8 National Council Against Conscription membership form, 1916

The National Council Against Conscription (NCAC) was formed in response to the Military Service Bill. The NCAC believed that compulsory conscription would be an affront to civil liberties. They campaigned against the bill and sought to stop it passing through Parliament. The council’s membership included the prominent pacifists Clifford Allan, Margaret Bondfield and George Lansbury. Its aims were common to other anti-conscription groups and many of its members were active in other organisations. When the Military Service Act was passed the NCAC monitored the work of the tribunals and gave advice to the men who appeared before them. It later became The National Council for Civil Liberties, the precursor to Liberty.