Yesterday evening I spent a short time in the company of 20 or so people (by far the majority of them older than me) at our local commemoration of Conscientious Objectors Day. This occasion takes place in various forms around the world on 15 May each year, remembering those who, on ethical, moral or religious grounds, have refused to participate in armed conflict. This evening’s event took part beside the permanent memorial to 250 known (and more unknown) conscientious objectors in Leicester and Leicestershire during World War One. This is situated in Mayor’s Walk, Victoria Park, just downhill of the Arch of Remembrance (designed by Sir Edward Lutyens).