Changes in Recruitment

Question 1

Press Gang

Answer 1

A group of seaman sent ashore in port towns to seize or ‘impress’ men with or without experience for service in the navy

Question 2

How did press gangs identify targets?

Answer 2

• They would patrol coastal areas and look for seafarers
• There were tell-tale signs that someone had been to sea, e.g the way they walked, bow legged and hard leathery skin on his tanned and beaten face
• Once approached by the press gang they knew the game was up and often went with little protest

Question 3

Where were most of the men that were pressed into the navy from?

Answer 3

• They were primarily pressed and taken from merchant ships at sea
• This was legal as long as the navy captain replaced the man taken either immediately or when they arrived in port
• Merchant captains knew that their best men would be replaced by mediocre sailors and therefore left their best men in Ireland, and even had elaborate hiding places

Question 4

What was the Quota System used by the Press Gangs?

Answer 4

• Each county had to supply a certain number of volunteers. The number was dependent on the county’s population, and number of sea ports.
• In order to meet their quotas, counties often allowed criminals the option of volunteering for the Navy rather than completing their sentences.

Question 5

What was a recruiting sergeant?

Answer 5

• In every army regiment there was 1 recruiting sergeant for the ARMY
• Usually an old person who was coming to the end of their career
• Prestigious regiments found it easier to recruit people and the less prestigious regiments found it harder to recruit

Question 6

How did army recruiters try to press people despite there being no lawful way to do so like the Navy?

Answer 6

• When recruiting the free man they would use all tactics
• They would recruit with alcohol and physically take the Kings shilling
• They would use stories of adventure and then reveal the attractive pay without mentioning 80% would be used for stoppages

Question 7

What was a good source of recruits that explained Wellesley’s notion that the army was made up of the ‘scums of the earth’?

Answer 7

• Criminal courts - the recruiting sergeant would offer to pay the criminals fines if they joined up
• The fine would be deducted from the recruits pay so soldiers who were criminals might not get paid for years
• Judges were happy to conspire with the recruiting sergeants to reduce crime
• Some criminals were saved from the gallows and alcoholics were fond of the recruitment as rum or gin was a part of their daily ration

Question 8

What was the main problem with impressment?

Answer 8

• Problem of impressment was that it recruited unwilling men who served under durress
• French army success had shown the value of enthusiasm and high morale
• They wanted volunteers who wanted to serve and they had to reduce the harsh discipline

Question 9

What issue did the navy have at the end of the French wars?

Answer 9

• They had too many seaman as opposed to too few
• They dismissed ordinary seamen and decommissioned some battleships + officers on half pay
• There was no longer need to force people into the navy as people just joined due to prestige of navy
• Impressment was legal till the 20th Century but not used after 1815

Question 10

What was the reason for the lack of need for impressment in the navy?

Answer 10

• RN was seen as the most successful branch of the armed forces
• Popular idea of being part of the Navy that ‘ruled the waves’ was attractive
• Pay was higher and seamen were given fixed terms of service and pension
• Expanding trade meant a much larger merchant navy who could transfer to the royal navy

Question 11

RN Reserve

Answer 11

• Created in 1859 just in case of a war and need for rapid expansion
• This was manned by existing seamen and fisherman who were given gunnery training one month every year
• 1862 merchant navy also included to allow the transfer

Question 12

Impressment in army illegal

Answer 12

1780

Question 13

Who faced the problem of recruiting volunteers more, navy or army?

Answer 13

Army

Question 14

Specialist Recruiters for volunteers

Answer 14

• Recruiting sergeants were limited to their geographical area that their regiments covered
• Recruiters had an easier task and near the end of the 19th century recruiters had their own office and regimental headquarters
• Navy replaced press gangs with specialist recruiting officers and use the power of persuasion

Question 15

The Print Media to attract volunteers

Answer 15

• Literacy rates increased so print media became more usable
• Newspaper adverts read by thousands and the regiments could select the publication to best reach their target audience
• Army regiments would use local press rather than national to recruit people within their vicinity
• Posters used during the wars against the French
• Improved technology allowed for it to be cheaper to produce colour posters and add images
• WW1 lots of posters were used

Question 16

Terms and Conditions to attract volunteers

Answer 16

• Abolishment of punishment
• Linking regiments to local regions
• End of general service + pension after 21 years of service
• Introduction of medals for service and valour showed a change of view to the servicemen

Question 17

General view of soldiers to attract volunteers

Answer 17

• A man in uniform was now seen as respectable and people were proud to be a serviceman
• Direct association with the growth of the British Empire and were the physical symbol of an increased feeling of national pride
• Music Halls had sayings ‘All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor’ or ‘Soldiers of the Queen’

Question 18

How did the economy provide incentive for people to join up?

Answer 18

• Economic boom in the 19th century made it hard to recruit however periods of downturn had made it harder to recruit
• Some areas struggled to attract, whereas some, poorer areas, enjoyed a steady stream of recruits e.g the Irish regiment
• More and more families in the countryside moved to the cities to get work in factories

Question 19

WW1 effect on recruitment?

Answer 19

• Scale of the war made it necessary for recruitment tactics to change
• It was clear that the BEF would not be sufficient for the scale of war that was about to occur
• Br and Commonwealth troop would amount to millions

Question 20

Pals Battalions

Answer 20

September 1914
- Each town asked to provide a battalion of men
- Matter of civic pride, large cities raised many whilst smaller cities raised few to help the struggle but were proud to help
- Schools also raised battalions to allow ex pupils to join w friends and sports teams

Question 21

End of Pals Battalions

Answer 21

• A lot of pals battalions were involved in the Battle of the Somme
• Some were in the thick of the fighting and suffered dreadfully
• 11th Battalion of the East Lancashire regiment had over 80% of the battalion killed or wounded
• Authorities ended pals battalions after seeing the detrimental effects it had on smaller local areas

Question 22

Background to the Derby Scheme

Answer 22

• During the war the French were unable to match the Germans numbers of new recruits and Russian surrender meant more and more German troops were being released
• As a result the Gov, Generals and 70 Commonwealth divisions wanted to stop the Germans enjoying this advantage

Question 23

Derby Scheme

Answer 23

• September 1915 Lord Derby was placed in charge of a scheme to encourage men to enlist
• Every man aged 18-41 was made to promise to join up if they were needed
• Only 1/2 single men and 40% of married men were willing to do so
• Due to the condition of single men being called before married ones lots of men got married in 1916
• The Govt had failed to get the numbers they hoped for and conscription was the only way to get enough people

Question 24

The passing of Conscription

Answer 24

• The French army were becoming unable to match the German manpower.
• This meant that Britain had to shove out more men - - The Military Service Act was passed with a vote of 403 to 105 on 27 January 1916, which allowed for single men to be conscripted.
• In May, this was extended to married men via the Second Military Service Act.

Question 25

Effect of Conscription

Answer 25

• Conscription did not produce vast numbers, but it kept a steady stream of fresh recruits. Within months however, there were 750k applications for exemption.
• Men who worked in key industries such as munitions, the mining sector, teachers and clergymen were exempted.
• Conscription was not enforced in Ireland due to the threat of revolution.
• Despite this, 1.1 million men were drafted into the armed forces in the first year, and 2.5 million by the end of the war.