Talk:William Coltman

NCO or other rank ?

Richard Holmes claims in Tommy page 471 isbn 9780007137527, that Coltman was the highest decorated other rank of the war. If no one has any objection I will change the text.

Looking at the exisitng sourcing in the article, the ODNB also says highest decorated other rank, rather than just NCO. The NCO wording seems to come from Findagrave, which I'm not convinced is really a reliable source anyway. David Underdown (talk) 10:42, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

conscientious objector?

on the wikipedia page on conscientious objection it says "A conscientious objector,[89] his Christian beliefs[90] prevented him from taking up arms, but as a stretcher bearer[1] he earned all of his decorations without firing a shot.[91]"

And yet this is missing from the wikipedia page about him? If this is true, it should appear in the very first paragraph.

2001:8003:6E5D:A900:643C:8F82:2A21:172C (talk) 21:47, 16 February 2018 (UTC)

If it were true (and reliably sourced), it would be but describing him as a conscientious objector is extremely dubious. It would be a rare CO who volunteered to take up arms in the opening months of the First World War and held a commission (in the cadets) until after the end of the Second. The ODNB, for example, does not describe him as a CO. Nedrutland (talk) 22:23, 16 February 2018 (UTC)

Does this article from the BBC perhaps give it any more standing? I find it still rather dubious. 98.102.79.214 (talk) 16:16, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

To quote his grandson John "He was not a conscientious objector - he was very much against that. He volunteered to go in and it was very hard to be on the front line as a volunteer." (Burton Daily Mail 5 November 2018 https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton/william-coltman-burton-victoria-cross-2126973 ) Nedrutland (talk) 08:10, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

I recall his death and funeral being on the news on BBC TV Midlands Today in 1974. The newsreader stated "he refused to fight on religious grounds" hence his undertaking stretcher bearer duties, where he would be serving to save life not kill it. The "conscientious objection" was to fighting and killing, not to all kinds of military service. He was definitely not an "absolutist" CO (ie no military duty of any kind). There must be some biography that mentions why he chose to be a stretcher bearer, surely? Coltman joined the army BEFORE conscription came in 1916, so he would not have faced appearing before a war tribunal where COs faced a legal spotlight.Cloptonson (talk) 16:59, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

@Cloptonson see pp24-25. Nthep (talk) 19:03, 22 May 2026 (UTC)