How did men enlist in the British Army before 1916?

[Jack Welsh]

I am looking to find out how men would have enlisted in the army before conscription was introduced. I know they would probably be put through tests and have to sign letters etc., however I am looking for specifics. What tests would they have to do? What forms would they fill out and what would be on them? And finally where would they go to complete there training? Does this depend on location or regiment etc.?

Thanks in advance.

Edited 18 November , 2021 by Jack Welsh

[RussT]

Welcome to the Forum Jack !!

Hopefully, the link below will give you a start - and other pages on the LLT site should help you with your other queries.

Have a look, and then come back if you have some specifics:

Cheers

Russ

Enlisting into the army - The Long, Long Trail (longlongtrail.co.uk)

[RussT]

Here is the most common (there were other types) Army Form (AF B2505) that was used to attest war-time volunteers for the duration of the war.

It's worth studying this Form to gain an appreciate as to what was expected in the enlistment process.

Russ

 

[jonbem]

There was also some Special Reserve such as the Wagoners from Sledmeree

See Wagoners' Museum | Attractions | Sledmere House | Family Days Out

Wolds Wagoners: Remembering East Yorkshire's courageous First World War heroes | York Press

The ‘Wolds Wagoners’ who left farms for war | Yorkshire Post

Edited 18 November , 2021 by jonbem

[Jack Welsh]

24 minutes ago, RussT said:

Welcome to the Forum Jack !!

Hopefully, the link below will give you a start - and other pages on the LLT site should help you with your other queries.

Have a look, and then come back if you have some specifics:

Cheers

Russ

Enlisting into the army - The Long, Long Trail (longlongtrail.co.uk)

Thanks, this is great! However, who would you go to, to receive your attestation form?  

[RussT]

1 minute ago, Jack Welsh said:

However, who would you go to, to receive your attestation form?

You would simply turn up at the recruitment centre - they were in places like Town Halls, Regimental Barracks etc.

Russ

[Jack Welsh]

Just now, RussT said:

You would simply turn up at the recruitment centre - they were in places like Town Halls, Regimental Barracks etc.

Russ

Ah that makes sense, thanks!

[RussT]

For some specialist Corps (e.g. Army Service Corps, Royal Engineers, Royal Army Medical Corps etc) you would normally require specific skills and there would be additional tests to ensure you had the requisite skill level.

Russ

[Interested]

An expert will come along shortly (I hope) and clarify - I seem to think that volunteers signed up initially for 3 years, but the powers-that-be had the option to extend this indefinitely.

Can't recall where this came from...

[RussT]

10 minutes ago, Interested said:

I seem to think that volunteers signed up initially for 3 years

As per the Form above, I think it was for the duration

Russ

[RussT]

Here's an AF B111 which I think was commonly used initially - and as you say it was for 3 years - but I understood that this was over-ruled to the duration well before the 3 years was up.

I'm sure this has been discussed at length on many occasions, so a search of the Forum might help.

 

 

[ss002d6252]

7 minutes ago, RussT said:

As per the Form above, I think it was for the duration

Russ

3 years, or the duration. Some variations of the forms had the printed on the top, others just listed it under question 17.

Craig

[TEW]

The 1922 War Committee 'Enquiry into Shell Shock' has some interesting detail on recruiting and medicals.

There's an online reader at the Wellcome Collection, they offer a pdf download but the resolution is not good for the eyes. Recruiting pre-1916 starts on page 160.

There are pre-1916 details spread throughout from page 160 to the end, testimonials from doctors & recruiting witnesses.

I'll add some parts below. Images courtesy of Wellcome Collection.

TEW

 

[kerry]

On 18/11/2021 at 20:04, RussT said:

You would simply turn up at the recruitment centre - they were in places like Town Halls, Regimental Barracks etc.

Russ

So, would the long queues at a local recruiting office all be given attestation forms to sign and hand back? What happened after that please?

[John(txic)]

Lots of ads were placed in newspapers seeking men with special skills.  Here are a few from the local press in Dudley:

Call to Arms - ASC Wheelwrights DC 5.6.15.pdf Call to arms - Cobblers wanted DC 6.5.16.pdf Call to arms - AOC Storemen DC 23.10.15.pdf Call to Arms - Army Veterinary Corps DC 3.4.15.pdf

[Keith_history_buff]

On 03/07/2023 at 16:38, kerry said:

So, would the long queues at a local recruiting office all be given attestation forms to sign and hand back? What happened after that please?

I would imagine this got completed once you got to the front of the queue, on the basis that the recruiting sergeant was satisfied that you were not underage. They got a "finder's fee" for each enlisted man, so it was in their interests that the recruit was not rejected. Here's an eyewitness account of when Thomas McIndoe (1898-1980) enlisted. (There's a recording of an interview with him at the IWM).

  

Quote

I was always a tall and fairly fit lad. When I confronted the recruiting officer he said that I was too young, although I had said that I was eighteen years of age. He said "Well, I think you are too young son. Come back in another year or so." I returned home and never said anything to my parents. I picked up the bowler hat which my mother had bought me and which was only to wear on Sundays, and I donned that thinking it would make me look older. I presented myself to the recruiting officer again, and this time there were no queries, I was accepted. Birth certificates were not asked for, although I had one, not with me but I had one.  My mother was very hurt when I arrived home that night and told her that I had to report to Mill Hill next morning. I was sixteen [on 17 June 1914.] 

  

On 18/11/2021 at 17:10, Jack Welsh said:

I am looking to find out how men would have enlisted in the army before conscription was introduced. I know they would probably be put through tests and have to sign letters etc., however I am looking for specifics. What tests would they have to do? What forms would they fill out and what would be on them? And finally where would they go to complete their training? Does this depend on location or regiment etc.?

Thanks in advance.

I came across this, whilst searching for something else. I'd say that the other comments would appear to have addressed your question. There's some more attestation forms on the following thread.

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/119267-attestation-forms/

Whilst it was notionally possible to enlist under the Special Reserve or the Regular terms of service that existed prior to the war, it made sense for most people to enlist under the General Service terms, and to be demobilised at the end of hostilities.

 

The standard Regular terms of service in the British Army were 7 years service with the colours, and 5 years in the reserve. To facilitate recruitment, supplementary Regular terms of service were announced by Army Order 296 dated 6 August 1914. Recruits to the New Army could serve for “three years or the duration of the war, whichever the longer”. These terms were changed by Army Order 470 dated 7 November, simplified to "the duration of the war." The recruit had the right to choose the regiment they joined. (Source: Wikipedia)

In a lot of cases, where you had friends joining up, if your town had a Pals' Battalion that was being raised, you would probably want to be in the same unit as your mates. When you look at the medal rolls for the service battalions, there does seem to have been an entire swathe of recruits being channelled into these battalions, with the result that you don't see many gaps between service numbers.

Off of the top of my head, this immediately springs to mind as a memoir of a New Army soldier, which is likely to tell you more:

Coppard, George (1999). 
With a Machine Gun to Cambrai – A Story of the First World War.
London: Cassell Military Paperbooks. ISBN 0-304-35258-6.