Robert O. Mennell (1882-1960), an original member of the War and Social Order Committee, was a tea merchant who wrote a short book about the history of tea. During the war, he was imprisoned several times as a conscientious objector; his wife, Christabel Mennell (1872-1958), sometimes attended committee meetings in his stead during his imprisonment. After the war, he stood (unsuccessfully) as an independent parliamentary candidate on a pacifist platform; he later travelled to Poland in support of Quaker relief work.