Archibald Baxter

Archibald Baxter

We did a Brainstorm as a group what we know about Archibald Baxter and conscientious objectors.

What was the war that he refused to fight in? (include dates and places) He refused to fight in the first World war in 1914 in England Europe.

  

What did people think of the men who refused to fight? People thought that the men who refused to fight were cowards.

Find a map of Saddle Hill Dunedin, Brighton Otago, and a map of the places mentioned later in article in Europe.

How many children were in his family? He was the second oldest out of 8 children.

How old was he when he left school? 12 years old

What did he do for work? He was a farmer that thinned turnips, milked cows, herd sheeps, build fences and stott rabbits. He later on ran a small farm located in South Brighton, owned by his mother’s family.

What influenced him to believe that war was wrong? The lawyer Alfred Barclay spoke against the law.

Who was called for military conscription and why? Eligible bodied men between the ages 20 and 45.

What does “appeal on grounds of conscience” mean?(p26) Knowing what's right from wrong

How long did he spend on prison? 84 days

Where was he sent? - list

• Trentham military camp
• Wellington Wharf
• Sling Army Camo in England
• NZ army base camp in France.      

Name the punishments he faced? -

• list court martialled
• solitary confinement
• bread and water diet
• 84 days in prison

What did the medical board diagnose him as? (p30) He was diagnosed with shell shock, symptoms include mental weakness and confusional insanity.

What does this mean? It meant that he had a weak mind and is confused how to socially interact or behave.

Who did he marry? He married Millicent Brown. How many children did he have? He had two sons, named James and Terence. James became a famous poet and Terence, like his father, became a conscientious objector during the second World War.   

Find a poem by Archibald’s son James

A Pair of Sandals

A pair of sandals, old black pants

And leather coat — I must go, my friends,

Into the dark, the cold, the first beginning

Where the ribs of the ancestor are the rafters

Of a meeting house — windows broken

And the floor white with bird dung — in there

The ghosts gather who will instruct me

And when the river fog rises

Te ra rite tonu te Atua —

The sun who is like the Lord

Will warm my bones, and his arrows

Will pierce to the centre of the shapeless clay of the mind. Hemi.

What do you think of the poem? I like this poem because it is very descriptive. I like the choice of adjectives.  

References 
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/hero_archibald-baxter.jpg

By Mikayla