THE case of Bermuda Regiment rebel Magnus Henagulph has brought back memories for a man who was also locked up at the Warwick Camp when he disobeyed orders which clashed with his beliefs.

Seventh-Day Adventist Wycliffe Williams was locked up for two weeks by the Regiment when he was called up 20 years ago.

Mr. Henagulph, a business reporter with The Royal Gazette, was being held in a cell in solitary confinement by the Regiment yesterday.

The conscientious objector was incarcerated on Wednesday after he refused an order to collect his uniform and kit bag. He has refused food since then and is now on hunger strike. Mr. Williams, from Southampton, recalled yesterday: "They locked me up for two weeks and I was still there after camp was all over."

"It was all about Friday night. From sundown on Friday night, my belief is not to partake in the kind of things the Regiment do.

"I just wanted to focus on my Bible and get my mind in tune with spirtual things, not to run around with a rifle.

"I was treated okay. They marched me around sometimes, but they did let my father come and visit me and they could have stopped that."

Two decades later, with Regiment orders and personal beliefs of conscripts still coming into conflict, Mr. Williams felt dialogue was the best way to avert the problem.

"The problem is that somebody can come and say, 'I am this', just to get out of going to the Regiment. There has to be clear dialogue between the Regiment and the church authorities.

"If the Regiment has a letter from the church involved confirming he is in good and regular standing, then the Regiment should respect a man's beliefs."

Mr. Williams felt Mr. Henagulph should be asked to do service somewhere outside the Regiment, such as the St. John Ambulance Bridgade.

Llewellyn Emery, elder of the Hamilton Congregation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, said the members of his church had not encountered major difficulties with the Regiment.

When they had spelt out pacifist beliefs and produced proof of their involvement with Jehovah's Witnesses, Regiment tribunals had in most cases excused them, he said.

"We have had individuals who have declined and they have appeared before the exemption tribunal and, up to date, we have had a reasonably good understanding with them," said Mr. Llewellyn.

"I know at times they have questioned young men, who are members of Jehovah's Witnesses who have been drawn up, and obviously these individuals have expressed their beliefs and made a legitimate case for exemption.

"Where we come in officially is when the Regiment asks, 'Is this person really with Jehovah's Witnesses?' Obviously, there is not automatic exemption just because you say that is what you are.

"Jehovah's Witnesses should not be classified as conscientious objectors," added Mr. Emery. "That term is a broad brush and there are so many different reasons a person might object. With us, it is on religious grounds and conscience, certainly."

High numbers of Regiment conscripts have failed to respond to call-ups in recent years.

During 1998, 38 per cent of those called up did not respond and had no reasonable excuse, according to figures announced in the British House of Commons last July.

That was the highest figure in recent years, however, as by the following year the percentage was down to 24 per cent and by 2000, down to 16 per cent.

A reduction of around 100 soldiers is planned in the forseeable future of the Regiment, which is 100 per cent paid for by the Bermuda taxpayer.

Military service is compulsory for Bermudian males aged between 18 and 25, who were born on the island and selected by computer ballot.

The legal penalty for failing to attend the Bermuda Regiment as a member is a $3,250 fine or 30 days in prison.