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The image of lines of men queuing to join up in August 1914 in one of the most enduring of World War One. But once this wave of patriotism had passed, volunteers grew thin. Conscription was introduced in 1916 to meet the army’s need for more men. But thousands of men did not want to go.

For those who did not want to fight, they could appeal. In Northampton and elsewhere they would appear before a military tribunal – a panel of local magistrates – who would decide whether or not they would have to go to war.

After the war the government ordered that all of the paperwork from these tribunals be destroyed – but a local historian in Northampton decided to rescue boxes of this paperwork and they are now kept in the town’s record office to tell these remarkable stories.

Location: Northampton Guildhall, St Giles’ Street, Northampton NN1 1DE
Image: Inside the County Hall