According to family tradition (which I have no reason to doubt), when conscription had been introduced by Asquith’s government earlier that year (1916), Morris had declared himself a conscientious objector, arguing (a) that as a Jew he objected to killing other Jews (in the German and Austrian armies) and (b) that as a Jew he objected to fighting (inter alia) for the preservation of Tsarist Russia, whose successive governments had become infamous for their persecution of Jews in general and orthodox Jews in particular. But, whilst objecting to being conscripted into the British armed forces, Morris had agreed to enter a ‘reserved’ occupation – namely the police service, in which he remained until the end of 1919.