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Joseph, 1917 by David Hewitt (view source)
Revision as of 15:05, 22 February 2017
, 15:05, 22 February 2017no edit summary
The book may be named after Joseph (1917 being the year of his central tribunal appeal hearing) but David uses him as a sort of historical roundabout and starting point for some fascinating roads meandering towards the verdict of his case and beyond.
Thanks to David's painstaking research of primary sources, including tribunal paperwork transcripts and contemporary accounts, we're treated to a myriad of potted biographies of some of the prime notables who sat on or was were connected to Joseph's local tribunal and the central appeals' board in London. Many, to follow a pattern that crops up again and again during the war, seem to be as upper class aloof as necessary for them to be removed from the daily life experiences of the average recruit. Names like the previously obscure Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell and Robert Warrand Carlisle become people in front of us in all their character-packed glory.
As we learn of Joseph's fate (signposted at the beginning but I shan't spoil it here), it's easy to become annoyed on behalf of those in his situation. Our blood pressures are worsened by the realisation that special treatment even existed for certain echelons. I was mumbling at the book on reading about the local dignitary's sons who were visited by the tribunal in their own home and declared exempt from service there and then. One assumes that the business of the day didn't take long in that case!
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