Conscription

Asquith's coalition government soon faced a new problem. The number of men volunteering to join the army had, by mid 1915, fallen below the minimum needed to fight the war. Only 72,000 volunteered in September, just 55,000 in December. Volunteers were reluctant to come forward in the same numbers they had at the start of the war (436,000 in September 1914). The obvious solution was to make men enlist by imposing conscription (men would have to be forced to enlist by law). Asquith was reluctant to use conscription. Many Liberals believed that a free country like Britain should only be defended by those men who had chosen freely to fight for it. Conscription would also mean a major increase in the power of government and less liberty for the individual. This was just the kind of thing Liberals opposed.

Lloyd George supported conscription and it is probable that most of Britain did too. There was considerable resentment against 'slackers' who would not enlist and Asquith agreed to the Military Service Act of January 1916. All unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 41 would now be forced to join the army. Workers employed in vital industries, like miners and train drivers, were excluded from being conscripted.

However, the act did also allow men to be excused from combat on the grounds of conscience. If they objected to the killing of others because their religion or beliefs did not permit them to kill in any circumstances, then they could be found jobs where they would not have to shoot a German. Some of these agreed to become stretcher bearers or ambulance drivers. Others, called 'absolutists', refused to serve in the army in any way at all. They argued that by becoming a cook or stretcher bearer they merely allowed someone else to kill in their place.

These new recruits were still not enough. In April 1916 Asquith was forced to introduce a second Conscription Act. This time married men between the ages of 18 and 41 could now be conscripted. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was later created in 1917 so that women could do the desk, office and driving jobs in the army done by men. These men were now released for active service in France and Belgium.

Neil Demarco: Britain and the Great War; Oxford University Press, 1992/2000, page 32 f.