conscripts

[nicburch]

Hello,Can anyone tell me about conscription,how it worked,dates etc.as apposed to volunteers.

Nick.

[Tony Lund]

I have some information, treat it as a guide rather than a gospel.

The 15th August 1915 was National Registration Day, which was intended to register every adult in the country, aged between fifteen and sixty-five years of age, and establish what skills and dependants they had. Because it is treated as if it were a census, the register will not be made public until 2015.

All the men who had registered and who were considered to be eligible for military service were invited to attest their willingness to be called to serve in the army if required, or volunteer to be conscripted according to some opponents of the scheme. The attested men were placed in groups, depending on whether a man was single or married, age and usefulness to the war economy, each group to be called in turn, single men first. There was no legal compulsion to attest, and although most men were visited at home and subjected to persuasion, many did not attest and some did not even register. This was known as Lord Derby's scheme, after its originator, the doorstep canvassers were instructed to be polite at all times and to attempt to get men to attest by persuasion. Not everybody made them welcome. Cards containing the details of the attested men were forwarded for processing, those who were considered essential war workers had a star placed next to their names; the rest were placed in groups to be called upon as necessary.

12th January 1916 Military Service Act passed in Commons, it applied to single men aged eighteen to forty-one.

4th May 1916 extension of the Military Service Act passed in Commons, it applied to all men between eighteen to forty-one years of age.

In July 1917 another Military Service Act was passed in the Commons, this allowed for the conscription of British subjects living abroad and Allied nationals living in Britain.

February 1918, a Military Service Act was passed by the House of Commons, this raised the age limit for conscription to fifty years of age. The minimum age at which a man could apply for exemption on the grounds of being in a reserved occupation was raised to twenty-three in July.

[Tony Lund]

I do not know if some civilian work was made compulsory but it may have been.

In March 1917 the National Service scheme was introduced, this was designed to make sure that men who were not suitable for military service were usefully employed elsewhere. The government said that large numbers of reinforcements were needed for the army and men fit for service must be withdraw from civilian life and substitutes must be found for them. An industrial army must be formed and all males between the ages of 18 and 61 were called upon to volunteer for National Service. A government circular stated; “Volunteers will be required to state on the form various particulars, including the work for which they consider themselves best fitted, in order that they may be allocated to such work as far as possible. They will also sign an undertaking to attend, when summoned, at a National Service office near their homes for interview and final classification and on receiving seven days notice, to take up whole time work of national importance wherever sent by the Director General in accordance with conditions printed on the form. Wages will be paid at the rate current for the job, or 25/- per week, whichever is the higher. No volunteer will be called up until there is a job for him, and if he is now giving his best services to the State (for instance, In agriculture), he will not be asked to change the nature of his occupation.”

[nicburch]

Many thanks for your info and time,it has been a great help.

Nick.