The anti-vaccinators

The anti-vaccinators

Vaccine therapy is a method of curing and preventing infective diseases by inoculation with causative micro-organisms in modified form but the decision has often been a difficult one for parents when their children are involved and when the vaccine is a new one. This was the climate of opinion during the 19th century when awareness of smallpox in particular was at its height, especially so in Bourne where there had been a serious outbreak in 1893 among railway navvies, the workhouse inmates and elsewhere although the extent of the infection was suppressed by the authorities and no records exist of the subsequent mortality rate.

But smallpox was a highly contagious and killer disease and so vaccination, that is inoculation with cow pox in order to afford protection from infection, became compulsory by Act of Parliament in 1853 and required parents to procure vaccination of their children within three months from birth, unless they could satisfy a court of petty sessions that they had a conscientious belief that such vaccination would be injurious to the health of the child, although this legislation was subsequently amended to vaccination within six months by a further Act in 1898.

In Bourne, the Board of Guardians was responsible for community health, employing a number of vaccination officers to ensure that the ruling was carried out, namely John Thomas Bell of Abbey road for the Bourne district, William Whitfield (Aslackby), Fred Pennington (Market Deeping) and George Henry Clark (Corby Glen). In addition they employed several Medical Officers of Health and Public Vaccinators: Dr James Watson Burdwood for the Bourne district and Dr Thomas Blasson (Billingborough), Dr Alexander Grieve Young (Castle Bytham), Dr Augustus Charles Greenwood (Corby Glen), Dr Henry Thomas Benson (Market Deeping) and Dr John Galletly (Rippingale).

Surveillance of parents was therefore strict and it was almost impossible for mothers who had just given birth to avoid vaccination without facing the consequences.

In 1896, the board received reports that only 130 children had been vaccinated out of 602 that had been born and at their meeting on Thursday 11th June, members decided that steps should be taken to enforce the Act. Mr E J Grummitt, the proposer, said: "As the law stands, we have no option and it is our duty to see the law enforced."

The clerk to the guardians, Mr Cecil Bell, was therefore instructed to notify the parents of all unvaccinated children that the guardians would take steps to enforce the Act in all cases where they failed to comply during the month of October. Most of the parents did comply but 28 did not and the board issued summonses against them for neglecting to have their children vaccinated within three months of their birth. The 28 accused were:

Arthur Wall, the Rev Thomas Hughes Parker (the Congregational minister), William Birch, Joseph Harrison, James Morgan James, John Kettle, Frederick Thomas Palmer, Maria Mason, Joseph Samson, Henry Hewood, Jabez Phillips Scotney, John William Clarke, Edward Black, James Gribble, William Nowell, Thomas Rhodes and Thomas Henry Collin, all from Bourne; Samuel Rawlinson (Bourne Fen); John Thomas Ward (Scottlethorpe); William Stokes, John Rawlinson junior, John Edward Fowler, Anthony Elsom and Edward Baker (Morton); John William Dalton and William Marvin (Morton Fen); Charles Thomas Woolmer (Witham-on-the-Hill); and Edward Gray (Manthorpe).

The children in respect of whom they were summoned were born in the years 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1896, and the prosecutions became a talking point in the town where the accused parents became known as "the anti-vaccinators".

The case came before the magistrates sitting at the Town Hall on Thursday 11th February 1897. Mr Bell, who prosecuted for the guardians, told the court that proceedings against the defendants had been delayed for 14 days to give them a further chance to have their children vaccinated and four had subsequently complied. He had also learned that day that Rhodes had agreed to have his little girl vaccinated but was not well enough at the present time and a medical certificate to this effect was produced. The case against him was therefore dismissed. The defendant Stokes had also undertaken to comply with the law and the summons against him was also withdrawn.

This left cases against 22 defendants outstanding and all were adjourned. When the guardians met on March 6th, there was an abortive attempt to have the cases dropped because of the continuing expenses in court, which had already cost them 28 summonses at two shillings each and two guineas costs, as well as fees for the advice of an eminent Queen's Counsel, but this proposal was defeated and on August 9th, the magistrates issued an order that all of the children be vaccinated within 28 days but again they refused to comply. As a result, all 22 defendants again appeared before the bench in November and this time they were each fined 20s. and ordered to pay costs.