White Feathers

[FredPuli43]

In the Great War,a young man who was not in uniform ran the risk of being handed a white feather, symbolising cowardice, by some eager, patriotic , woman. Was this practice or anything like it followed in the Second World War? Were such men subject to such overt criticism? It may be that conscription put an end to it, since those who had not been conscripted must have satisfied the government that they had a valid reason for not being. But I remember my father, after the War, being quite hostile to those known as 'conchies', meaning conscientious objectors ,( interesting, because he himself never served, being in a 'reserved occupation', but I suppose he saw that as akin to service)