge was surprised that I wanted absolute exemption. He thought that I would have wanted an acknowledgement of my useful work in farming.  I demurred saying that I wanted absolute exemption and found in my relationships with fellow workers a clearer position with such than the privilege of being in a protected occupation. I did not threaten to leave farming if directed to it but I was given what I asked for.

My employers were perfectly tolerant about my being a CO - I suppose my conscientious and useful work influenced them, or at least earned me respect. It was rather different with some of my fellow workers, or to be more precise some of their wives. Actually sharing physical work brings an inevitable accord with other people."

On moving to work on farms in Radnorshire and South Wales, he didn't encounter the same tolerance from his employers or fellow workers. However whilst there he made friends with local Quakers who drew his attention to Friends Relief Service (FRS).  In 1944, aged 28 he was accepted for training for the FRS team. On his first placement in near Middelburg, Holland he met our mother, Grete Ravn who had come with FRS from Copenhagen (Family information)