Derby Scheme

[jim_davies]

Reading on the main website about the Derby Scheme, I came across the following:

"The final days of the Derby Scheme attestation period were hectic indeed at the recruitment offices. So many men were queuing that it was necessary to dispense with the usual medical examination."

Why were so many trying to enlist/attest before the end of the Derby Scheme? I can think that they perhaps wanted to avoid the stigma of being conscipted-but wasn't that really what happened when your class was called up under the Derby Scheme anyway? Was it considered to be the last chance to be a "volunteer"?

Any thoughts?

Jim

[cliff brown]

I'd agree there were long queues because local newspapers I've seen give long lists of men attesting. I think the reason is that the Derby men could still request to go in a local unit or a unit of their choice, which wasn't open to conscripts.

[Graham Stewart]

Jim,

The "Derby Sheme" lads tend to be overlooked when it comes to the Great War, and in effect they were the last of the true Volunteers, although having attested they weren't actually called forward for training until January 1916 and hot on their heels were to come the Conscripts. In military circles they were never called "Derby Men", and all instructions and orders refer to them as those enlisted under the "Group System", and they were even given their own section as such in the Police Gazette, as those who failed to turn up from the selected group were regarded as deserters.

Initially it would appear that a lot of them were actually destined to become Territorials, but I've certainly seen adds in our locals newspapers telling them to opt for units like the Tyneside Scottish.

Above is a nice photo of a "Derby" lad, wearing the "Derby Scheme" khaki armband, on which is sewn a red Kings Crown, which actually looks as though it's cut from old scarlet tunics.

Graham.

[Charles Fair]

Jim, I think avoiding the stigma of being conscripted certainly had something to do with it, but equally having a say in the choice of unit did to. My research suggests that the RAMC was a popular choice (see this thread) - not that that stopped many from ultimately becoming infantrymen.

I agree with Graham's comment about many of them ending up in the TF. This is because the poor recruiting for the TF in mid-late 1915 (especially in London) meant that many TF units were becoming very weak in early to mid 1916. The infantry battalions of 47 Division had a bayonet strength of as little as 300-400 in May 1916. Their strength didn't start to pick up until July, August and September when they received big drafts prior to the Somme.

Excellent photo Graham.

Charles