JOHN J SINYARD - CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR?

[bobpike]

My brother-in-law has asked if I can confirm or dispel a family story that his grandfather was a conscientious objector in the Great War. Frustratingly I can make no headway in this research, hence my plea for help!

He was JOHN JAMES SINYARD born 1881 died 1934 aged 53 and lived in the Deptford/Camberwell area.

Any suggestions gratefully received, thank you.

[spof]

Bob

Local newspapers usually had results of appeals tribunals or the NA has some pointers.

Glen

[bobpike]

Thank you, Glen, I'll certainly pursue these leads,Bob

[corisande]

I don't know if SINYARD in your OP was a typo, but he appears to have been born SINGYARD,

[bobpike]

No, it is SINYARD but I have seen it mis-spelt as SINGYARD or even SENYARD,

Bob

[corisande]

If he was born to John and Ellen in 1880, and married Maud, then both Cerys on Ancestry show SINGYARD. That is the only boy with his name on either spelling in 1880

[bobpike]

I have checked with my brother-in-law and he is pretty certain he married a Maud so the mis-spelling seems to be the case. We're getting somwhere, thank you!

Bob

[corisande]

He appears to have married a Maude Chave in 1903

Use John James SINGYARD in Ancestry and you will get original marriage cert and bapt cert

I have done a lot of this type of research, and you have to get birth record, censuses, marriage and death. Then try to fill in his life life service record, or lack of it

I believe his name at death was SINYARD, but am not sure if he changed it or it is a mistake. You should know what surname his children had or indeed if some had one surname and others a variant

[CGM]

Some questions to ask your brother-in-law.

Does the family know why he would have been a CO? (Usually but not always for religious reasons. Also on humanitarian or political grounds.)

Did he refuse all service during the war? (An absolutist)

Did he accept doing civilian work.

Did he accept non-combatant status - that is serving in the army as a soldier in uniform but not being required to use or handle weapons? (A member of one of the non-combatant corps)

The Peace Pledge Union in London created a database of names which is intended, in time, to include every British CO during the two periods of conscription (WW1 and WW2.) It is continually being updated.

If he is not listed on there it does not mean he was not a CO but it could be worth contacting them to see if his name is included.

CGM

[Magnumbellum]

The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) would certainly be willing to check whether John Sinyard (with or without variations in spelling) is included among the 4000 + WW1 COs already entered in their database, or, failing that, to advise on further lines of research..

The first consideration in following up such a family story is to establish what else is in the account besides the bare legend of being a CO.- what is known of what the man actually did doing during the war, where did he do it, and was it related in any way to his normal occupation. Was he known to have strong religious affiliations or strong political affiliations. Is anyone else in the family known to have been a CO.

The Archivist working on the database may be contacted directly at archives@ppu.org.uk

[bobpike]

Thank you all, I have been in touch with my brother-in-law and have put these questions to him. It seems this was first mooted at his mother's (i.e John's daughter-in-law) funeral where one of John's daughters out the blue announced this but without any evidence to back it up! So that's not much help. I will write to the archivist at the PPU and see if there's any record.

Incidentally John's sons - Lionel (born 1924; John (1917) and Allan (1929) all seem to be SINYARDS while the daughters, Maud Phyllis and Gladys Mabel all seem to be SINGYARDS!

Kind Regards,

Bob

[Magnumbellum]

The name Sinyard cropped up in conversation today with the PPU Archivist, but it seems that no recent enquiry has been received about him.

[bobpike]

I felt from the correspondence and talking to my brother-in-law there was litle evidence to go on, so I decided not to continue. Are you suggesting there is? If so I will contact the PPU archivist?

[Magnumbellum]

There is not much evidence, but what little there is is conclusive that John Sinyard was, indeed, a WW1 conscientious objector.

[MichaelBully]

I have been wondering where the membership records of the No Conscription Fellowship would be . The handful of CO's that I have looked at in this area seemed to be linked to the NCF -perhaps it would be worth checking to see if this chap was a member.

Good luck with your research

Michael Bully

[bobpike]

Thank you both very much, I will contact both,

Bob

[bobpike]

Thanks to all your efforts I have got somewhere at last, courtesy of the Archivist at the PPU, he writes -

I can confirm that John Sinyard appears in the minutes of the Committee on Work of National Importance (otherwise known as the Pelham Committee, after its chairman, the Hon THW Pelham, Assistant Secretary at the Board of Trade), set up to approve occupations deemed to be of national importance and thereby suitable as alternatives to military service for conscientious objectors. Any man considered by the Committee necessarily had to have been already exempted as a CO by a Military Service Tribunal, so it is clear that John Sinyard was a CO. It appears that his normal occupation had been as a clerk, and the work for which he was approved was as a packer.

It may be that because John appeared to continue in ordinary civilian work throughout the war, doubt arose in later years as to whether he was formally a CO, but the Pelham evidence is conclusive.

You may be aware that most of the official records of the WW1 Military Service Tribunals were destroyed in 1921. Partly to fill that gap, and to deal with enquiries such as yours, the Peace Pledge Union has been compiling a database of every British CO of who we have any trace - 4400 WW1 names to date. The only information we had was the Pelham reference, to which we have now been able to add the birth and death years supplied by you. We would be grateful for any further information you could supply, such as motivation - religious, political or otherwise.

Once again thank you all, my brother-in-law can now try and investigate possible motivation etc

Kind Regards,

Bob

[bobpike]

Further confirmation from Working Class Movement Library who have just have just received an updated version of our Conscientious Objectors database and John Sinyard is on it.

He is recorded as having had a Military Service Tribunal at London County at which he was accepted as a conscientious objector. He then appeared before the Pelham committee on 5 December 1916 and was given work of national importance. The database shows that by 4 January 1917 he was working as a packer for Messrs Wills & Sons, Chapel Street, London EC

[MichaelBully]

That's great Bob. Please continue to update us on your research. I would normally suggest that if you can find the date of the Military Service Tribunal then look at local papers, but not sure how to do this in respect of Military Service Tribunal held at 'London County ' -would that be the old County Hall?

Regards

Michael Bully

[bobpike]

Thank you, Michael, I will endeavour to keep the research going and it would be informative if I could locate the Tribunal minutes, but how easy that'll be....?

I agree with you about 'London County'I'm pretty sure it relates to the old LCC,

Bob

[MichaelBully]

Hello Bob. I am afraid that it would be virtually impossible to locate the Tribunal minutes: As the PPU archivist advised in post #17 the records were largely destroyed. A few might survive .

You could try searching the National Archives website and catalogues.

In my experience CO researching is difficult. Local newspaper coverage of Military Service Tribunals seldom gives names. But sometimes information comes to light if a little more about the CO's basis for their action is disccovered.. For example, if the CO was in a denomination such as a Quaker (Society of Friends) or an Anglican or Unitarian, you might be able to contact a relevant religious organisation and see what information they hold. If the CO was objecting on political grounds, then it is possible that they would be politically active immediately after the Great War.

Regards

Michael Bully

Thank you, Michael, I will endeavour to keep the research going and it would be informative if I could locate the Tribunal minutes, but how easy that'll be....?

I agree with you about 'London County'I'm pretty sure it relates to the old LCC,

Bob

[Magnumbellum]

Military Service Tribunals within London were appointed by the old Metropolitan Borough Councils. John Sinyard's precise tribunal would depend upon the actual borough in which he lived - we have been given only the vague "Deptford-Camberwell area". The reference to "London County" suggests that he had occasion to appeal, which would have been to the London County Military Service Appeal Tribunal, appointed by the LCC. There is no reason to suppose that either the Local MST or the County Appeal MST records have survived. (The Middlesex County MST records have survived, and are in the National Archives, but that is of no help in this case.)

It is possible that there was a report in papers circulating around DeptfordCamberwell, and a trawl for November and very early December 1916 might produce something, but there is no guarantee.

[bobpike]

Once again my sincere thanks. As I said this research was started on behalf of my brother-in-law, but I have found the process fascinating and he now has plenty of avenues to explore, so we're both satisfied. I will keep you informed of what progress he makes,

Sincerely,

Bob

[Stephen Nulty]

I noted (within the BNA), that some publications reported on the MST's, as shown by the example below from the Western Gazette of 18th October 1918

[MichaelBully]

I think that it was up to local discretion whether names were used. In the Sussex newspapers that I have seen, the Military Service Tribunals are covered but will mention (for example) 'A Bank clerk from Hove' rather than use names.

On a local history forum someone informed me recently that there a local hewspaper in Kent named the men concerned, but has not so far offered more specific details.

I am not sure if the local council made a decision to use names or whether an editor of the publication did.

Regards

Michael Bully

I noted (within the BNA), that some publications reported on the MST's, as shown by the example below from the Western Gazette of 18th October 1918