Recruitment To The British Army During The First World War - Conscription, 1916-18

Conscription, 1916-18

With insufficient numbers of bachelors attesting for the Derby Scheme to be workable, and the French Army in dire need of relief, a Military Service Bill was introduced in January 1916, providing for the conscription of single men aged 18–41; in May conscription was extended to married men. The government pledged not to send teenagers to serve in the front line. Ireland was excluded from the scheme (later proposals to introduce conscription in Ireland led to widespread support for Sinn Féin and independence). Conscription, however, had little impact on enlistment. The number continued to decline towards 40,000 a month, as essential men were needed for war work and the poor health of many others remained, even as the requirements were progressively reduced. From 1.28 million enlisting in 1915, this had fallen to 1.19 million for 1916 and fell to around 820,000 for 1917. The healthy manpower was simply not there — in 1917t56–18 only 36% of men examined were suitable for full military duties, and 40% were either totally unfit or were classified as unable to undergo physical exertion. In 1918, the British Army was actually smaller than in 1917 (3.84 million to 3.9 million) and almost half the infantry was nineteen or younger.

Men who were due to be called-up for military service were able to appeal against their conscription; they or their employers could appeal to a local Military Service Tribunal in their town or district. These appeals could be made on the grounds of working of national importance, business or domestic hardship, medical unfitness, and conscientious objection. A very large number of men appealed: by the end of June 1916, 748,587 men had appealed to tribunals. Over the same period around 770,000 men joined the army. Most men were given some kind of exemption, usually temporary (between a few weeks and six months) or conditional on their situation at work or home remaining serious enough to warrant their retention at home. In October 1.12 million men nationally held tribunal exemption or had cases pending, by May 1917 this had fallen to 780,000 exempt and 110,000 pending. At this point there were also 1.8 million men with exemptions granted by the government (for example, those working in war industries); combined these exemptions covered more men than were serving overseas with the British Army. Some men gained exemption on the condition that they joined the Volunteer Training Corps for part time training and home defence duties; by February 1918, 101,000 men had been directed to the Corps by the tribunals.

Although it has been the focus of the tribunals' image since the war, only around 2% of those appealing were Conscientious Objectors. Around 7000 men were granted non-combatant duties, while a further 3000 ended up in special work camps. 6000 were imprisoned. Some forty two were sent to France to potentially face the threat of a firing squad. This threat was more real to thirty five who were formally sentenced to death, but immediately reprieved, with ten years penal servitude substituted. 34