After other states had joined in in support of one side or the other, the impending German invasion of Belgium was considered to justify the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland declaring war against Germany on 4 August.

They refused to wear uniform or undertake any duties at all, as they had done ever since they had been "handed over", and were locked in eight small cells, pending court-martial for disobeying military orders.

Similar disobedience by forcibly enlisted COs had been taking place over the past two months at military barracks and camps around the country, resulting in courts-martial and sentences of imprisonment.

[1] The NCF passed the letter to Arnold Rowntree, a Quaker member of parliament for York, who took the matter up with H. H. Asquith, the British prime minister.

They were therefore urged to join other COs who had accepted their assigned role in the NCC, however reluctantly, and they were also falsely told that the 'Harwich Frenchmen' had already "saved their lives" by giving in and obeying military orders.

They were all found guilty, and on 24 June 1916 all sixteen were sentenced to be shot at dawn, but this was immediately commuted to ten years' penal servitude.

[18] In 1995, the men's story was turned into a Tyne Tees Television documentary called The Richmond Sixteen, and in 2007 they were one of the subjects of a book by Will Ellsworth-Jones.

However, the decision was controversial in Richmond, as the town's economy depends heavily on business from the nearby British army garrison at Catterick.

[19] In June 2013 the Teesdale and Cleveland Area Quaker Meeting organized a silent event at Richmond Castle in honour of the sixteen men.

[1] In May 2016 English Heritage announced plans to conserve the copious amounts of graffiti that the men had left on the walls of Richmond Castle.

[20][21] Norman Gaudie's story is depicted in the film Asunder, directed by Esther Johnson and funded by 14-18 NOW, a First World War centenary arts commission.