“So you think it will come, then.” No one is fooled by Clive’s matter-of-fact tone. We all lean forward to catch Maynard’s reply.

“Yes. It will be announced in the course of the next few days. Compulsory conscription for all men between eighteen and forty-one not in sole charge of dependents.”

There is a moment’s silence during which we each make our private calculations. It is Duncan who breaks it.

“I will simply refuse. What is the worst they can do to me?”

“Imprisonment. Forced labor. With all that this can mean.” Duncan changes color at Maynard’s words. I have a sudden image of Duncan in prison: his spirit broken, unable to paint.

“There must be alternatives, surely?” It is the first time Bunny has spoken. He gulps down the drink Leonard gives him.

“Yes. One can apply for exemption. Usually on health grounds. There is some provision for conscientious objectors. It’s limited, though, and dependent in the first instance on local tribunal.”

Clive groans.

“We all know what that means. Bigots whose only motive is self-interest.”

Duncan jumps on a chair and mimes the part of a malicious magistrate, rolling his eyes in mock pleasure as he conducts an imaginary flogging. We all join in his charade. Clive sings “Rule, Britannia,” while Maynard lists increasingly absurd reasons for the refusal of exemption from active service. Bunny slumps in his chair and pretends to snore, an indolent, overfed judge. Leonard plays the puzzled general, peering at an invisible map and scratching his head as he tries to locate his troops. Even you rub your hands in feigned glee as you contemplate the carnage. We clap and cheer as the sketch plays itself out, grateful for the relief it has brought. The seriousness of this next stage in the war is lost on no one.

There were two hearings. At the first, which I attended, the farmers who made up the jury unanimously rejected both Duncan’s and Bunny’s pleas for objector status. For a few terrible weeks, prison seemed inevitable. I did everything I could think of to keep Duncan safe. I wrote to anyone I hoped might be able to influence the case, asking them to intervene on our behalf. In the end, the second hearing was won thanks to Maynard’s testimony. Duncan’s and Bunny’s appeals were upheld on condition that they engaged in work of “national importance.”