9 replies to this topic

[jemm]

Hi can someone tell me please. When a chap went to enlist, did he have a choice of what regiment he joined or was he just told " this will be your regiment" etc.
Thanks

[John Hartley]

Had a choice in the first weeks of the war. Less of one a few months later. And none at all once conscription came in in 1916.

And even the choice lark could have been a bit Hobson's. One of my local chaps enlisted into the Cheshires along with his mates only to find themselves a couple of weeks later booked off to the South Lancashires. And many others might have joined a particular regiment only to find themselves divvied up to other units when they arrived in theatre.

[LST_164]

Even fairly early on, it might also depend on whether the regiment/corps in question had been notified as "closed" to new recruits or not -  the caution is mentioned in contemporary recruiters' orders.  

The same orders might also give the recruiters strong hints - such as not taking Welsh recruits for the Birkenhead Bantams; or ensuring that men joining the new Welsh Guards had Welsh parentage on at least one side!  

These are just a couple of instances from the periodic Glamorgan Recruiting Orders of 1914-15: there must have been similar instructions in vogue for other areas as well.

Clive

[John Hartley]

Clive is right. Certainly by  around mid-October 1914, men wishing to join the local Manchester Regiment were being directed to other regiments as the Manchester were "full" (although recruitment did open up again in January 1915.

[Chris_Baker]

jemm, you might also find this useful - http://www.1914-1918.net/notlocal.html

[old owl]

Usually if a soldier was commissioned from the ranks he was given the chance to state which regiment(s) he would prefer to serve with, but more often than not he would be posted directly to another unit, due to requirements in the field.

[Deerhunter]

John, that's exactly what happened with my Great-Uncle.  He was from Collyhurst and went to Ashton to enlist but the Manchester Regt was not taking any more volunteers (that was late 1914).  Instead he enlisted with the Kings Own (Royal Lancaster Regt).

[jemm]

Thanks very much everyone

[bill24chev]

the brother of my next door neighbour along with some of his work mates (he was a miner and underage)  walked from Bolton to Liverpool to join a kilted regiment. They were apparently turned away because they were not ethnic Scots. I don't know if it was the Liverpool Scottish or one ot the highland regiments recruiting there. They were offered another unit but decided to return to Bolton to enlist because at the time there was rivalry about which town could recruit the most.

Ironically, on return to Bolton He signed up for a Welsh Regt. He eventually was transferred to the RE possibly because of his civilian occupation but became a signaler. He survived the war but his elder brother a serjeant with 1/5th LNR did not

[David Underdown]

Minor point - it may be he transferred to the RE because he was already a battalion signaller - the Signal Service only becoming a separate corps after the war. During the war high level signalling was an RE responsibility