The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's)
'Sans Peur'
|
![]() |
|
Background Information to National Service in the British Armed Forces |
||
---|---|---|
On 27th April 1939, the British Parliament passed the Military Training Act. Under the Act, men aged 20 and 21 were conscripted to complete six months' military training.
By the end of 1939, conscription into the armed forces saw more than one and a half million men recruited for military service. The British Army took just over a million, while the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force took an equal share of the remainder.
|
The vital work that women did included:-
Conscription of our young men to complete their National Service in the British Forces ceased in 1960. Anyone joining the British Forces after that date did so voluntarily and was enlisted as a full-time regular. In 1958, the weekly wage for a 2 year conscript in the British Infantry was 21 shillings (1 guinea). By signing on to serve for another year, a soldier would be paid 3 guineas per week. The cessation of National Service posed a substantial manpower problem to the British Armed Forces. Not only were they about to lose so many men, but they were also losing so much experience. In order to stem the demobilisation of so many key men from the Armed Forces, the Government made an attractive offer of a financial bounty to all National Service personnel who signed-on to become regular soldiers. This offer was taken-up by many, and the in-vogue cry, "Sign-on and drink the bounty!" could be heard echoing round every British military camp and N.A.A.F.I across the world. Here is the disturbing story of a young N.A.A.F.I girl called Lucy..... Various options for periods of service were then made available to regular service personnel. It was now possible to sign-on for a term of 3 years, 6 years, 9 years, 12 years, 15 years, up to a maximum of 22 years. From that point in time, the length of signing-on term was reflected in the scale of pay and pension rights offered to regular service personnel. |
|
![]() |
Design by IT-SERVE © 1999 - 2021 All Rights Reserved | Back to Top |