What did you do in the war, daddy?' It's a classic question - and maybe one that expected the answer to be stories of brave attacks on enemy lines, pressing forward against overwhelming odds. But to Gethin Russell-Jones, the question was not one to ask - he knew what his father had done and, growing up, would have summed his father's contribution to the war effort under one word: 'Nothing.' As a conscientious objector, and despite the fact that his fiancée was cracking German codes at Bletchley during the Second World War, John Russell-Jones exhibited a different kind of courage to that shown by most of his peers. Convinced that Christ's teaching forbade him to take the life of another, he faced ignominy, insults, and opposition, from the state, his friends, and even his own family. As an adult, Gethin decided it was time to look for the man his father had been, and to see if he could regain respect for him. And as he finds out what led his father to the decision he made, he discovers a man he never really knew - one who was prepared to suffer for an unpopular and unfashionable belief, and who exhibited a different kind of courage in doing so.

ContentsFamily Tree 8Chapter 1: War Child 9Chapter 2: Conchie 12Chapter 3: A Good Year for Diaries 25Chapter 4: Strong Mothers 34Chapter 5: Hovel Fit for a King 44Chapter 6: I Was in School with Him 57Chapter 7: John the Baptist 71Chapter 8: 1936 and the Rise of Nationalism 85Chapter 9: 1938, a Year of Preparation 97Chapter 10: Sunday 1 September 1939 110Chapter 11: 1939, Cardiff 9050 117Chapter 12: 1940, Air Raid Warden 129Chapter 13: An Appointment in London 143Chapter 14: Let Me Now Be God's Soldier 159Chapter 15: 1943, a Badly Chewed Suit 171Chapter 16: 1944, a Love Letter to Piety 186Chapter 17: Today I Had a Long Discussion with a Young Lady AboutPacifism and Christianity 196Chapter 18: 1944, a Deep-Rooted Problem 205Chapter 19: Not Fit for Human Occupation 212Chapter 20: A Strange Courage 223Notes 233