On This Day, 6 March 1917

Birmingham Mail

Tuesday 6 March 1917

MILITARY SERVICE.

RELIGIOUS WORKERS AND THEOLOGICAL STUDENTS.

A War Office letter was received in Birmingham this morning stating that the official instruction with regard to the postponement of the calling up of any persons on the grounds that they were engaged in any form of religious work, or that they were theological students, was cancelled. Men in Holy Orders and regular Ministers of any religious denomination wholly engaged in religious work who would be excepted from the Military Service Acts but have attested will not be called to the colours without reference to the War Office.

Unattested men claiming be ministers of  a religious denomination who are also engaged in secular occupations will be called to the colours for the purpose of testing their status in the courts. Attested men in a similar position should be called up and at the same time informed that if they desire to remain in civil life on the ground that they are ministers they must return their calling up notices with a statement to that effect. Cases of members of Religious Orders, working under religious vows, and officially recognised as such by the chief authority of the religious denomination to which they belong, should be referred to the War Office.

Lay evangelists or agents and theological students should be called to the colours for a date not earlier than one month from March 3. Fourteen days’ notice should be given. In the case of theological students it should noted that those who are students at Theological Colleges will fall under the provisions of instructions dealing with students, and will not, therefore, called the colours at present unless fit for service in category A or, if under 31, in category B1.