On 6th January and 24th February 1919, the Accrington Prisoners of War Committee organized events to celebrate the return from camps in Germany of more than 280 men of Accrington, Church, Oswaldtwistle and Clayton-le-Moors. The names and addresses of those men in attendance at the two events were published in the Accrington Gazette on 11th January and 1st March 1919, and appear here in alphabetical order of surname. Many of the names can also be found in the Accrington 1918 Absent Voters List. http://www.pals.org.uk/pow/index.htm Accrington 1918 Absent Voters List. As the result of an Act of Parliament passed on 6th February 1918, servicemen over the age of 21 became eligible to vote in their home constituency. The first so-called Absent Voters List (AVL) was published on 15th October 1918 and was compiled from details supplied by the men themselves before the closing date for applications of 18th August 1918. This online version of the 1918 AVL has been transcribed directly from an original copy kept in the Local Studies section of Accrington Library. Although it is clear that the original copy contains several inaccuracies, no attempt has been made to make corrections. The 1918 AVL for Accrington is available online with the kind permission of Hyndburn Borough Council. http://www.pals.org.uk/avl/index.htm
They actually had to be 19 by the 15th April 1918 to be eligable, not 21. Information could (and often was) be supplied by persons other than the soldier.
Here're the instructions from an actual Representation of the people act card that was required to be filled in by a soldier who was to appear on the AVL. (The guy who filled this particular card in was only 19)...
Sorry for the tardy reply ... I must have missed this !! Thats a piece of memorabilia you don't see too often ! .... I'm still fascinated by the fact it was 19 .... I guess they came to realise that many of the boys wouldn't get to 21 !
