213161 Pte. John Wild Greenwood British Army 2/4th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment from:Norton on Tees, Co Durham My Grandfather John Greenwood was a Quaker, he was married and is buried at Norton-on-Tees Quaker Meeting House, so I found it difficult to relate to him being in the military.
From the little research I have been able to undertake so far, I gather he was in a Pioneer unit in Bermuda, a part of the British Empire that warranted a military presence. In civilian life he was a carpenter and worked at the shipyards in Middlesbrough. Additional Information: | In 1917 the London Yearly Meeting conducted a survey of all Quaker men who had enlisted. Your grandfather was so listed but seems at that time not to have been in membership of the Society, and an attender or possibly what was then known as an associate member. He might have become a member afterwards and would have been welcomed. Probably over 30% of all Quaker men enlisted or joined the armed forces during 1914-18 and thus not all Quakers were pacifists although they all hated war.
I came across your entry because I am now researching these Quaker soldiers and more specifically those who were killed.
Gethin Evans
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