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When the First World War began in the summer of 1914, the British military relied on volunteers to join up and fight. The recruitment campaign, most famously promoted by Lord Kitchener’s “Your Country Needs You“ poster had resulted in over one million men enlisting by January 1915. However, by 1916 the human cost of the war was mounting. Faced with staggering casualty figures and a significant decline in the number of volunteers, the military had insufficient soldiers to meet the escalating demands of the conflict. In response, the government opted to increase numbers in the armed forces through compulsory enlistment, known as conscription. Introduced by Prime Minister H. H. Asquith in January 1916, the Military Service Act deeply divided Parliament and even the ruling Liberal Party. It would make all single men and childless widowers between the ages of 18 and 41 liable to be called up, representing an unprecedented step by the state into the lives of the British public. 35 Liberal MPs voted against the bill while the Home Secretary, Sir John Simon, resigned his position. Nevertheless, Parliament overall acknowledged the need for prompt action and the Act was passed. It received royal assent on 27 January but was met with a protest demonstration of approximately 200,000 people in London’s Trafalgar Square, while by July almost 30% of those called up to fight had failed to appear. Nevertheless there was the possibility of exemption from service for those who were medically unfit alongside clergymen, teachers and certain classes of industrial worker. Only 2% of all exemption applications were for conscientious objectors who appealed on moral grounds.
