Military Service Tribunals were bodies formed by

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

and rural district councils to hear applications for exemption from conscription into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Although not strictly recruiting bodies, they played an important part in the process of conscription. Tribunals were published as part of the Derby Scheme in 1915, but were continued on a statutory basis by the

Military Service Act 1916 The Military Service Act 1916 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom during the First World War to impose conscription in Great Britain, but not in Ireland or any other country around the world. The Act The Bill which became ...

, which brought in conscription. There were 2,086 local Military Service Tribunals, with 83 County Appeal Tribunals (formed by

county councils A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

) to hear appeals by applicants not happy with the local tribunal decision. A Central Tribunal at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

served, solely at the discretion of the Appeals Tribunal, as the final court of appeal; it largely dealt with difficult cases that would stand as precedent for local tribunals. Although they are best known for their often heavy-handed attitude towards cases of

conscientious objection A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

, most of the tribunals' work dealt with domestic and business matters. Men could apply on the grounds of their doing work of national importance, business or domestic hardship, medical unfitness, or conscientious objection. Only around two per cent of applicants were conscientious objectors. The image of the tribunals at the time was that they were soft on these cases and harsh on those relating to domestic hardship; after the war conscience cases became more prominent and tribunals are known for their (genuinely) harsh treatment of objectors. A very large number of men applied: by the end of June 1916, 748,587 men had applied to tribunals. Over the same period around 770,000 men joined the army. Most men were given some kind of exemption, usually temporary (between a few weeks and six months) or conditional on their situation at work or home remaining serious enough to warrant their retention at home. In October 1.12 million men nationally held tribunal exemption or had cases pending, by May 1917 this had fallen to 780,000 exempt and 110,000 pending. At this point there were also 1.8 million men with exemptions granted by the government (for example, those working in war industries); combined these exemptions covered more men than were serving overseas with the British Army. Some men were exempted on the condition that they joined the

Volunteer Training Corps The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I. Early development After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who we ...

for part-time training and home defence duties; by February 1918, 101,000 men had been directed to the Corps by the tribunals.{{Cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cXm7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA31 , title=A Nation in Arms: A Social Study of the British Army in the First World War , last=Beckett, I. F. W. , publisher=Manchester University Press , year=1985 , isbn=978-0-7190-1737-7 , page=31 , access-date=30 August 2018

References

* James McDermott, ''British military service tribunals, 1916–18'' (Manchester, Manchester University Press: 2011). * Jonathan Mein, Anne Wares, Sue Mann (eds.), 'St Albans: Life on the Home Front, 1914-1918' (Hatfield, Hertfordshire Publications) United Kingdom in World War I Conscription in the United Kingdom