| abstract | - Brockway was born to W. G. Brockway and Frances Elizabeth Abbey in Calcutta, India, which was at that time under British Imperial rule. While attending the School for the Sons of Missionaries, then in Blackheath, London (now Eltham College) from 1897–1905, he discovered an interest in politics. After leaving school he worked as a journalist for a variety of papers and journals including The Quiver and the Daily News and the Christian Commonwealth. Fenner Brockway joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1907 and was a regular visitor to the Fabian Society. He was appointed editor of the Labour Leader (the newspaper of the ILP, later called the New Leader) and was, by 1913 a committed pacifist. He opposed British involvement in the First World War and, through his position as editor of the Labour Leader, was outspoken in his views about the conflict. The offices of the Labour Leader were raided in August 1915 and Brockway was charged with publishing seditious material. He pleaded not guilty to this charge and won his case in court. In 1916 Fenner Brockway was again arrested, this time for distributing anti-conscription leaflets. He was fined for this, and after refusing to pay the fine, was sent to Pentonville Prison for two months. Shortly after his release Fenner Brockway was arrested for a third time for his refusal to be conscripted, after being denied recognition as a conscientious objector. He was handed over to the Army and court-martialled for disobeying orders. As if a traitor, he was held for a night in the Tower of London, in a dungeon under Chester Castle and finally in Walton Prison, Liverpool. In 1919 he spent 11 months in solitary confinement in Lincoln Jail. In October 1950 he revisited the jail with Eamon de Valera, the Irish statesman. Following his release from prison in 1919 he became an active member of the India League which advocated Indian independence. He became secretary of the ILP in 1923 and later its chairman. In 1926, he became the first chairperson of War Resisters' International, serving in this post until 1934.
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