Average age of Soldiers

[Terry]

Whenever the media discuss WW1 or WW2, invariably some speaker mentions "all those 17 and 18 year old boys". While I agree that many lads of that age served and died, a check of many unit histories or CWGC sites reveals that lots of the casualties were in their thirties, or even older.

I once heard that while the average age of the American soldier in WW2 was 26, the average for Vietnam was 19, which is one argument used to explain many of the things that went wrong in that war.

Has any study been done to determine the average age of British and Empire troops in WW1?

[trenchwalker]

i have always been taught the average age of a great war tommies was 23.

[jhill]

I can as yet only contribute some fragmentary information from data I have collected about some local battalions.

1.Of 817 men for which I have data of the 66th (Edmonton Overseas) Battallion, Cnd. Expeditionary Force , 735 were older than 19 years on attestation. 681 were older than 21, 527 older than 25, and 114 older than 40.

2.Of 383 men of various units reported killed with an age listed on the CWG site, 318 were older than 20 years at death, 216 older than 25, and 30 older than 40. (The calculation of ages is, of course, different here than above.)

These were early enlistments, so we can assume many old soldiers were reinlisting. Later, once the old fellows were all taken up, enlistments probably corralled a higher proportion of young fellows.

If I was writing a book or newspaper article I too would be tempted to wax poetic about 17 and 18 year olds.

[Muerrisch]

The average age of 2RWF Mons Star holders who subsequently died and whose ages are known is 29 years. These, and their equivalents in other regiments, are responsible for the fact that we continue to drive on the left, drink warm beer and can hold peaceful protests. RIP the Old Contemptibles.