Feature: 90 years on - the records of military appeal tribunals

The Military Tribunal system was set up under the Military Service Act 1916 which set down terms for mandatory military service. This updated the Derby Scheme, a voluntary recruiting scheme devised by Edward Stanley, 17th Lord Derby, whereby men who ‘attested’, or voluntarily registered to serve in the military, would only be called upon for service when necessary. That scheme was unsuccessful and soon abandoned in December 1915. The new Military Service Act required all adult males, aged 18-41, to register for military service unless they possessed a certificate of exemption. By April 1918, the age range was extended so that men aged from 17 to 55 could be called up, and exemptions were further restricted.

From 1916, men seeking exemption from military service could apply to various tribunals. There were three types: Local Tribunals, Appeal Tribunals and a Central Tribunal based in London.

Military Service Tribunals - Acrobat PDF 23.5KB, new window

Exemptions granted by tribunals could be permanent, conditional or temporary, and all were revocable.

The records in the NAS belong to the second category (Appeal Tribunals). In 1921 a decision by the Ministry of Health, ordered that all papers relating to individual cases of exemption from National Service were to be destroyed. The majority of Scottish Tribunal applications were therefore lost, but those for the Lothian and Peebles Appeal Tribunal were deemed exempt, and retained as a sample. These papers are now deposited in the NAS (NAS ref: HH30). They cover the Local Tribunal areas of Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Borders.

These records are now being opened up in a project to catalogue, repair and digitise the surviving applications. Specific data about applicants will be captured and put onto the NAS on-line public catalogue (OPAC) as individual catalogue descriptions. In parallel, we will carry out essential repairs and digitise the papers. This will preserve them and make them more readily available to researchers. The timeframe for completion of our project is 2 years.

The applications cover the period March 1916 to October 1918. As yet, only 500 applications have been captured (March-April 1916), but already they are proving to be an invaluable source about the individuals who appealed, revealing fascinating details about their personal and family circumstances, and the reasons given for seeking exemption. Frequently men, or their employers, might request exemption on the grounds that it was in the national interest to continue in their current work. Exemptions were also considered on personal grounds, for example hardship, ill-health or conscientious objection. It was certainly not the case that all applications submitted were from men who were unwilling to fight, as large numbers of applicants were previously attested men (volunteers).

The vast majority of appeals were refused and dismissed, after which appellants had little choice but to ‘join the Colours’. In some cases we have discovered what happened to those whose appeals were unsuccessful. Using information available elsewhere, e.g. the Scottish National War Memorial (SNWM) and Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), we have traced the histories of some of those who entered military service.

A good example is an appeal submitted on behalf of Robert Gillon which was heard on 4 April 1916. He conducted business as a butcher in Balerno and Currie in the county of Midlothian, and his appeal was submitted by his mother, as his employer. Mrs Agnes Gillon was a widow, who owned the business, and the appeal papers contain a plaintive statement in support and confirming that Robert was her only son. Mrs Gillon argued that he was essential for the running of the family business, and sought an absolute exemption on the grounds of serious hardship and conducting a certified occupation. The appeal was unsuccessful and was dismissed by the Tribunal (NAS ref: HH30/2/1/42).

NAS ref: HH30/2/1/42 - Acrobat PDF 794KB, new window

From information on both the SNWM and CWGC websites we discovered that Robert Gillon died in Belgium on 4 Oct 1917, aged 23, while serving with The King's Own Scottish Borderers. He had previously served with The Royal Scots and is buried in Bedford House Cemetery, Belgium.

The NAS also holds a copy of his will identified from among the thousands of testaments of Scottish servicemen who died between 1857 and 1966. The majority of these wills are for soldiers and airmen who gave their lives during the First World War. Rather fittingly, Robert Gillon left all his effects to his mother, who had desperately appealed on his behalf in 1916.

NAS ref: SC70/8/905/5 - Acrobat PDF 246KB, new window

Other examples:

HH30/1/1/6 - Archibald Brown Naysmith, 14 Mar 1916. Conscientious Objection.
(Statement by the military representative that ‘This man would make a splendid soldier. He has a fine physique and just wants the nonsense knocked out of him.’)

NAS ref: HH30/1/1/6 - Acrobat PDF 771KB, new window

HH30/2/2/36 - Abel Bernard Freeman, 7 Apr 1916. Conscientious Objection.
(Submitted written statement indicting that he was prepared to be shot for his principles)

NAS ref: HH30/2/2/36- Acrobat PDF 426KB, new window

HH30/2/2/39 - Hugh George Robertson, 7 Apr 1916. Serious hardship and ill health.
(Application refers to a brother who had died in Mesopotamia in Jan 1916. We have identified the brother as L/Cpl Alexander Robertson (Service no. S/10429), 2nd Bn., The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) who was born in Dundee)

NAS ref: HH30/2/2/39- Acrobat PDF 578KB, new window

HH30/2/4/16 - Thomas Jones, 14 Apr 1916. Occupation and serious hardship.


NAS ref: HH30/2/4/16 - Acrobat PDF 513KB, new window

Surviving Military Appeal Tribunal records exist for other parts of the United Kingdom. Those for Middlesex were retained as the sample for England and are housed in The National Archives at Kew (ref: MH47). For Wales records of the Appeal Tribunal for Cardiganshire are housed in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth (ref: CTB3). Other chance survivals exist in local English county record offices (e.g. Northamptonshire and Staffordshire). Links to all these archive services can be found under 'Other Websites' on the left-hand side of this page.