Guest helenmars Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Can anyone tell me when conscription began in WW1? My great-uncle was killed in action in Sept.1915 at Ypres so would he have enlisted or been conscripted ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brummy Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Hi, Conscription began on the 9th of Febuary 1916 for men between the ages of 18 and 41. So your great uncle was not a conscript, He could have been regular army, a reservist, TA or some other catagory. if you go to the CWGC website at www.cwgc.org you can use the details you have (name date of death etc.)to get more details, otherwise you can visit the PRO at Kew and look up his service record. Brum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Helen, there is a page that explains all here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brummy Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Hi Chris, On the long, long trail site that you link to, the date given for the act is January 27th 1916, yet I was always led to beleive that conscription started on the 9th of Febuary are these dates in dispute or is this a technical difference, for example the time difference between the act being introduced and the first notice of conscription being issued. Looking foreward to finding out. Brum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brummy Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Hi, just found a third date, 2nd Febuary 1916 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest helenmars Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Thanks very much for the info. (Sorry, forgot about the long, long trail page.) Have just read through it and found out a few things , including the date he would have been sent to The Front. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Hi, Conscription began on the 9th of Febuary 1916 for men between the ages of 18 and 41. So your great uncle was not a conscript, He could have been regular army, a reservist, TA or some other catagory. if you go to the CWGC website at www.cwgc.org you can use the details you have (name date of death etc.)to get more details, otherwise you can visit the PRO at Kew and look up his service record. Brum and don't forget the Special Reserve: about 550 men for each regiment, and 1100 for those with four regular battalions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest helenmars Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 The thing is, I know that my great-uncle Joseph Kendall was in the Oxford and Bucks and that he is commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ypres.He would have been killed at the second attack on Bellewaarde (this I have only learnt since joining this forum). I was just wondering why he would have been in the Oxford and Bucks when he was born,and was living in, Chilvers Coton, Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Why wouldn't he have joined the Royal Warwickshire regiment, for instance.Would he have been able to choose a regiment or was it just that volunteers were needed for the Ox and Bucks at the time. (he would have enlisted pre May 1915, I think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 8 April , 2004 Share Posted 8 April , 2004 Helen, your relative enlisted in Nuneaton, (according to "Soldiers Died in the Great War" where he is listed as KINDALL). That early in the war, generally speaking, recruits were given some choice as to which regiment they joined. He may have chosen to join the Ox. and Bucks. for one of several reasons. For example (and I am making this up) the Ox. and Bucks might have been short of men and recruiters were told to encourage men to join that Regiment, perhaps with the promise of getting into action quicker. Also, it was not unknown for soldiers to join their local regiment only to find themselves transferred to a different one when their training was over and it was time to be sent overseas. Hopefully there will be some expert local knowledge on the Forum and someone might have a more definite answer for you. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brummy Posted 9 April , 2004 Share Posted 9 April , 2004 Hi, Just a question on forum norms. I am still relitively new to this forum so I am asking advice from longer term users here. This topic has raised my interest in the disparity in dates for the introduction of conscription, from 4 sources I now have 3 different dates . I wish to ask forum members how and why this has come about, so is it normal practice to ask on this thread, because this is where the question arose or should I start a new thread and if so in which catagory? Brum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brummy Posted 9 April , 2004 Share Posted 9 April , 2004 Oh come on people a little help here please. Brum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 10 April , 2004 Share Posted 10 April , 2004 Patience, Brummy! I've answered your question on the new thread you started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brummy Posted 10 April , 2004 Share Posted 10 April , 2004 Thanks Brum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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