Frederick Hunter

Oldham Police Court 20 September 1916
Reported Oldham Standard 20 September 1916

Another conscientious objector to fighting, who had failed to respond to his calling up notice, appeared in custody at Oldham Police Court to-day. The charge sheet gave his name as Frederick Hunter and his age 28 and he resides in Fulham-street.

The Chief Constable said the man was an absentee within the meaning of the Military Service Act and he was served with notice to present himself at the local recruiting station on September 9th. However, he did not do so, nor had he reported since, with the result that the police received instructions to arrest him. He (the Chief Constable) had now to ask that the man be handed over to the custody of Sergeant-Major Bailey.

Hunter said that it was quite correct that he had received a notice telling him to appear on September 9th. Any man who received notice and did not appear must surely have some valid reason for not doing so and he contended that he had a reason, which was that he was a conscientious objector.

The Magistrates' Clerk (Mr Hesketh Booth): You should have gone before the Tribunal and told them that.
Hunter: With due respect to you, sir, I could not go in front of the Tribunal because I cannot hand my conscience over to any man or any body of men to judge. I notice one member of the Tribunal on the Bench, the Mayor, and with all respect to him, and to the other members who are not, I submit that no Tribunal, whether in Oldham or any other town, is capable of judging any man's conscience, for the reason that it is a physical impossibility to take one's conscience from out of his body and place it on the table so that others can examine it.
The Magistrates' Clerk: Is that all that you have got to say?
Hunter: No. but that is all I wish to say. Perhaps the magistrates would like to put a few questions to me?

The Chairman (Mr F Houghton): We are not here to put questions, nor are we here to try consciences. We are simply here to administer the law says that as you have failed to report, we must hand you over to the military authorities. We accordingly order you to be handed over to Sergeant-Major Bailey.
The Chief Constable: May I remind the Bench that they can impose a penalty and that they have done so in other similar cases?
The Bench consulted together and the Chairman announced that in addition to being handed over, the man must pay a penalty of 40s.

The Magistrates' Clerk (to the man): What you should have done is to have gone before the Tribunal, whether or not you dispute their capability to find out what is or is not a conscience.

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The WO 363 records for Frederick Hunter survive (held at The National Archives, available online via Find My Past):

23 November 1916 Called up for service
24 November 1916 Relegated to the reserves
16 May 1917 Remobilised
17 May 1917 Enlisted in the Labour Corps, regimental number 208185 - refused to sign
21 May 1917 Arrested for disobeying an order
11 June1917 Court Martial, sentenced to 84 days with hard labour
20 August 1917 Left prison, posted to Oswestry
26 September 1917 Before a medical board in Oswestry
30 November 1917 Discharged from army, unfit for service. Lead poisoning, not caused or aggravated by army service.

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He has an entry on the Pearce List. HERE

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Born February 1889 - stated in his WO 363 papers
Died 12 December 1933 aged 44 years
Buried Greenacres Cemetery, Grave D15 - 73

1911 census Not found
1939 register Deceased

Contributed by Dorothy Bintley