In September 1939 at the outbreak of the 2nd World War, the International Chairmen wrote to national sections on 4th September: ‘WILPF work must go on-in spite of war’.
During the war the London office was evacuated but Annual Council meetings and monthly executive meetings continued. But because of WILPF’s continuing promotion of peace by negotiation it lost some members, many preferring to get involved with relief work or supporting the anti-fascist war effort. When the conscription of women was introduced in 1941, WILPF petitioned the Minister of Labour successfully to grant equal rights with men to women conscientious objectors.
The section organised joint conferences with other women’s groups on the Atlantic Charter; the Sankey Charter of Human Rights; the Beveridge Report on social services and international control of Atomic Energy. The worsening relations of Britain and India increased pressure for the early granting of Indian independence. Direct communication with India was maintained through Agatha Harrison and Grace Lankester in England; and through Mrs Pandit, herself an international member of the League, on the other side.
After the war, when the Labour government secretly decided to develop its own atomic bombs, peace campaigning became associated with communism and was denounced and ridiculed. WILPF opposed the setting up of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949 but was wary of pro-Soviet organisations.
