History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

In the middle of WWI large numbers of servicemen were returning home with permanent injuries. In Manchester Henry Lesser Rothbard an India Rubber manufacturer, was disturbed because so many men could not get work. He wrote to hundreds of employers across the country and then sent a pamphlet to Parliament in 1915. He suggested a scheme in which every company with more than 10 employees, should ensure that no less than 5% of the workforce were disabled ex-servicemen. He wanted royal patronage for the idea which would be called The King’s National Roll Scheme (KNRS). Every business who took part would be able to use the King’s Seal on their office stationary. Although some interest was shown the scheme was not implemented. In 1917 a Rothbard Parliamentary Committee was set up to assess the feasibility of the scheme. By Xmas 1918 over 500,000 men had been discharged with permanent disabilities. In May 1919 about 38,000 had registered at employment exchanges and the scheme looked more appea...