Memorial Speech in Name of Peace
The Charles Cobb memorial lecture has always attracted people inspired by the conscientious objectors courageous stand against war, which resulted in his untimely death. The 2002 anniversary of the Christian Socialists death is expected to spark fresh interest due to its timely reminder of the growing opposition to military action against Iraq.
Charles John Cobb. a tea merchants management clerk from Addiscombe, was a conscientious objector who was ostracised for his refusal to fight in the First World War. He was eventually imprisoned for his anti-war beliefs and at his 1915 trial was famed for saying "I fear God, not man. The commandment is thou shall not kill. I obey that."
Cobbs Christian faith had deepened by his experience of isolation and objection, and after his prison term, he had hoped to become a church minister. But Cobb suffered greatly for his beliefs. His health was severely affected by the hard labour he endured while imprisoned and when he was released in 1919 he spent just three weeks with family before his early death at the age of 41. His family were too poor to pay for a headstone so his grave was left unmarked for nearly 70 years until 1988, when donations from a fund honouring his memory paid for a marble headstone at the Mitcham Road Cemetery.
Dr Wilfred Wood, the former Bishop of Croydon, once wrote of Cobb. "Charles Cobb's lonely witness in the cause of peace and conscience will be an inspiration to those who come after."
Since 1989 a memorial lecture has taken place in the borough every year to mark the anniversary of Cobb's death and to remember the conscientious objectors in prison today. The theme of the lectures are always based on how to promote peace and justice and how to obtain it without restriction. The 2001 memorial event featured a talk by Croydon North MP Malcolm Wicks, whose father was a conscientious objector. The 2002 special speaker was Bruce Kent, the former chairman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
With the images of the recent months massive anti-war demonstrations still fresh, Mr Kent will use the memorial lecture to talk about the military responsibilities in the Iraq crisis. Patrick Battell who has been organising the memorial lectures for 15 years. He believes the current public opinion against the current public opinion against war will bring some new faces to the event.