THE MEN WHO SAID NO | ROAD TO CONSCRIPTION | CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION | PRISONS | SENTENCED TO DEATH | TRIBUNALS | WIDER CONTEXT | INDEX
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THE MEN WHO SAID NO | ROAD TO CONSCRIPTION | CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION | PRISONS | SENTENCED TO DEATH | TRIBUNALS | WIDER CONTEXT | INDEX |
| ALBERT FRANCIS 1877 - |
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| Albert Francis was one of a startlingly small number of Conscientious Objectors to recieve the Absolute Exemption they were entitled to under the Military Service Act 1916. He applied to the Mitcham Tribunal in March 1916, and would likely have been one of the first COs to appear before it. His Absolute Exemption status may have been granted for several reasons. Firstly, it could be that as a prominent local Quaker, his conscientious scruples were both well known to the Tribunal board and well attested to. Albert could, therefore, have been lucky enough to have his argument for exemption listened to, considered and granted. However, looking further into his situation it appears there were other circumstances that may also have contributed. Firstly, appearing before the Tribunal in the early days of Conscription may have helped his cause, as during March and April, smaller Tribunals encountered few COs, and, especially where the man was a prominent member of the community, had not yet hardened to the virtually instant dismissals of late 1916 and 1917. Secondly, Albert, born in 1877, was pushing the upper age limit for conscripts, perhaps encouraging the Tribunal to grant him Absolute Exemption - especially as whatever verdict he was given, it would become invalid a year later. Finally, Albert's work as an ironmonger may have gone some way to convincing the Tribunal that it was better for the local and national interest that he stayed where he was, contributing to the economy. As in many cases of Absolute Exemption, the situation was not as clear cut as it first appears. Albert, like many others, was most likely granted exemption not through the application of his legal right to that status, but through the many factors that contributed to the success of his application.
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