Challenge the Oath

A personal view

Articles

Having to take an oath of allegiance is quite a personal act and can hold very deep meaning for those taking the oath.

Having to take an oath in which you do not believe, and which goes against very strongly held principles, is something many people in this country have had to confront. Here are the stories and comments of many such people who have contacted Challenge the Oath.

Daniel Land

I'm 43 years old and have spent all of my life in the UK apart from a few weeks abroad. My mother is British and my father born in Southern Ireland became a British National and served 25
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Edward Joyce

I joined the Blackburn Borough Police in December 1961 and I was required to swear an oath of allegiance not only to her Sovereign Majesty the Queen but also to her heirs and successors. I
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Cliff Snelling

I was a young school child at the time of Elisabeth Windsor's coronation and having just been bribed with a tin of biscuits and a purple book saying how wonderful the monarchy was I thought
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Jonathan Holdcroft

At the age of sixteen I joined the RAF. To do so, it was necessary to say (amongst other choice phrases) that: "I Jonathan James Holdcroft" , "will", "bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen
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John Brunton

53 years ago, I joined the Boy Scouts. Part of the enrolment process was to recite the Scout oath. That included swearing to "do my duty to God and the Queen". Even then, aged 12, I was
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Christopher Scholefield

As an Advocate of the Royal Court of Jersey, I am required to swear an oath at the beginning of each legal year. As a long term republican I have been wrestling with the passages high lighted in
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