It's a forgotten story from the Great War.

But now a man is coming to Huddersfield to tell the story of the 16,000 who refused to kill.

The thought-provoking storytelling event called Out of Silence is taking place on Thursday, March 26, at Huddersfield Town Hall where Simon Heywood – storyteller and former peace worker - will recount the story of the conscientious objectors from the Great War of 1914-19.

In 1916, as soldiers died and volunteers grew scarce, the British government began the first ever mass conscription of its own citizens. Of millions called up, some 16,000 claimed the new right to conscientious objection, so many that the government didn’t know what to do with them.

The “conchies, as they were known, embarked on a long, lonely and silent war against war itself. They suffered ridicule, torture and imprisonment.

Their stand split families and communities. They played cat-and-mouse with the state. Some were forced to the front; others went willingly, or toiled on the home front; a thousand refused, and went to jail. Some went mad; some died. Many survived the war to embark on lives of public service. We reap the benefits of this legacy today.

Heywood will bring the voices of the objectors to life with the help of their first-hand accounts, letters, diaries and memoirs. he will be accompanied by the singer-storyteller Shonaleigh.

Huddersfield was regarded as one of the hotbeds for conscientious objectors during World War One.

The tales inspired a play called England Arise! which had its premiers at the Lawrence Batley Theatre last October.

It was inspired by research done by Huddersfield historian Cyril Pearce and was based on the untold story of Huddersfield’s First World War conscientious objectors.

They included young socialists Arthur Gardiner and Percy Ellis who refused to take arms against their fellow workers and suffered prison and brutality as a result.

The event starts at 7.30pm and tickets are on sale for £3. Tickets are available from any Kirklees Box Office, Huddersfield Tourist Information and Huddersfield Local Studies Library. They can also be purchased online at online at www.KirkleesTownHalls.co.uk . More information is available by calling 01484 223200.