In May 1916, conscription under the The Military Service Act was extended to cover all married men up to the age of forty-one. In theory this would have included Henry George, who had reached the age of thirty-six in February of that year. Those claiming exemption applied to local tribunals which examined the merits of each case. The paperwork for some 11,000 cases presented to the Middlesex tribunal have survived, though Henry George is not listed. This means that either an application was not made, or that the casework has been lost, or that an application for exemption was not required.

Although farm workers found it almost impossible to be exempted from military service, that was not the case with farm owners. In the autumn of 1915, the Earl of Derby, who was Lord Kitchener's Director General of Recruiting, declared that where a farmer occupied and farmed his own land he would be considered as indispensable and would not be called up or be expected to volunteer ~ food and dairy production being considered a vital part of the war effort.

Henry George could have been considered a farm owner by virtue of his wife's share in Little Stanmore Farm. However, living as a lodger in his wife's house on Gresham Road would not have helped the case for his exemption. So it is possible that their move to the farm c.1915 may have been necessary for Henry George to meet both the ownership and residency requirements.* Had he still been working for his Father, the exemption would have been less easy to secure.** It is also possible that Henry George obtained an exemption on medical grounds.

There is no family recollection of Henry George being in the armed forces and there are no medals, badges or any paperwork as evidence of service. It also seems unlikely, given his undoubted eligibility for exemption and his age, that Mary Jane would have allowed him to volunteer. He does not appear in the very extensive list of 'Local Men with the Colours' which was published in the local newspapers in August 1915. Nevertheless, there are two sets of military records which could, possibly, belong to Henry George.

It seems unlikely that the two 'War Badge' documents which refer to 'Henry Muddle', belonged to Henry George, for two reasons:

• He never once gave his name on official documents without using his middle name.
• He would have been thirty-seven at the time of discharge ~ not thirty-six as is documented on the War Badge roll.

The documents almost certainly refer to Henry James Muddle 1879-1965, who had enlisted twice before and seemed very eager to serve, despite several setbacks. He had deserted from his unit in London on 29th May 1915 and, as it would not have been possible for him to return to his home, seems to have re-enlisted in another unit based in London on 2nd June.

You can read more about Henry James Muddle at:

http://www.muddlefamilies.info/framfield/17em.htm#MUDDLEhenry1879_1965

The other set of records refers to a 'Harry Muddle' who served in the 4th Horse Transport Division of the Royal Army Service Corps. At the end of the war he was awarded the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal. Given his considerable experience with horses, this record could possibly belong to Henry George, though as it indicates service overseas this seems unlikely.

There is one other Henry Muddle to whom this, and the other record might belong. You can read more about him at:

http://www.muddlefamilies.info/ardingly/04hm.htm#MUDDLEhenry1883_1964