The God of my rock; in him will I trust:
2 Samuel 22:3
"A group of 14 Adventists had been successfully serving in an NCC in France for a period of 18 months. With a change of commander came problems, particularly with their request to not work on Sabbath (Saturday) in accordance with the 4th commandment.
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| Alfred Bird |
In November 1917 they were court martialed and imprisoned in Le Havre.
There they were beaten, manacled, given the dreaded ‘crucifixion’ punishment, some of them coming within an inch of their lives.
Their story is told elsewhere, but after intervention, they were moved back to England, spending Christmas in Wormwood Scubs prison – and event that the daughter of one of them, Alfred Bird, describes as being “a delight compared with the treatment meted out to them in France.”
She states that following a hearing by the Central Tribunal, and an understanding of the injustice they received, the men were released from the Army into civilian life undertaking work of national importance. According to historian, Dr Brian Phillips, that tribunal made a difference. He writes, “From that time Seventh-day Adventists in Britain have generally been allowed a choice of occupation of national importance in time of War.”
One of those fourteen, H W Lowe, became a leader of the Adventist church and in 1937 was called to the war office to meet with a lawyer. Listening to his harrowing account and discussing Biblical values with him, the lawyer recommended that Adventist young men should be exempted from army service in favor of work of national importance. In WWII they still faced the tribunals, but this time with a much more favorable outcome."
VictorHulbert