The first Local Tribunal of 1917 took place at the Clerk’s
Office on Thursday evening, 4 January,
when the usual members were joined by Mr A Hazeldine, secretary to the Raunds
Manufacturers’ Association, Mr J C Wilson, solicitor, and Captain Wright,
recruiting officer.
Captain Wright explained the arrangements that had been come
to between the Manufacturers’ Federation and the recruiting authorities whereby
all men, married or single, Class A, under the age of 31 years, were to be
released, with the exception of a few cases where men should be temporarily
retained to teach other labour. The arrangement covered everybody in the shoe
trade, whether partners, directors, clerks, or managers. Hitherto there had
been a different agreement between operatives and others, and it was thought
that in releasing a percentage of men favouritism had existed. He asked the
Tribunal to confirm the arrangements that had been made.
Mr Wilson also spoke on behalf of the manufacturers and with
respect to the friendly relations that existed between the Federation and Capt
Wright. The lists of the various firms were gone through and generally
accepted. Other cases for consideration were:
A farmer appealed for two men, both married, 29 years of
age, the appeal in both cases being dismissed, the men to be retained until
substitutes were provided. Another farmer appealed for his two sons, both
single, one 22 and the other 20 years of age; the appeal for the eldest was
dismissed, as was that of the youngest, but with the man to be retained until a
substitute was provided.
A smallholder and poultry farmer, 27 years of age, appealed,
and the case was dismissed. The District Co-operative Society appealed for two
men, both married, one a coal carter and the other a cowman. The former was
given exemption until 31 January and the latter was dismissed, the man to be
retained until a substitute was provided.
A smallholder and laundryman, 32 years, married, was
exempted to 31 March. A young man, 18 years and 7 months, made a personal
appeal. His father had been a prisoner of war since 15 May, 1915, and he was the only son. The appeal
was dismissed.
A carrier, married, who had recently sold his business and
now worked in a shoe factory, was exempted to 31 March, as were: a motor and
cycle agent, 41 years, married; a cycle agent and repairer of boot machines, 39
years; a cartage contractor, 30 years, married, Class B1; and a hairdresser and
tobacconist, two businesses, 33 years of age.
Finally, the Gas Co appealed for their fitter and mechanic,
32, married; and a firm of grocers appealed for their assistant, 36 years,
married, Class C2. Both were also exempted until 31 March.
On Wednesday, 17
January, the local boot and shoe industry received a body blow with the
announcement by the Government that they had revised the list of certified
occupations in the trade. With effect from 1 February foremen under 27,
married, and under 30, single, would no longer be designated as “certified”;
likewise, any other class of workmen in these categories, whatever his age,
would no longer be certified.
Also today, at the latest meeting of the Thrapston Rural
District Tribunal, held at the Workhouse, a Stanwick clicker, working at
Raunds, 31, married, asked for exemption until 31 March on domestic grounds. It
was stated that this case appeared to come under the arrangement made with the
military authorities and one month (final) was granted. On hearing this, the
appellant said “Thank you very much. I am quite willing to join up in a month”
to which a Tribunal member replied “That’s a very nice spirit”.
Meanwhile, a Chelveston boot and shoe operative, 29,
married, employed at Raunds, also appealed for temporary exemption on domestic
grounds (the state of his wife’s health). He had organised a War Savings Club
at the factory, there were 128 members, and he was secretary. He was an
ambulance man, and should like to join the RAMC when his wife’s health was
restored. He was given a two month exemption.
The Raunds Tribunal met on Thursday evening, 18 January, those present being Messrs
John Adams, JP CC, A Camozzi, G E Smith, W Gates, E Batchelor, W Asbery, J
Hodson, W Agutter, W F Corby (Clerk), and J Shelmerdine, JP, (military
representative).
A motor mechanic and agent, appealed for his son, single,
18y7m, who was an instructor in the Flying
School at Hendon, and was also
finishing his training as a pilot. This was considered for some length, and
eventually adjourned for a fortnight.
The appeal of a milk vendor, 28, married, who was confined
to his bed owing to an accident, was also adjourned, this for a month so that
the appellant could attend. A carter and general agricultural labourer, 39,
married with four children, was given exemption to 30 April, as was the branch
manager of a grocery and provisions store, 40, married, and passed for B1.
A boot operative, released by agreement with the
manufacturers and military authorities, appealed personally. He was a married
man, 28, with one child. His wife was in consumption, and unable to get
upstairs without help. The case was adjourned, the applicant to present a
medical certificate to the next meeting.
Another operative and mechanic, released by his employer,
who was also a cycle agent, appealed on business grounds and was given 14 days
exemption to allow him to get examined and to clear up his business if passed
as Class A. A blacksmith appealed for his son, single, 29, the only one he
employed. He had been medically examined and passed for C2. He was given
exemption until 30 April.
A boot manufacturer appealed for two men released by
agreement with the military authorities, who had been examined and sent back as
Class B1. They were given until 31 March, the same as the other factory
employees. A single man, 32, appealed on conscientious grounds – he had been a
member of the “No Conscription Fellowship” since its foundation. His appeal was
dismissed!
Finally, another manufacturer appealed for an employee who
had been released, and on examination was passed in Class B2; he was given
exemption until 31 March.
At the County Tribunal
held at Northampton on Friday, 19 January, there was a protest at the
latest War Office directives on certified occupations in the boot and shoe
trade by Mr James Gribble, a member of the Executive Council of the National
Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives. Mr Gribble suggested that the new
instructions should be entirely ignored “if a manufacturer showed that the
taking of a particular man into the Army would stop an important machine, and
thereby jeopardise the output of the factory!”
The Local Tribunal met again in the Clerk’s office on the
evening of Thursday, 1 February,
with Mr John Adams, JP CC, in the chair, when another host of appeals were
presented for consideration.
A farmer appealed for three of his employees, all married: a
waggoner and stockman, 32; a yardman and stockman, 37, with only one eye; and a
horsekeeper, 29, class C3. The former was exempted until 1 May, while the other
two were granted conditional exemptions.
A lift manufacturer, married, 31, and a grocer and general
dealer, 29, married, a one-man business, were both given until 31 March; an
organist and music teacher, 41, married, was given until 30 April on the
condition that he then undertook work of national importance.
A firm of grocers, provision merchants and butchers appealed
for five of their employees: a butcher and slaughterman, 25, married; a store
manager, 33, married; a manager and buyer of a drapery department, 37, married;
a manager and buyer of a grocery and provisions department, 39, married; and a baker
and bread deliverer, 41, married. Exemption for all was granted to 31 March,
the employers to make some arrangements in the case of the first two, and the
other three to be examined by the Army Medical Board.
An employer appealed for his chemist and druggist, single,
25, who was given exemption until 31 March, or earlier if a suitable substitute
was provided. A boot manufacture appealed for a married man, 24, employed on a
Consul Laster. The man had been passed for class C3 and was given until 31 March.
Also granted exemptions until this date were: a machine
sawyer and joiner, 35, married, employed by a firm of builders and contractors;
a boot manufacturer’s hand laster, 37, married, passed for B2, and a machine
welt sewer, 27, single; and a manufacturer’s chauffeur and gardener, 38,
married.
Finally, a firm of grocers and drapers appealed for their
vanman deliverer, 36, married, who was given three months exemption.
At the Rural Tribunal held at the Thrapston Workhouse on
Wednesday, 7 February, the case of
the Thrapston bank cashier and ledger-keeper, aged 36, who for five days each
week was in charge of the Raunds sub-branch, was again considered. It was
mentioned that a junior clerk had just joined the forces, leaving the Thrapston
manager with only two lady clerks (in addition to the cashier being appealed
for). Conditional exemption was granted until 30 June.
The cases of several Raunds men were presented at the County
Tribunal on Friday, 9 February:
Jonas Allen, 27, married, smallholder; this man had had
several exemptions, but the Raunds Tribunal refused the last application. The
applicant said he farmed fourteen and a half acres, all depending on his own
energy. He had 36 pigs at the present time. He was granted final exemption
until 28 February.
Harry Sibley, 30, married, and Enos Owen Coles, 29, married,
both mechanics. These appeals were made by the employers of the two men. Sibley
was employed by messrs Taylor and Co, and Coles by Messrs John Hollowell and
Sons. Mr J C Wilson, Kettering,
appeared in both cases, which were taken together.
Sibley, it was explained, looked after the gas engine and
electric installation, gas plant, etc, and did machine repairs. Coles was
described as a capable mechanic, and kept the machines in order. Mr Wilson said
that there was an agreement between the recruiting officer and the
Manufacturers’ Federation that mechanics under 31, if the only one in the
factory, should be exempted not later than 31 March. The Raunds Tribunal
refused exemption to both men, on the ground that they were not mechanics
within the meaning of the agreement between the manufacturers and the
recruiting officer.
Mr Wilson said that the Shoe Manufacturers’ Federation would
probably shortly apply to the tribunals to review the cases where certificates
were renewed. Mr Gotch said “It is a fact that I am shortly going to appeal
against all these men exempted. Unless I am otherwise instructed, I am not
going to appeal against mechanics in this revision, but against every
operative.” Sir Ryland Adkins asked “Have you gentlemen considered employing
one of these men jointly and releasing the other for the Army?”
Mr Taylor said that his engine was overloaded, and the man had
to be at it about every quarter of an hour.
The Court postponed the case for two hours to enable the
employers to confer on the Chairman’s suggestion. After the luncheon interval
it was reported that in these cases the employers considered it impracticable
for one man to serve them both. The Tribunal gave two months’ exemption (final)
to both men, and advised the employers to train men to take their place.
The Raunds Appeals Tribunal was next held at the Council
School on Monday evening, 21 February, when Mr T Warth,
agricultural representative, joined the usual collective.
Before the business commenced the Clerk informed the members
that their chairman, Mr John Adams, had been appointed a magistrate for the
county, and the members congratulated Mr Adams upon his appointment. Mr Adams
thanked them for their congratulations.
The Clerk reported that the decisions of the County
Tribunal with respect to three
appeals against their decisions had come to hand. One had been given to 30
June; one to 1 June; and the other one had been dismissed.
With respect to one of the appeals, the Chairman said that
neither himself nor his firm had had anything to do with it. When the man asked
him about it he told him that he was released according to age, and that he would
be no party to the breaking of the agreement. He wished the members to know
this, because he (the chairman) had heard it was said that he was at the back
of the man’s appeal, which was without foundation, as they had taken no steps
whatsoever.
A farmer appealed for his assistant, 18, Class A, the only
one employed on the farm. The man looked after three horses. He had over 150
ewes and lambs on the farm; exempted for fourteen days (final). A farmer and
milk vendor, 38, B1, farming 31 acres, with four horses, 12 head of cattle,
pigs, and poultry, was exempted to 31 July. A farmer appealed for his milkman,
married, 40, with five children; exempted to 31 July.
The military asked for the review of a certificate of an
agricultural labourer who had been granted conditional exemption. He was a
married man, 40 years of age, with eleven children; exemption to 31 July was
granted. A personal appeal was made by a man who was rejected when attested,
and had never received a pink form. He asked for time to be examined by the
Medical Board, and a month was granted.
A sorter in a boot factory, 31, appealed. He had four
children under four years, his wife was lame, and one child suffered with
paralysis. The case was adjourned for consideration with the other boot factory
cases. A firm of boot manufacturers appealed for four men: one 18, single, C2;
one 28, married, C3; another 39, married; and the other 29, married, Class A.
The first three were adjourned to be considered with the factory cases, and the
latter was dismissed.
Another employer appealed for a factory hand, married, 38,
and this was also adjourned to the next meeting.
Finally, a letter was read from the War Office with respect
to the release of men in the lower categories, and a copy was ordered to be sent
to the secretary of the Raunds Manufacturers’ Association and to the general
secretary of the Boot and Shoe Operatives’ Union asking
them to submit the names of men in the lower classes.
Four Raunds foremen appeared before the County Tribunal on
Friday, 9 March: George William
Knighton, 30, married, foreman clicker and pattern cutter, employed by Messrs
Adams Bros; Arthur B Pettit, 28, married, foreman and mechanic, employed by the
St Crispin’s Productive Society; and Percy Cuthbert, 27, married, foreman of
the machine room and Ernest Frederick Pentelow, foreman of the clicking room,
employed by Mr Owen Smith.
These were all general service men making their personal
appeals. They were all represented by Mr J C Wilson who said they were engaged
on work of national importance, but they were released under the agreement with
the manufacturers. Knighton was also a teacher at boot making classes run by
the County Council, and his case was adjourned for a month. The other appeals,
however, were dismissed.
At the Raunds Tribunal held in the Wesleyan Schoolrooms on
Thursday, 15 March, a review of
exemption certificates was carried out. The usual members were joined by Messrs
J A Gotch, JP, of Kettering, military representative; J C Wilson, of Kettering,
solicitor to the Manufacturer’s Association; and A Hazeldine, secretary of the
Raunds Manufacturer’s Association, and a large number of men whose certificates
were being reviewed.
Questions were asked by two members on how it was that young
fellows, whose appeals they dismissed two months ago, had not been called up
yet. They, as members of the Tribunal, were constantly being confronted with
the question “How is it that so and so is still here when older men have had to
go?” The Tribunal had dismissed cases, and if the men had not been called up
the Tribunal ought to know the reason, if there was any, why they had not gone.
On the subject of Agricultural Work, the Chairman said that
he understood there were 250 men available at Northampton
for agricultural work, 75 had already been sent out leaving 175. He asked could
not some of these be sent to Raunds to release some of the single fit men? - Mr
Gotch promised to look into the matter.
The Chairman then explained that the meeting had been called
to review the certificates of men under military age employed in the boot
trade, as requested by the military authorities, and called upon Mr Gotch to
make a statement. Mr Gotch read a statement for the reasons of making applications
for the revision of all men conditionally exempted to 31 March in Categories A
and B1, except foremen.
Mr J C Wilson followed with a short statement on the
position of the manufacturers. He was sure that the local military authorities
did not like to take this step, and they had no complaint against Mr Gotch. He
asked them to deal with the applications in the same way as the other
Tribunals, and to defer their decisions until every man had been before the
Medical Board, so that they would be in a position to know what categories they
were in.
The meeting was then adjourned until the men had been
examined. The Chairman thanked Mr Gotch for his presence, and was glad to know
that no blame was attached to the local military authorities.
On the following day, Friday, 16 March, Sydney George Stanton, 22, single, a horse-keeper of
Raunds, appeared before the County Tribunal.
This was an appeal by his father and employer, Mr Nathaniel Stanton, farmer. Mr
J Prentice appeared for the appellant and conditional exemption was granted
under the substitution clause.
At the Local Tribunal held on Thursday, 22 March, the following cases were considered upon an application
for review by the military authorities: A farm bailiff, 33, married; a
horse-keeper, 28, married, who also does the ploughing and looks after the
agricultural machinery; a married farmer, 37, farming 350 acres; a
horse-keeper, 25, married, who looks after 14 working horses and two extra for
carting purposes; a butcher, 36, married; a pork butcher, 32, married; a baker
and confectioner, 34, married; a gas stoker, 39, married; and a currier,
married. All were given conditional exemption until 30 June, and to be
medically examined in the first eight cases, and the latter was granted
absolute exemption, the man producing a birth certificate proving that he had
passed his 43rd year.
Six cases were then considered upon application for review
called for by the Army Council: A butcher, married, 25, had his conditional
exemption reduced to one month final; a cartage contractor and car proprietor,
30, married, Class B1, was exempted to 30 April; a grocer and general dealer,
married, 30, Class A, was exempted to 31 May final; a chemist and druggist, 25,
single, B1, was given until 30 April or earlier if a substitute could be
provided; a blacksmith, 28, single, Class C2, was exempted to 30 June; and a
gas stoker, 28, married, was exempted until 30 April, or earlier if
substituted. All men were to be examined by the Army Medical Board.
A farmer appealed for a young man, 18, single, the only one
he had beside a boy of 12 years, who does the milking and looked after the
stock – exemption was granted until a substitute was provided. Another farmer
appealed for an assistant who managed the farm, and looked after the horses,
and did the ploughing – as he was 18 and single, the case was adjourned for a
month for him to go before the Army Medical Board. A firm of curriers appealed
for one of their employees, married, 39, who was given conditional exemption to
30 June, and to be medically examined in the meantime.
A plumber and house decorator appealed for his son, married,
32, Class A, the only employee he had and who managed the business. The man was
given conditional exemption until 30 April. A hairdresser and tobacconist, 28
married, appealed; he had been rejected twice, and was now passed for Class C1
– he received three month’s conditional exemption. A firm of boot manufacturers
appealed for a hand sewer who was given exemption to 31 March.
A personal appeal was made by a young married man, 27, a
foreman in a boot factory, on the ground that he was in a certified occupation;
he could work all the machines in the room, and when any of the men were away
he could keep their machines going – his case was dismissed. Finally, an
assistant overseer appealed for his clerk, 36, married, with four children, and
was granted exemption to 30 April, the man to be medically examined in the
meantime.
