Description:George Kemper, 21, and his brother Bert, 19, from Bonehill Road, Tamworth appealed against conscription in World War I because their father had been interned as an enemy alien. You can read George’s appeal in his own words from his case papers and feel the anger about his father’s treatment. George Kemper was granted exemption from National Service for a period two months from the date of the appeal, and Bert Kempler one month on 24th May 1916.
George Kemper writes:
'Why I should be exempt for military service. Because my farther is interned a persons of alien enemy extraction and, and I consider it inhuman to be forced to take up arms or to assist those in arms against my father. Because I have a mother who suffers from rheumatism and nervous debility and a sister who are entirely dependent on me.
Because I am engaged on work of national importance, that of manufacturing sausage casings, a business that comes under the heading of, edible oils and fat in the latest list of stated trades.'
The records of all Military Appeal Tribunals across the country were destroyed by order after the war but the chance survival of the Staffordshire collection makes these particularly significant. As we close in on the centenary since their creation, the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service believe that this rare survival offers a real opportunity to learn more about war in Staffordshire. Not only about those who were called to the Colours, but on the world of Staffordshire’s communities at that time, helping us to understand the stresses and strains on work and family life during ‘the Great War’.
Staffordshire Record Office Appeals Project
Thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, in 2015 Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service has begun an exciting new project based upon opening access to one of its hidden gems, the Mid-Staffordshire Appeal Tribunal records. With the help of a wonderfully enthusiastic group of volunteers the project will index over 20,000 individual entries and digitise some 5,000 records in total, all to be made freely available via the internet. For more information contact Staffordshire Record Office by following the resource link on the right.