Advantages of enlisting in Special Reserve, September 1914?

[rolt968]

Was there any advantage to a man to enlist in the Special Reserve on 4 September 1914, rather than the Territorial Force or wartime terms in the regular army (if I phrased that correctly)?

 

(I emphasise: advantage to the man himself, not getting into battle sooner or anything like that. Also the man concerned had served previously some years before, service terminated as no longer fit enough with pension for a year.)

 

RM

[clive_hughes]

Not sure if there are other advantages, but if he was already "trained" (from previous service) it would mean he might get out to the Front a lot sooner than a rookie.  Sounds like a disadvantage, with hindsight; but in early September 1914 it was still possible for men to think that way. 

 

He might have been offered a 1-year-or-Duration SR contract, which was less then the standard 4-year Territorial one, or 3-year New Army one.   I gather some 65,000 such contracts had been signed up to the end of September 1914.  Disadvantage, as it subsequently turned out, was the "Duration" part.   

 

A standard SR contract had the worst of all worlds - 6 years including automatic "General Service" acceptance of overseas postings.  No great surprise that the New Army held out a better offer, comparatively speaking.  One of the very Welsh Anglesey recruits in September 1914 later wrote that he didn't understand the form which the recruiting Sergeant put before him, and discovered he'd signed up for 6 years.  The Army held him to it, as well, not discharging him until 1920.   

 

Clive

Edited 11 January , 2018 by clive_hughes

[Guest]

It depends  - the SR offered different terms of engagement:

• 6 Years SR
• 4 Years SR
• Re-enlisted 1 year SR Army Order 295 of 1914
• Re-enlisted SR (4 and 6 years)
• 6 months or War, Home Hospital Reserve

 

It is worth noting that enlistment under SR terms of engagement stopped in Sep-Oct 1914 and "3 years or the duration" (Army Order 296 of 1914)  became the standard terms offered (the terms the Kitchener men signed up for). His window of opportunity was small. Also it is worth remembering that SR Battalions effectively became Reserve Battalions in short order; consolidating Regulars, Army Reservists, Special reservists and recruits. They had dual roles: key point protection in the UK (typically ports) as well as finding drafts for the Regular battalions. 

 

A few SR Battalions did serve as complete units overseas - the 4th (Extra Reserve) Bn King's (Liverpool Regt) disembarked in France as a complete unit in March 1915 for example. This was ahead of the large scale deployment of the bulk of the TF battalions during the War.

 

There were distinct advantages for someone wanting to get to the Front sooner particularly if he had already been trained. If he didn't want to go overseas, the TF would have been a better option until the Military Service Act of 1916 levelled the playing field. His refresher training may well have been quite short.  Special Reservists were forming part of the second and third reinforcement drafts as early as Sep 1914. In some exceptional cases some SR men went overseas with the main body, but one might reasonably assume these were men with significant prior service.  Terms of service were different to the TF where in Sep 1914 there was no overseas obligation. One could join the second line TF battalion for Home Service. 

 

On the date he signed up no TF units (battalion size) had been sent to the Western Front (although some embarked within days). The TF at the time officially required 6 months training. There were only six TF units fully signed up for Overseas Service pre war.  Ironically most of these were sent to garrison outposts of the empire rather than spearhead the TF deployment. By Dec 1914 there were around twenty TF Battalions in France. By this stage most of the Fully Trained and Effective Special Reservists had been sent out. Drafts in late 1914 and early 1915 were almost exclusively SR men augmented with some recovered wounded and and some time -expired re-enlisted men.

 

MG

Edited 11 January , 2018 by Guest

[rolt968]

Thank you both. That's very useful information.

 

I checked his attestation form. He re-enlisted for one year in the Special Reserve. He seems to have been enlisting for the minimum available commitment, which I suspect he knew.  I had not realised that his window of opportunity was so small. It's tempting to wonder if he did.

 

I hope I'm wrong but I doubt very much if he was trying to get to the front early. While he declared his previous service including that he had served in India, he neglected to say that he had been discharged due to ill health. He went AWOL on 2 October, being returned by the civil power two weeks later.

 

RM

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, rolt968 said:

Thank you both. That's very useful information.

 

I checked his attestation form. He re-enlisted for one year in the Special Reserve. He seems to have been enlisting for the minimum available commitment, which I suspect he knew.  I had not realised that his window of opportunity was so small. It's tempting to wonder if he did.

 

I hope I'm wrong but I doubt very much if he was trying to get to the front early. While he declared his previous service including that he had served in India, he neglected to say that he had been discharged due to ill health. He went AWOL on 2 October, being returned by the civil power two weeks later.

 

RM

 

 

RM

 

Which regiment?

 

MG

[rolt968]

3 minutes ago, QGE said:

 

 

RM

 

Which regiment?

 

MG

Northamptonshire Regiment. It was the first wartime enlistment of the much enlisting Harry/Henry Bellamy Drakefield.

 

RM