Military Conscription in WWII: A Student’s Comparison to Job

In a 1939 edition of the Aberystwyth University student magazine, The Dragon, there is a letter of criticism regarding the conscription programme of the British military bearing the title ‘The Pill they Forgot to Gild.’ The unnamed author of the letter claims to speak for the university students of Aberystwyth and suggests that the British Government expects conscripted soldiers to have the mindset of Job. To understand the significance of this, we need to analyse the story of Job and what the biblical figure represents regarding the topic of this blog:

“The average student, it is fairly obvious, appreciates this war for nothing more than it is - an economic and political necessity. The hokus-pokus drawing of the curtain of mysticism and senti-mentality over brutal facts he scorns. He does not pretend to be a flag-wagging, drum-thumping, trumpet-major, but he accepts the situation with cold-blooded acquiescence ... he considers Job, and is, or pretends to be, the essence of equanimity”

Job is a biblical figure whose story is written in the Book of Job. He is severely tested when he loses his family and his land despite being extremely loyal to God and never having sinned. Only when Job loses everything does he sin and wishes he was never born. This is significant to the tone of in the letter for several reasons. 

Firstly, it suggests that the average university student view of the war and the British Government may have been critical and negative. To extend that point, the author suggests that, like Job, conscripted soldiers are supposed to have ‘blind faith’ in the British Government to win the war.  Secondly, the author questions the authority of God and his omni-benevolent nature. The author asks why God has chosen to lead potentially thousands to their deaths without a good reason to offer:

“He has still rheum enough left to spit a venomous curse into the gutters that once passed for the glories of the crusading-spirit...”

Of course, unfortunately we know the author’s terrible predictions were true. The letter has an overly sombre tone to it, as the author seems to question what young men have done to deserve to be conscripted to ‘a coffin-vengeance on life’ courtesy of God. You cannot help but ask if the author was a conscientious objector and wonder at his reasons for writing?  The most probable answer would be to raise awareness amongst young university students, while wishing ‘good luck’ to university students already conscripted or who joined up of their own accord. 

One thing seems clear - the author was against conscription and believed that the war some sort of punishment as the words used are negative emotive words. Could this be because of experiences associated with family members in the First World War?  In my opinion, although the reality of conscription was harsh during the war, without it we might have been invaded. As the First World War left psychological effects and a massive socio-economic toll on British society, it may be that no-one would have joined voluntarily in the early stages of the Second World War.

 

Cover of The Dragon, Michaelmas 1939

Blog by Caitlin Margaret Vivian