What date did conscription officially end?

[centurion]

Having looked at 'The British army and the crisis of empire, 1918-22' by Keith Jeffery and other sources it would seem that the following happened.

a] Call ups ceased about the same time of the Armistice (note 'about')

b] By January 1919 unrest amongst soldiers awaiting discharge became significant with riots, minor mutinies etc.

c] Wilson reported to the British cabinet that there were still considerable demands on the army ( German occupation, Russia, the Baltic, Ireland, Iraq etc etc). He didn't see how this could be met without further conscription.

d] There was much debate and argument. Doubt was expressed about the willingness of the country to accept further conscription

e] Churchill made the point that the army would not willingly stand for delays in demobilisation and conscription to fill the gaps would be essential if enough volunteers could not be found.

f] It was decided to pass emergency legislation to extend the ability to conscript until May 1920

g] Fears of civil disobedience and worse stayed any actual conscription - somehow commitments were reduced and enough volunteer enlistments found. (the willingness to accept an Irish 'settlement' may have been one result).

So to answer the original question Conscription as a government power ended in May 1920

Conscription as an actuality ended sometime in Nov 1918

[tjpatti]

You said his Death Certificate states that he was a soldier and that he died in a military hospital. If so, then this should be sufficient evidence, because whether he died from natural causes is irrelevant - all serving military personnel qualified irrespective of their cause of death (assuming thier death occurred within the qualifying dates). Suggest you contact John Hartley on this forum.

Best wishes.

Andy.

Thanks Andy - I will do that. Thanks for pointing out that this soldier might qualify as a non-comm, I hope you're right: his death certificate definitely says he was a soldier and he died in Belfast Military Hospital.

Teresa

[Northern Soul]

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

Do you happen to know where he was buried?

Andy.

[NigelS]

Some more from The Times & Hansard

The Times, Tuesday, Nov 12, 1918; pg. 9; Issue 41945; col G; Article CS152767340

Welcoming The News. Happy Crowds In London., Streets Gay With Flags., Cheers For The King.

The transition from war to peace conditions has begun. Recruiting has been stopped and all call-up notices are cancelled. Bells may now be rung and public clocks may chime and strike at night. Big Ben and St. Paul's Cathedral clock were heard again yesterday. Various concessions with regard to lighting and hotel and theatre hours, some temporary, are also announced. Particulars will be found on page 5. The light in the tower of the Houses of Parliament re-appeared last night.

The Times, Tuesday, Nov 12, 1918; pg. 5; Issue 41945; col A; Article CS84085612

War Restrictions Relaxed. Recruiting Stopped., Lights, Fireworks, Bells, And Clocks.

NO MORE RECRUITING

The Secretaries of the Local Government Board and the Ministry of National Service make the following announcement:-

The Government has decided that all recruiting under the Military Service Acts is to be suspended, all outstanding calling-up notices, whether for medical examination or service, is cancelled. All cases pending before tribunals should be suspended

Hansard: RECRUITING (SUSPENSION).HC Deb 12 November 1918 vol 110 cc2508-9

2508

Sir D. MACLEAN

(by Private Notice) asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the official announcement in the Press to-day that recruiting has been suspended, and also that appeals before tribunals are suspended, he will give, by wire or otherwise, categorical instructions to the tribunals throughout the country and National Service representatives that their activities for the time being, at any rate, are to be suspended?

Mr. BONAR LAW

A telegram was sent yesterday to each region, with instructions to repeat to each tribunal the decision to suspend action.

Mr. BRUNNER

May I ask whether the Volunteer condition attached to certain conditions of exemption will be adhered to, seeing that in many cases it is a great tie upon busy men who have to fulfil the Volunteer condition?

Mr. BONAR LAW

I think there is a great deal of force in the point raised, but I have not looked into it, and I should like to have notice before giving a definite opinion.

Mr. WATT

How does the right hon. Gentleman's answer apply to men who have been called up to-day or on other days of the week?

2509

Mr. BONAR LAW

I think they are all being suspended.

Hansard: COUNTRY RECRUITS. HC Deb 15 November 1918 vol 110 c3110W

3110W

Mr. C. WASON

asked the Under-Secretary for War if the military are still calling up men from the already depleted country villages; and whether, under existing conditions, he will give immediate instructions that all such notices should be at once withdrawn?

Mr. BECK

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply. I am not aware that men are still being called up from country villages. As I have already stated in the House, Instructions were issued on 11th November suspending all recruiting under the Military Service Acts, and cancelling all outstanding notices calling men up for medical examination or for service.

In the case of men that had been called up and who had only attested days before the armistice it looks, at least from my Great Uncle's service record, as if they had to go through 'due process' He attested & was accepted 6/7th Nov '18, aged 18yrs & 10mths; 18th Nov '18 to 'H' Machine Gun Corps Training Bn; 16th Jan '19 granted 28 days furlough (No.1 Dispersal Unit, Crystal Palace); 13th Feb. '19 transferred to Class 'Z' Army reserve on demobilization. It would be interesting to know what level of training he actually got during his short spell of service - I suspect that, regardless of the fact that there was an armistice, as far as the army was concerned it would have been 'business as usual' as far as training conscripts was concerned (although the conscripts might not have liked it, it would probably have been better for all concerned than having bored 18 year olds sitting around twiddling their thumbs, or worse!)

NigelS

[geraint]

Centurion, Tom.

My examples (5 men) were dealt with by a tribunal meeting on 3 November 1918, and reported in the paper on 10th November.

[centurion]

NigelS, Geraint.

Your material ties in with the sequence I constructed. It seems failrly clear that call ups stopped shortly after Nov 11 but there would be some men already in the pipeline and some authorities may have got (and acted on) the message sooner than others. Thereafter no call ups but the ability to do so was retained until May 1920 in case of emergency. I know that there were some financial enlistment incentives after the war to get some men to stay on (by reenlisting) and attract others. I know that recruiting in Ireland was resumed in Jan 1919 for example. I'll see if I can unearth specific details of some of these schemes.Possibly that's how Teresa's soldier got into the army.

[Mk VII]

The rather untidy way that the war 'stopped' on 11/11/18 was dealt with by the Termination Of The Present War (Definition) Act, 1918 which was rushed through all its stages from the 15th-20th November and received Royal Assent the next day. It allowed His Majesty in Council to declare that the war had de jure ended and allowed different days to be appointed for different purposes.