More Winners: Boy Soldiers

Episode of Series ‘More Winners’. In 1910 the Australian Government passed a law requiring all boys aged between 14 and 17 years of age to register for compulsory military training. Between 1911 and 1915, more than 30,000 boys were persecuted for failing to obey this law. This story tells of one such boy, Will Barnes, a 14 year old conscientious objector who refuses to register. After prosecution Will is sentenced to three months training at Fort Queenscliff. At the fort, Will refuses to wear a uniform or to be involved in any type of military training. Will meets a lot of opposition but also wins his share of admirers, for sticking to his beliefs.