Genealogy Chat

Depends which wars you are talking about but pre First W War there was no conscription. Conscription came in in 1916 and remained until about 1959 when National Service ended. Not sure of exact year of end of conscription off the top of my head. Google conscription for more info. If he was already in one of the services pre 1939 he would have remained in that service for the duration of the war no matter what his age would have been, so that's a tricky one on ages, as there was no upper limit as such. Most people signed on for 11 years and then decided whether or not to do another stint of 11 years, making 22 years in total. They were usually 18 on joining so 40 on retirement + another 5 years for the war years would bring him to 45, but if they had been 25 on entry they would have been 47 after Sept 1939 then they would have stayed in for the next 5+ years making that person 52, so be careful with the ages. These were experienced people and they were needed in wartime and it was hard to have to go through the war when you were on the verge of retirement. This happened to my own father. Some were younger than 18, so adjust ages accordingly. First W War info service records are at TNA Kew, if they have survived and 2 W War records are not public yet, so you have to prove next of kin and write to the relevant service for the details enclosing either £25 or £30 with as much detail as possible, in order for them to get you the correct records. Crimea War/Indian Mutiny and earlier records are at TNA Kew and to search for these you need to know the regiment if army. Naval records are easier to search. Janet

Thanks Peter for the info. Where do i start to look? Alyson

This would aldepend on when your talking about and how old they were. Rule of thumb. WW1/WW2. If person (male) was aged between 17-35 Fit and not in vital war work (IE Vet, Doc,Farmer) Then he would be called up. Pre 1850 You did have a choice to a point. The point being none if you were tricked or press ganged. Recruiting partys could legally get you by fair meins or fowl. Once it was deemed you had exsepted the King Shilling you were in the Army. Prisoners were offten given a chose Hang or join up. One of the main resons men would join up was it was better than starving.

Cheers Brenda. Regards Alyson

www.cwgc.org is the site of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - for all who died in the World Wars. http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ has medal cards for soldiers who got medals in WW1 and merchant seaman getting medals in WW2.

Thanks Chris

Could someone tell me how do you find out if your rellies were involved in any wars. Thankyou Alyson