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William Henry StoneWilliam Henry Stone was born at Cambridge in the parish of Slimbridge, and his birth was registered during the first quarter of 1895. In 1901 he was living near the White Lion Hotel, Cambridge, with his parents Henry Stone, a coachbuilder, and Mary née Savage, together with his elder sisters, Elizabeth and Laura. His mother died in 1904, and by 1911 William was working with his father as a coachbuilder and they were living at The Lake, Frampton, with Mary's sister, Laura, as their housekeeper. Soon after the government introduced conscription William appealed to the Gloucester tribunal as a conscientious objector, requesting exemption from service on the grounds of his pacifist beliefs. His case was heard on 31 March 1916 when he was closely questioned. He said that his feelings had started in about November 1914, and that he certainly had not been an objector before the war. After also admitting that he did not belong to any organisation such as the Society of Friends, his request for exemption was dismissed and he was refused the right to appeal. William's service during the war, which is commemorated on the plaque in the village hall but has not otherwise been traced, would doubtless have involved duties that did not include anything related to active combat, for many conscientious objectors did serve their country. It is interesting to note that he was not recorded as an absent voter during 1918-19. After the war he continued to live at The Lake until 1922. In 1944 William was a postman when he was granted probate for his father's estate; his address at the time was not given. |