Fred Haslam (26 May 1897 – 16 October 1979) was a Canadian administrator and pacifist.
After emigrating from England to Canada in 1921 he began a lifelong association with
Arthur G. Dorland, Albert S. Rogers (son of
Edward S. Rogers Sr), and other leading Quakers.
He assisted the
Rogers Radio Tube Co. in humanitarian pursuits during the interwar years, including the organization of Russian Famine Relief (later merged into the Canadian
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide.
The organization raises money to imp ...
Fund); the operation of
boys and girls clubs in Toronto; and the founding of Camp NeeKauNis.
Haslam was instrumental in organizing the
Canadian Friends Service Committee
The Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) is a charity that acts on the peace and social justice concerns of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Canada.
Quaker service work is rooted in the daily practice of pacifism, integrity, ...
and served as its first executive secretary for 25 years.
He also brought Canadian Quakers closer to other groups in the Canadian peace movement, such as the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...
, the
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...
, and the
Student Christian Movement.
Haslam assumed a leading role in the first years of the Conference of
Historic Peace Churches
Peace churches are Christianity, Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches:
* Church ...
, for example as "a special liaison between sectarian pacifists and those from mainstream Protestant churches. Together they ensured, in negotiations with government authorities, the advancement of the right of all Canadians, regardless of religious affiliation, to
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
status..."
As
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
progressed he organized and deployed Canadian conscientious objectors to the
Friends' Ambulance Unit
The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914 to 1919, 1939 to 1946 and ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, coordinated an effort to assist German Jewish refugees
interned in Canada as
enemy aliens
In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...
, and supported the movement to build
intentional community
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...
as an experimental base for a future pacifist society.
After World War II,
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haslam, Fred
Canadian pacifists
Canadian Quakers
Canadian anti-war activists
English conscientious objectors
1897 births
1979 deaths