A Decorated Conscientious Objector

A Quaker, William “Bill” Spray refused to fight in WW II. Instead, he registered as a
conscientious objector, 1 of 60,000 British men who so registered. Many of these men worked in
bomb disposal units, mines, and farms in wartime Britain. Unfortunately, approximately 5,500
objectors were arrested and branded as cowards because they refused to fight.
After training as a paramedic and spending two years working in a hospital, Spray was called up to
the Friends Ambulance Unit to support Allied soldiers in 1943, aiding troops in the French 2nd
Armored Division based in Algeria. A graduate of Cambridge, Spray also led a team of medics in
Morocco and cared for the wounded at Normandy in 1944. 
He kept a diary during the war and shot photos of his experiences on the front line, including an
image of the grave of fellow medic, Dave Frazer, who died trying to move a casualty under fire in
Strasbourg in February 1945.
Held for decades by a private collector, Spray’s documents came to light in 2020. The sale of the
archive was arranged by C&T Auctions, whose auctions specialist Tim Harper said, “This is
probably a unique collection belonging to a conscientious objector who served with the Friends
Ambulance Unit as the leader of a group of ambulances. No one could ever question his bravery as
on numerous occasions he rescued wounded men under fire. It is a remarkable story and an archive
of considerable historic interest.”
Spray received the Croix De Guerre, the highest and most prestigious French military honor for
bravery in rescuing injured soldiers under heavy German fire. 
After returning to England in May 1944 ahead of D-Day, he became headmaster of the Quaker
Leighton Park School in Berskhire before passing away in 2012.