Re: Twice rejected by the Army

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 "Dr. Barry Worthington" <shrbw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
When volunteering for the army, it was common practice to serve the
volunteer with a 'notice of attestation' which contained the terms of
enlistment. When he actually signed on, one of the questions on the
form was about this notice, whether it was understood, and who gave it
him. I think that it was a relic of the old days, to ensure that you
were not enlisted under false pretences on the basis of bogus promises
given by an unscrupulous recruiting sergeant (who got a bounty for
each 'catch').

During the Great War the introduction of military conscription was heavily
politicised in Britain and the Dominions. Conscription featured heavily in
the British power struggle between Prime Minister Atlee (against) and Lloyd
George (for). As well as claiming Asquith's scalp, it was instrumental in
despatching of the Liberal party who never came to power again.

The 1915-16 Derby Scheme was an attempt to introduce mass-conscription in a
sly way without having to call it by its real name. Men were encouraged to
"attest" to their willingness to serve in the army but would not be drafted
(immediately). Instead, those men who had attested would be called up in
order of age and marital status as the need arose. By recognising the
attestation form when he was called up, the man acknowledged that he had
not been "conscripted", and thus kept Asquith in power!

Under Lloyd George it was replaced by succesive Military Service Acts with
conscription schemes, but the legacy of attestation forms remained, and
remained a key part of their service record.
<http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/derbyscheme.htm>

Bob
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Twice rejected by the Army
    ... The record states he ... was a 'bag maker' at the time of ... had no power to order civilians (before enlistment or after ... I had taken the entry on attestation forms of the attestee being ...
    (soc.genealogy.britain)
  • Re: Twice rejected by the Army
    ... The record states he was a 'bag maker' (It doesn't state ... what type of bag) at the time of enlistment. ... I had taken the entry on attestation forms of the attestee being 'in ...
    (soc.genealogy.britain)