In January 1661 a group of Quakers, including their founder, George Fox, completed a declaration from the harmless and Innocent People of God, called Quakers, to the present governors, the King, both houses of Parliament, and all whom it may concern. It was delivered into Charles's hand in the following June. The gist of the document read: "We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world". This was the first official document drawn up by Quakers to proclaim their firm belief in peace and became 'The Quaker Peace Testimony'.

Since then most Quakers, have personally adopted this testimony, especially since 1916 in England when the government introduced conscription and men and women of 'call up age' had to decide how to respond. However, before conscription was introduced a unit of Quakers was active in Belgium. This was the beginning of The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU). At first conscientious objection was not accepted as an option and those who refused to join the armed forces were sent to prison. An attempt was made to send them to France where, under military law, they could be court-martialled and shot. To the credit of the British government this solution was rejected and alternatives such as non-combatant military service or ambulance work were permitted.

In 1939 the FAU was re-formed. It continued to provide a pacifist alternative, open not only to Friends, until 1961 when conscription ended. During the 1939-45 war the most famous action of the FAU was the China Convoy. (One of its last surviving members died in Chichester only two years ago.) They faced bandits and Japanese bombing as they took medical supplies across Burma into China. There was also the possibility of lorries breaking down. Some of these FAU teams had served their apprenticeship driving ambulances during the London blitz. Members also served in the front line on battle fields going into no man's land to recover and treat wounded combatants. Seventeen, including one woman, were killed and plans are now in hand to have a memorial to them set up in the National Memorial Arboretum.

After the war FAU members were engaged in flood relief, nursing in hospitals and refugee work, especially with Hungarians in 1956. Quakers seek to find ways of mediating in many international conflicts. Their contribution was recognised when they were awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1947.

During 2011 Chichester Quakers will be marking the 350th anniversary of the Peace Testimony in a talk in Chichester Festivities in July and a Peace Exhibition during Quaker Week in October.

Quaker witness to the need to resolve issues by peaceful means has lasted 350 years and will continue until politicians stop assuming that war is a sad but necessary aspect of life and cease to ask where, when, and how the next one will be fought. That is an assumption that Friends challenge. They do not believe that this is simply pious idealism; it has been said that 'what is idealistic in one generation becomes a cherished right or precept in the next'.