Charlie Keitch and Victoria Howarth
  • Empire and Commonwealth
  • Age 11 to 14 (KS3)
  • Age 14-16 (KS4)

Use sources to learn more about the people who contributed to the war effort during the First World War and the methods used to recruit them.

1. What was the public response to the outbreak of war?

Recruits at the Whitehall Recruiting Office in London, August 1914
© IWM (Q 42033)
Men queue to enlist

The First World War began in August 1914.   No one knew what kind of war it was going to be or how long it would last, but men rushed to join up and go to war. This photograph shows recruits at the Whitehall Recruiting Office in London.

A dismounted cavalry draft of the 1st Life Guards, August 1914
© IWM (Q 66196)
A dismounted cavalry draft of the 1st Life Guards, August 1914
One million men had volunteered by the end of 1914

In Britain over one million men had volunteered to fight by December 1914. By the end of the war more than four years later, almost one quarter of the total male population had served in the armed forces.

Photograph of Lieutenant Alan Lloyd
© IWM (HU 59399)
A volunteer

Alan Lloyd was born into a middle-class Quaker family in Birmingham in 1889.  In January 1914 he became engaged to Dorothy Hewetson.  When war broke out, Lloyd immediately volunteered.  On his honeymoon in August he learned that he had been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Royal Artillery.

A letter written by Alan Lloyd to his fiancée
IWM (Documents.20535)
Reasons to enlist

This letter was written by Alan Lloyd on 06 August 1914.  It explains his reasons for enlisting. Scroll down to find a transcript of the letter.

A wooden dummy rifle
© IWM (FIR 11580)
Equipment shortages

The sudden increase in the number of soldiers meant that, at first, their were serious shortages of uniforms, weapons, and equipment.  This dummy rifle is cut from wood and was used by the British Army for training purposes.

2. What methods were used to enlist new recruits?

Brass shoulder badge for the Leeds Pals battalion
© IWM (INS 7637)
'Pals' Battalions

Many men were encouraged to sign up with their friends and colleagues with the promise that those who ‘joined together should serve together’. This led to what was known as ‘Pals’ battalions.

A khaki cloth armband representing the Derby scheme of 1915
© IWM (INS 7764)
Schemes to encourage more men to volunteer

As the war went on the British Government had to persuade more and more men to go to war. The Derby scheme was introduced in Britain in October 1915 and asked men to register their commitment to serve. Under the scheme single men would be called up before married volunteers.

New recruits, most of them teenagers, Etaples, 16 July 1918
© IWM (Q 23586)
Young British recruits, Étaples, July 1918
Young British recruits

Recruiting Officers were paid for each man so some turned a blind eye to underage volunteers. The British government had originally said that no one under 19 years of age would be sent overseas to fight. In April 1918 they lowered the age to 18 after suffering a near-defeat on the Western Front. This photograph was taken in July 1918, when the army were trying to find and remove underage soldiers.

3. Where else did Britain turn to gain support?

Men of the 45th Sikhs (52nd Infantry Brigade, 17th Division) marching on campaign in Mesopotamia
© IWM (Q 24777)
Men of the 45th Sikhs (52nd Infantry Brigade, 17th Division) marching on campaign in Mesopotamia, 1918
Indian troops

Men in the Dominions and Empire also volunteered.  In Australia over 415 thousand men enlisted and over a million men of the Indian Army served overseas during the war. Over one hundred thousand New Zealanders, 425 thousand Canadians and Newfoundlanders, and 230 thousand South Africans also served overseas.

Troops from the West Indies, New Zealand and Australia stacking 8 inch shells at an ammunition dump near Ypres, Belgium, October 1917
© IWM (E(AUS) 2078)
Troops from the West Indies, New Zealand and Australia stacking shells near Ypres, October 1917
West Indian troops

During the First World War the West Indies contributed about 15,000 troops for active service overseas. About two-thirds of these were from Jamaica.

4. How did women contribute to the war effort?

A general scene showing workers, both male and female, amid rows and rows of shells in a large warehouse at the National Filling Factory, Chilwell. August 1917
© IWM (Q 30011)
Workers amid rows and rows of shells at the National Filling Factory, Chilwell. August 1917
Women at work during the First World War

The First World War substantially increased the numbers of women in paid work and the range of jobs that they undertook.  The majority of women supported the war effort by working in industry.

The Women's Land Army and German Prisoners by Randolph Schwabe
© IWM (Art.IWM ART 1179)
Women's Land Army

Women took on jobs that had previously been done by husbands, brothers and fathers, who were now absent, as well as keeping households and families together. This painting shows two women of the Women's Land Army and two German prisoners-of-war doing important agricultural work.

Recruiting poster for the Women's Army Auxilliary Forces
© IWM (Art.IWM PST 4881)
Women's Auxilliary forces

A number of the leading Suffragettes played an important role in setting up women-only organisations to support the war effort.

5. Who was eventually forced to enlist?

Recruits having their service uniforms fitted
© IWM (Q 30069)
Middlesex Regiment recruits having their service uniforms fitted, September 1917
Conscription

In Britain and the Dominions the issue of conscription (forced military service) caused much controversy. Conscription was finally introduced in Britain in 1916 for men aged between 18 and 41. The upper age limit was later increased to 50. Conscription was also introduced in New Zealand in 1916, and in Canada in 1917, although it was not introduced in Australia.

William Harrison's membership card for the No-Conscription Fellowship
IWM (Documents.163)
Conscientious objectors

Conscription was a hugely controversial step. Conscientious objectors refused to fight on religious or moral grounds, although the proportion of conscientious objectors to men in uniform was very small. This membership card for the No-Conscription Fellowship belonged to William Harrison, who went to prison because he refused to have anything to do with the war. He was a pacifist whose deep religious beliefs told him that killing was wrong.

Downloads

Powerpoint

How did Britain increase and maintain the fighting force.pptx

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Letter Transcript.pdf