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Captain Arthur John St. John (1862 – 16 February 1938) was a British soldier, novelist and Tolstoyan who campaigned for pacificism, prison reform and vegetarianism. He was co-founder and secretary of the Penal Reform League.

Career

Captain St. John was born at Jullundar in 1862. He was the second son of Lieutenant Colonel C. W. St. John. In 1882, he joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and served in Malta, Aldershot and Burma. His outlook on life changed after reading Tolstoy's works. He resigned his commission and moved to Yorkshire and then Croydon in voluntarily poverty to carry out social work. He was a minimalist who spent most of his small earnings on others. In October 1894, he wrote a letter to Tolstoy stating that The Kingdom of God is Within You had a "tremendous effect upon" him and that he gave up soldiering to work for peace. He left Croydon and spent time at an agricultural community, Rev. H. Mill's Farm Colony in Kendal.

He visited Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana in 1897 and was acquainted with the persecution of Doukhobors. In 1898, he raised money for the Doukhobors through the help of Quakers but was arrested and imprisoned. It was only through the influence of his friends at the British Consul that he was eventually released on the condition that he would leave Russia. He secured the escape of Doukhobors and went with them to Cyprus and then to Canada where he resided for two years. At this time his ban from returning to Russia was lifted.

He returned to England and married Leonora Maxwell-Müller in 1903. He founded and edited the short-lived Midland Herald newspaper which expressed strong social views. In 1907, in conjunction with Mrs Cobden Sanderson he founded the Penal Reform League of which he was secretary. He allied himself with suffragettes who gave him their first hand experiences with prison conditions. At the beginning of WW1 he went to France as an ambulance worker for two years. In 1916, he returned to prison reform for several years until secretary Margery Fry was elected to continue his work. The League was incorporated into the Howard League for Penal Reform. He moved to Glenyards, Scotland to finish literary work and enjoy family life. His novel was sent to the publisher on January 27 1938. It was titled Why Not Now? and published by C. W. Daniel Company in 1939.

Vegetarianism

Captain St. John was described as an animal lover who was a "staunch unswerving vegetarian" for 40 years. He was a speaker at the Northern Heights Vegetarian Society in 1901.

Death

Captain St. John suffered from a heart complaint in 1934. He consented treatment in a private ward of the Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary when it was found that nothing could be done for him. He returned to his home and died peacefully on 16 February 1938. He had requested no flowers, mourning or grave. A small service was held at his home conducted by Rev. Ivor Ramsay and his remains were sent to Glasgow Crematorium. His ashes were scattered at Ochil Hills in Dumyat. An obituary described him as a "real Christian gentleman, leaving to all who knew him nought but fragrant memories of the kindnesses he bestowed upon young and old, rich and poor".

Selected publications

• "National Defence and Peace". Humane Review: 170. 1905.
• "Inside Prison Walls: First-Hand Experiences". The Standard. April 29, 1912. p. 12.

References

1. ^ "The Late Capt. A. J. St. John, Glenyards". The Falkirk Herald. February 19, 1938. p. 10 – via Findmypast.
2. Rosamund, Bartlett (2011). Tolstoy: A Russian Life. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 363. ISBN 978-0151014385.
3. Jones, Malcolm (1978). New Essays on Tolstoy. Cambridge University Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-0521169219.
4. Buyniak, Victor O. (2021). "The 1899 Manitoba and Northwestern Railway Dispute with the Doukhobors". Doukhobor Heritage. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021.
5. "Why Not Now?". Birmingham Gazette. October 11, 1939 – via Findmypast.
6. "Northern Heights Vegetarian Society". Hampstead and Highgate Express. April 6, 1901. p. 6 – via Findmypast.
7. "Deaths". The Falkirk Herald. February 23, 1938. p. 2 – via Findmypast.
8. "The Humane Review". Henry S. Salt Society. 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

• 1862 births
• 1938 deaths
• British prison reformers
• British vegetarianism activists