Military Appeal Tribunal Records at Gloucestershire Archives

[dink999]

For the last year I have been working on the Archives collection of WW1 Military Appeal Documents. They have now been re-cataloged, indexed and transcribed.

A more detailed explanation of the material and the databases created can be found and downloaded on the Archives WW1 pages at http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/article/119639/WW1-Military-Appeal-Tribunal-documents-held-by-Gloucestershire-Archives

But in brief;-

There are over 1,000 Appeal files mainly covering the Thornbury area, but also some from Cheltenham and Gloucester that are for men appealing to their Local Tribunal in Gloucestershire. The files include Tribunal forms such as R11 & 12, which is a Notice of Claim by an Attested man, personal letters and some Army forms that include W3250, W3253 and W3587. I have posted examples of the Army Forms here http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=201639&page=4

The main database records the details of nearly 11,000 men from all areas of Gloucestershire(including Bristol) that had a second appeal at a County Tribunal. The information recorded may include

Name

Address

Occupation

Reason for Appeal (There were 438 Conscientious Objectors)

Decision of Tribunal (Appeal dismissed, allowed, but not to be called up for anything between 1 day and 3 months)

Date of Decision

27 County Appeal Chairman's Notebooks (1916-1918) have also been indexed by name. The details recorded about a man's appeal can include the fact that he had previously joined up, been rejected but was now being called up.

There were some surprising finds in the unsorted boxes of paperwork including this Appeal File of John Cann-Lippincott, who is already in the Royal Flying Corps but wants to leave "because of his nerves" and return to run his late father's 8,000 acre estate.

Hope that's all of interest

Dave

[Bernard_Lewis]

Well done on a remarkable find and a lot of hard work!

Bernard

[Simon_Fielding]

An excellent resource! Much appreciated. Gloucestershire is a well served county for records.,.

[Blackblue]

Congratulations Dave,

An ongoing credit to the Cotswolds!

Rgds

Tim D

[HeatherC]

Only just came across your index Dave, while looking for tribunals relating to men of Chalford Parish. Thank you so much for doing this, it's an excellent finding aid. Now I need to get to the Archives and see what else the records reveal!

Heather

[Magnumbellum]

For the last year I have been working on the Archives collection of WW1 Military Appeal Documents. They have now been re-cataloged, indexed and transcribed.

A more detailed explanation of the material and the databases created can be found and downloaded on the Archives WW1 pages at http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/article/119639/WW1-Military-Appeal-Tribunal-documents-held-by-Gloucestershire-Archives

But in brief;-

There are over 1,000 Appeal files mainly covering the Thornbury area, but also some from Cheltenham and Gloucester that are for men appealing to their Local Tribunal in Gloucestershire. The files include Tribunal forms such as R11 & 12, which is a Notice of Claim by an Attested man, personal letters and some Army forms that include W3250, W3253 and W3587. I have posted examples of the Army Forms here http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=201639&page=4

The main database records the details of nearly 11,000 men from all areas of Gloucestershire(including Bristol) that had a second appeal at a County Tribunal. The information recorded may include

Name

Address

Occupation

Reason for Appeal (There were 438 Conscientious Objectors)

Decision of Tribunal (Appeal dismissed, allowed, but not to be called up for anything between 1 day and 3 months)

Date of Decision

27 County Appeal Chairman's Notebooks (1916-1918) have also been indexed by name. The details recorded about a man's appeal can include the fact that he had previously joined up, been rejected but was now being called up.

There were some surprising finds in the unsorted boxes of paperwork including this Appeal File of John Cann-Lippincott, who is already in the Royal Flying Corps but wants to leave "because of his nerves" and return to run his late father's 8,000 acre estate.

Hope that's all of interest

Dave

This is certainly of great interest, and a tremendous amount of work has clearly been put into it.

It is the more unfortunate, therefore, that two major errors in nomenclature have crept in.

The first error is the headline reference (repeated throughout) to "Military Tribunals", whereas the tribunals set up under the Military Service Act 1916 to adjudicate upon applications for exemption from conscription to military service, were, unsurprisingly, designated in the Act, in subsequent Acts, and in circulars and regulations under the Acts, always as "Military Service Tribunals".

The distinction is by no means mere pedantry - although it would be a sad day if citing the precise wording of legislation affecting the liberty of the citizen were to be dismissed as pedantry - because, in ordinary English parlance, a "military tribunal" is an institution set up and run by the military, whereas the Military Service Tribunals were required to be set up by civilian local authorities and comprised civilians as members, answerable to the civilian Local Government Board.

The second error is the headline reference (also repeated throughout) to the originating documentation of cases heard by local Military Service Tribunals as "appeals". As is clearly set out in block capitals in the sample case paper posted, the originating document was an Application for exemption. Obviously, that is all it could be, since there was as yet no decision against which an aggrieved person might wish to appeal. So, local Military Service Tribunals, in each borough, urban district or rural district, were just that, not Military Service Appeal Tribunals. The latter came at County level, so, the Gloucestershire County Military Service Appeal Tribunal (which, for convenience of appellants, appears to have sat in five different locations).

Thus the proper name for this thread would be "Local Military Service Tribunal records at Gloucestershire Archives". The fact that some of them are appeal records can be kept to the small print.

Since my school days I have held the view that it is an obligation of the experienced to guide the less experienced, and one form of guidance is attention to detail rather than confusion of terms.

[HeatherC]

Thus the proper name for this thread would be "Local Military Service Tribunal records at Gloucestershire Archives". The fact that some of them are appeal records can be kept to the small print.

Actually the great majority of them (10,000 as opposed to just over 1,000) are Appeals so I would suggest the correct title would not contain the word "Local".

[Magnumbellum]

Actually the great majority of them (10,000 as opposed to just over 1,000) are Appeals so I would suggest the correct title would not contain the word "Local".

Thank you for pointing out this, which was not apparent to me on my reading of the OP.

I revise my proposed redraft of the title to, "Military Service Appeal Tribunal records at Gloucestershire Archives".