The tool and instrument of the military? : the operations of the military service tribunals in the East Central Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire and those of the military service boards in New Zealand, 1916-1918 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University
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Date
2015
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
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The Author
Abstract
The
Military
Service
Acts
that
implemented
conscription
in
Great
Britain
and
New
Zealand
during
1916
permitted
appeals
for
exemption
to
a
Military
Service
Tribunal
or
Military
Service
Board
respectively.
Although
claims
lodged
on
the
grounds
of
hardship
or
occupation
were
by
far
the
most
common,
historians
have
overwhelmingly
focused
on
that
distinct
minority
of
individuals
who
cited
conscientious
objections.
Furthermore,
there
has
been
no
attempt
to
compare
the
structure,
or
the
workings,
of
the
exemption
systems
in
these
two
countries.
By
employing
a
‘British
World’
approach,
this
thesis
compares
the
operations
of
the
Tribunals
in
the
East
Central
Division
of
the
West
Riding
of
Yorkshire
with
those
of
the
Boards
across
New
Zealand.
It
investigates
the
relationship
between
the
appeal
bodies
and
their
respective
governments
and
militaries,
to
assess
how
far
each
claim
was
judged
on
its
merits.
It
also
analyses
the
appointment
of
personnel
and
the
attitudes
that
the
Tribunal
and
Board
members
adopted
during
their
hearings.
Finally,
this
thesis
considers
the
proportion
of
men
who
appealed,
or
were
appealed
for,
and
the
likelihood
of
them
receiving
a
favourable
verdict.
The
operations
of
the
Tribunals
and
the
Boards
exhibit
some
striking
differences.
Large
numbers
of
Tribunals
were
established
with
diverse
and
locally
chosen
memberships,
whereas
the
personnel
for
the
handful
of
Boards
were
appointed
according
to
a
prescribed
formula.
Moreover,
the
Tribunal
members
received
a
plethora
of
ambiguous
directions,
which,
when
combined
with
a
tendency
to
prioritise
the
needs
of
their
communities,
led
to
significant
inconsistencies
of
procedure
and
decision.
In
contrast,
the
New
Zealand
Government
exerted
strong
centralised
control,
an
approach
that
coincided
with
the
Board
members’
desire
to
achieve
uniformity.
Despite
these
significant
discrepancies,
appellants
in
both
the
East
Central
Division
and
New
Zealand
were
more
likely
to
be
awarded
some
period
of
relief
from
military
service
than
to
have
their
conscription
simply
confirmed.
Description
Listed in 2015 Dean's List of Exceptional Theses
Keywords
Military Service Act, 1916, Military Service Tribunals, Military service, Yorkshire, Military service, New Zealand, Military service exemptions, West Riding, Yorkshire, Conscription, Military service, World War One, Military service, First World War, Dean's List of Exceptional Theses