Military Chat

My Great Uncle was apparently 1 of only 3000 given exemption from the above . He was not a conscientious objector, nor had one of the stated jobs required for the war effort, being an artist, nor ill or disabled. Can anyone help find reasons why he would have been exempt?

Thank you in advance
Shani

My dad was classified as B (something). He had flat feet. He wasn't at all disabled but obviously wouldn't be able to march for any length of time.

Might your great uncle have been too old?

Was he a widower with children or could there have been domestic hardship if he had to leave the family. These were two other reasons for exemption.

Kath. x

Many thanks for your response.
He didn't have family. He was 23 years old and in fine health. He was gay but was not arrested until 1944 where he was imprisoned for 9 weeks. I did think it was because he was gay but he never told anyone the reason why. When you consider he was a well known artist amongst a large gay friendship group, why wouldn't he tell his friends? He was also half-german which was not a secret, his dad was also naturalised.

It could well have been because he was homosexual. The Forces physical medical examination would have spotted unusual 'damage' eg tearing or bleeding where there shouldn't have been any.
There was a bio-film/TV programme about Quentin Crisp (born Denis Pratt) who was turned down for the same reason.

It wasn't illegal to say that you were homosexual, but it was if caught having or suspected of having sexual activity with the same gender. Read up on 'Cottaging'.

Excellent, thank you. That probably is the more likely reason