This is a presentation delivered by Professor Edward Spiers at the RUSI World War I Conference 2014.

1. A Voluntary Army tested in War,
1914-19151914-1915
By
Edward M Spiers
(University of Leeds)

2. Army reformed by R. B. Haldane
(1905-12)
• Reforms not based on what
WF might require
• BEF (6 divs. & a Cavalry div.),
Special Reserve, TF & OTC
formed out of what wasformed out of what was
politically acceptable (budget &
voluntary system)
• Relied on military to rearm &
retrain after lessons of Boer War
(& Russo-Japanese War)

3. Mobilization of BEF (6 divisions & a
cavalry division) for WF
• Mobilization planned
over 1910-14 for despatch
of BEF, with reserves, horses
guns, supplies & transport
to France within 15 days (&to France within 15 days (&
coped with last-minute delays
& cut to 4 divisions)
• Maj.-Gen. Henry Wilson
still sceptical about potential
of the voluntary system

4. BEF: ‘Incomparably the best trained, best organized, and best
equipped British Army that ever went forth to war’
BEF with 60% reservists inflicted disproportionate casualties
on enemy at Mons (23/8/14), then a 14-day retreat; Le Cateau
(26/8/14) lose 38 guns; but
hold at the Marne, ‘race to the
sea’ & survive 1st Ypres.sea’ & survive 1 Ypres.
BEF lacked heavy ordnance for
trench warfare & sufficient
numbers worsened by
casualties of 3,267 officers &
86,237 men by 30/11/14)

5. Kitchener appointed secretary of state
for war (5/8/14) & raises New Armies
Kitchener knew little of home
Army, which was seriously
under-strength
• expected a long war
• gained support of a Liberal• gained support of a Liberal
cabinet to raise a mass army
• but had to accept a voluntary
process as part of cross-party
consensus in support of the war,
& as differentiating UK from
Prussian militarism

6. Non-use of Territorial Force (TF) as a
means of expanding army in war
Critics – Kitchener disdain for ‘town clerk’s army’
-- creates chaos in early recruiting.
But Kitchener worried about
• Invasion threat & TF raised for home defence• Invasion threat & TF raised for home defence
• Territorials not obliged to serve overseas but
by 25/8/14, 70 TF battalions volunteer to do so
• Size of mass army unclear (30, 50, & even a
notional 70 divisions envisaged)

7. TF wartime contribution
• Kitchener relents on TF & permits them to finish
their training & recruit alongside the New Armies
• By end of 1914, 23 TF battalions on WF & another 4
in India & Egyptin India & Egypt
• Over entire war 318 TF battalions serve in front line
compared with 404 New Army battalions

8. Rise and Fall of Voluntary Recruiting
2,466,719 voluntary recruits (Aug.’14–Dec.’15)
• ‘Rush’ to the Colours (Aug.-Sept.1914) attracts
one third of voluntary recruits (761,824 men)
• Recruiting ‘Rally’ or ‘Decline’ (Oct. 1914 –• Recruiting ‘Rally’ or ‘Decline’ (Oct. 1914 –
Sept. 1915)
• Derby scheme (Oct. 1915- 15 Dec. 1915) some
215,000 enlisted & 2,185,000 attested but
conscription follows

9. Recruiting Myths
• ‘At times it would seem easier to enlist than
not to do so’ (Paxman)
• ‘Despite initial doubts, the voluntary principle
worked’ (Royle)worked’ (Royle)
2.4 million by end of 1915 was remarkable but
recruiting was not always easy & slow to start
’rush’ over 31/8 to 11/9 – over 12 days
Volunteering has minority appeal

10. ‘Rush’ to the Colours during Aug-Sept
1914 when
‘Rush’ is 31 Aug-11 Sept (295,278) with 33,204
on 3 Sept follows
Kitchener’s 2nd appeal &
expanded age limit to 35expanded age limit to 35
• ‘Amiens despatch’
• civilian help in recruiting
• Pals battalions

11. Pals Battalions
Locally raised, Pals Battalions reflect social, class,
geographical, workplace/other identities:
• Eased strain/costs of WO recruiting as 76 Pals
battalions raised by end of Dec 1914 (onlybattalions raised by end of Dec 1914 (only
100,000 of 1.2M men raised by this time)
• Concept extended to local units of RE, RFA,
RGA & 11 Div ammunition columns in 1915
• 215 Pals battalions raised by June 1916

12. Pals Battalions (pros/cons)
• Iconic symbols of civic
pride/local identity in
industrial north, &
• broaden social base of
army but they arearmy but they are
exclusive units &
reflect divisions in Edwardian society
retard recruiting in some cities (Sheffield &
Leeds)
concentrate casualties in particular communities

13. Leeds Pals: ‘It was the cheering that
killed recruiting in Leeds.’
20,000 cheered Leeds Pals off at the station but the unit
had turned away numerous artisans
2 workers’ battalions fail as local economy improves, &
90% of Leeds recruits left
‘without a cheer & without a‘without a cheer & without a
song … The boom over the
“Pals” was all very nice & full
of esteem & goodwill but it
froze the stream of recruits
right off’ Leeds and District
Weekly Citizen, 20/10/14

14. Finding officers for the New Armies
Kitchener inherited 28,060 officers (of whom 9,563 TF).
Needed another 30,000 officers, he ordered
• each BEF battalion to leave 3 officers behind,
• shortened courses at Sandhurst & Woolwich,
held back Indian Army officers on leave in UK,• held back Indian Army officers on leave in UK,
• brought back retired officers for New Armies & gave
• temporary commissions to 20,577 current or former
OTC cadets from Aug 1914 to Mar 1915, so preserving
the officer-gentleman tradition in first year of the war

15. Why does ‘Rush’ to the Colours end?
On 11 Sept WO raises height to 5’6” but complaints about
• separation allowances/disability provisions
• chaotic sights of recruits without uniforms/rifles/
accommodation/sanitation & feeding difficulties
• 10% of enlisted men discharged as unfit for service• 10% of enlisted men discharged as unfit for service
• censored news led to perception of allied successes.
These factors had an unintended consequence, namely a
belief that not every man was needed & UK could return
to business as usual (136,811 recruits in Oct 1914)

16. Recruiting Rally or Decline?
WO alters height & extends age limits; mass rallies
(on causes of war); & PRC organizes meetings &
publicity (13M leaflets & 1M posters by end of
1914). Recruiters try to raise recruits by
exploiting bad news (shelling of east coast, sinking of• exploiting bad news (shelling of east coast, sinking of
Lusitania, execution of Nurse Edith Cavell)
• Regional comparisons
• Recruitment by insult
• Last chance for voluntary system & fear of conscription

17. Recruiting aides: illuminated tram,
Harry Lauder & Leete’s poster

18. War wastage (186,974) by end of Feb
1915
Despite recruiting 1.4M men by end of Feb 1915,
wastage keeps growing & ‘shells crisis’ (Mar 1915)
underscores importance of industrial support
& manpower planning (‘starred’ occupations)& manpower planning (‘starred’ occupations)
Military casualties keep mounting:
11,161 (Aubers Ridge, 9 May 1915)
59,247 (Loos, 25 Sept – 14 Oct 1915)
120,246 (Gallipoli, 25 Apr 1915 – 8 Jan 1916)

19. Lord Derby administers final test of
voluntary system (Oct-Dec 1915)
National Register (15 Aug)
reveals some 5M men of
men of military age not in
forces (1.6M in starred
occupations). Derby door-to-occupations). Derby door-to-
door canvas asks men
between ages of 18 & 41
if they would attest to serve
when called

20. Derby Scheme (16 Oct- 15Dec 1915)
2,185,000 attest in list that would take single men of 19
years first & then 22 other groups, ending with married
men.
But 2,182,178 refuse to register (inc. 651,160But 2,182,178 refuse to register (inc. 651,160
bachelors not in starred occupations). Result paves way
for Military Service Act (Jan 1916)

21. 2,466,719 men enlisted from outbreak
of war to the end of 1915
Massive tribute to Kitchener, political consensus,
WO/local/PRC recruiting. Iconic legacies: ‘Rush’ to
the colours & Pals battalions. Enlistment still
• a minority activity & so conscription inevitable• a minority activity & so conscription inevitable
• lack of planning exacerbated accommodation,
equipment & training needs
• posed problems in planning manpower for war
economy
• perceived latterly as a shirkers’ charter

22. Voluntary system fails
‘A modern state demanded a
more rational, more organized,
and more egalitarian approach.’and more egalitarian approach.’
• J. M. Osborne, The Voluntary Recruiting
Movement in Britain, 1914-1916, p. 132