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Remembered Today:

Three year Short Service enlistment


MBrockway

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The Mother Site states

 

Quote

on Lord Kitchener’s instructions in August 1914 a new form of “short service” was introduced, under which a man could serve for “three years or the duration of the war, whichever the longer”.

Source: LLT - Enlisting into the army

 

 - but unfortunately fails to cite a reference -  and here's an example of Army Form B.2065 used for this new scheme ...

 

1987697192_PRICE-AFB2065p01-A.jpg.a414ad42127788a010700d7fcfcb6233.jpg

<snip>

1589155028_PRICE-AFB2065p01-B.jpg.b5b7918ed6813f3c0234030fa28a4c85.jpg

 

 

I am trying to find a reference for how/when exactly these new terms were set up.

 

Can anyone point me to an Army Order, ACI or similar?

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have failed to copy all of the AOs and Instructions for this period, but can tell you that War Office Instruction 35 (6 August) and 37 (7 August) refer to the raising of the 100,000 without mentioning the terms.

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On 6 Aug there was a Special Order issued that B2065 was being introduced and that until it was fully available other forms should be altered as required. The Order also specified that Regular Army enlistments were to opened for the 3 year term.

Capture.PNG.e2e8d526d3deefda40d12488be7dc57a.PNG

image.png.59e346f7a1a3094058db8127f93909b4.png

 

Craig

Edited by ss002d6252
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As cited on the LLT the decision was made by Lord Kitchener on the 6th August 1914 on his first morning of taking office as Secretary of State for War.

 

Parliamentary approval was sought, and gained to increase the Army by 500,000 later that day.  The following morning, the 7th August, a 'preliminary notice' (attached) was published in the press seeking volunteers under the terms referred to above.  Presumably the Special Order cited above was drafted at his instruction the same day. 

 

 

 

Ken

 

Screen Shot 2018-07-17 at 13.55.17.png

Edited by kenf48
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Thanks chaps!

 

Craig - do you have a specific reference for that Special Order?

 

 

 

Simkins in Kitchener's Army cites the parliamentary debate on 06 Aug 1914, which formally approved the extra funding for the Army and the increase in size, but his only quotation mentioning three years service is from the The Times the following day.

 

That turns out to be this prominent panel on p.5 ...

 

82018653_KitchenerDeclaration(TheTimesFri07Aug1914p.5).jpg.cec6e8359a737fa4ef3fbc74dd7971a3.jpg

Source: The Times, Fri 07 Aug 1914, p.5.  © Times Newspapers Limited

 

A similar panel on the previous day has nothing about Terms of Service, so it does indeed appear that the three year Short Service option was settled on 06 Aug 1914.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry Ken - our posts crossed!

 

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Craig - do you have a specific reference for that Special Order?

The Army & Navy Gazette published the details of AO's in summary form but differentiated between Army Orders and Special Orders - the later aren't always given a full reference - it may be Special Order 2 of 6 August but I'm not 100% sure in the nomenclature of the Special Orders (The paper it is in is 15 August with an order publication date of 6 August)
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0001394%2f19140815%2f042

 

Here is the Commons debate which mentions the 500,000, not that it mentions much - https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1914/aug/06/vote-of-credit-lb100000000

Craig

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Thanks Craig.  I had the Hansard references already, but, as you say, there's nothing there about the three years Term of Service.

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5 minutes ago, MBrockway said:

Thanks Craig.  I had the Hansard references already, but, as you say, there's nothing there about the three years Term of Service.

It comes across pretty much like it was an executive decision by the Army and Kitchener (and probably an absolute necessity under the circumstances).

Craig

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"Special Army Orders" were not numbered at the time of issue, but Army Orders were issued on the first of the month, and numbered serially from 1 January in each year. The Special Orders were repeated, with numbers, on the first of the following month.

 

Ron

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