Recruitment before the war

Since 1908 the British Army had offered three forms of recruitment. A man could join the army as a professional soldier of the regular army or as a part-time member of the Territorial Force or as a soldier of the Special Reserve. There was a long-running battle, with politicians and military men taking both sides, about whether Britain should have a system of national conscripted service. By 1914 this had not come about and Britain's army was entirely voluntary.

Enlisting into the regular army
A man wishing to join the army could do so providing he passed certain physical tests and was willing to enlist for a number of years. The recruit had to be taller than 5 feet 3 inches and aged between 18 and 38 (although he could not be sent overseas until he was aged 19). He would join at the Regimental Depot or at one of its normal recruiting offices. The man had a choice over the regiment he was assigned to. He would typically join the army for a period of 7 years full time service with the colours, to be followed by another 5 on the National Reserve. (These terms were for infantry: the other arms had slightly different ones. For example, in the artillery it was for 6 years plus 6). When war was declared there were 350,000 former soldiers on the National Reserve, ready to be called back to fill the establishment of their regiments.

Enlisting into the Territorial Force
The Territorial Force came into existence in 1908 as a result of the reorganisation of the former militia and other volunteer units. It provided an opportunity for men to join the army on a part-time basis. Territorial units of most infantry regiments and of each of the Corps (Artillery, Engineers, Medical, Service and Ordnance) were formed. For example, most county regiments of the infantry foemed two Territorial battalions. These units were recruited locally and became more recognised and supported by the local community than the regulars. Recruits had a choice of regiment, but naturally the local nature of the TF meant that in general the man joined his home unit. The TF County Associations, the administration of the local TF, were planned to be the medium by which the army could be expanded in wartime. Men trained at weekends or in the evenings and went away to a summer camp. Territorials were not obliged to serve overseas, but were enlisted on the basis that in the event of war they could be called upon for full-time service. The physical criteria for joining the Terriers was the same as for the Regular army but the lower age limit was 17.

Enlisting into the Special Reserve
The Special Reserve was another form of part-time military service. Special Reservists enlisted for 6 years and had to accept the possibility of being called up in the event of a general mobilisation and to undergo all the same conditions as men of the Army Reserve. This meant that it differed from the TF in that the men could be sent overseas. Their period as a Special Reservist started with six months full-time training (paid the same as a regular) and they had 3-4 weeks training per year thereafter. A man could extend his SR service by up to four year, but could not serve beyond the age of 40. A former regular soldier whose period of reserve obligation had been completed could also re-enlist as a Special Reservist and serve up to the age of 42.

Wartime recruitment: first phase: voluntary recruitment

On his appointment as Secretary of State for War shortly after the declaration of the war, Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener issued a call for volunteers to increase the size of the army. He did not believe that the Territorial Force was an appropriate structure for doing this. The men would only have to enlist 'for the duration of the war' but legally they were joining the regular army. The volunteers were generally assigned to units of the New Armies, although many once trained were posted to replace losses in the existing regular army units.

The wartime volunteers had a choice over the regiment and unit they joined. They had to meet the same physical criteria as the regulars, but men who had previously served in the army would now be accepted up to the age of 45. There are many recorded instances of underage and indeed overage men being accepted into the service. It was not necessary to produce evidence of age or even of one's name in order to enlist.

The public response to Kitchener's appeal was rapid and at times overwhelming but soon died down to average only 100,000 men per month. Steps soon had to be taken to encourage further enlistment.

While no doubt many were inspired to enlist by the news, drum-beating and pressure to conform, some modern historians have argued that men joined up for all manner of reasons, including a natural desire to quit a humdrum or arduous job, take a chance of seeing another country or to escape family or troubles. Volunteers usually had a considerable choice about which branch of the service they joined. Many travelled considerable distances to attend a depot or recruiting office for a particular unit. They would be attracted to a Regiment or Corps by its reputation, the fact that it was the local one or where they had relatives or pals. There is also plenty of evidence that the army connived in the recruitment of under-age soldiers (although it is most definitely NOT true that the typical Tommy was 16 and lied about his age to get in).

After the form filling and the examinations (this being called attestation), the process concluded by the recruit 'taking the King's Shilling' and the recruiting Sergeant taking his sixpence per man. The recruit then went home, receiving his joining instructions and travel warrant a day or two later (usually).

Recruitment for the Territorial Force also continued.

Wartime recruitment: second phase: compulsory recruitment

National Registration
By spring 1915 it had become clear that voluntary recruitment was not going to provide the numbers of men required. The Government passed the National Registration Act on 15 July 1915 as a step towards stimulating recruitment and to discover how many men between the ages of 15 and 65 were engaged in each trade. The results of this census became available by mid-September 1915.

Derby Scheme and recruitment by Group
On 11 October 1915, Lord Derby - who had played a major part in raising volunteers, especially for the King's (Liverpool) Regiment - was appointed Director-General of Recruiting. He brought forward a scheme five days later, always called the Derby Scheme, for raising the numbers. It was half-way to conscription.

The Military Service Act 1916 and recruitment by Class
Disappointed at the results of the Derby Scheme, the Government introduced the Military Service Act on 27 January 1916. All voluntary enlistment was stopped. All British males were now deemed to have enlisted - that is, they were conscripted - if they were aged between 18 and 41 and resided in Great Britain (excluding Ireland) and were unmarried or a widower on 2 November 1915. Conscripted men were no longer given a choice of which service, regiment or unit they joined, although if a man preferred the navy it got priority to take him. This act was extended to married men on 25 May 1916.

A system of appeals tribunals was established, to hear cases of men who believed they were disqualified on the grounds of ill-health, occupation or conscientious objection. Some trades were deemed to be vital to the war economy: the were called starred occupations

The Act initially failed to deliver: only 43,000 of the men called up qualified for general service in the army. Another 93,000 failed to appear when called up, filling the courts. 748,587 men claimed some form of exemption, filling the tribunals. In addition were the 1,433,827 already starred as being in a war occupation, or those who were ill or who had already been discharged on these grounds. The manpower of the army never caught up with its planned establishment.

From September 1916, men called up were first assigned to a unit of the Training Reserve. It had been found that the traditional regimental means of training was not keeping up with the flood of men coming through, and the TR was established as a means of doing so.

A further extension of the Act on 10 April 1918, followed a serious political crisis concerning the provision of manpower - which along with a large extension of the British section of the Western Front, was cited as a prime cause of the defeat of the Fifth Army in March 1918. This act reduced the minimum age of recruitment to 18.

The introduction of conscription made it very much more difficult for a recruit to falsify his age and name.

Conscription ceased on 11 November 1918 and all conscripts were discharged, if they had not already been so, on 31 March 1920.