Extemption from service in 1916?

[Jean McGurn]

Looking at the Service record of 132338 Edward O'hare there is a copy of an exemption certificate dated 1916 - seems he had his own hairdressing business . Yet all the other papers show he served in 127 Siege Battery R.G.A. and wasn't disharged until 1919. Most of them appear to be because the army couldn't find his discharge papers.

Would it have been common in the early days of WWI to exempt a business owner? 

Jean

[newburychap]

Exemption would not come into the picture until 1916 - when conscription was brought in.

Men wishing to claim exemption had to apply to local tribunals, which could give total exemption (unfit; reserved occupation with no possible substitute) or temporary exemption for a few months (to allow arrangements to be made for a replacement to be found, or in cases of possible hardship on those left behind,etc). 

If the military were not happy with the tribunal's decision they would appeal it.

Your chap may have been given, say, six months exemption to enable him to make arrangements for his family's well-being, then he would be off.

My local paper had many reports of the activities of the tribunals - you might find details of his case or, at least, a summary.

[Jean McGurn]

Have now managed to decifer the writing and it is dated 29 Feb 1916 and exempted Edward until 31st March 1916 due to exceptional financial or business obligation.

From this I presume he would have had to find someone to take care of the business until he was able to return.

Jean

[newburychap]

A one month exemption is a sop to the appellant, doesn't delay things much but gives the chap a chance to sort out some sort of stopgap arrangement to cover while he's absent. Many small businesses would be left to the wife to look after on her own, but hairdressing requires some skill, making it less easy to find cover.  Plenty of businesses went under faced with these circumstances.