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How were men asked to join the army?

Original recruitment poster of Lord Kitchener pointing at the viewer

In August 1914, Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, realised Britain needed more soldiers.

Posters showed him pointing his finger at anyone passing by.

Men felt proud to fight for their country.

  • 54 million posters were put up.
  • 8 million letters were sent.
  • 12,000 meetings were held.
  • 20,000 speeches were given by military spokesmen.

In the first weekend of the war, 100 men an hour (3,000 a day) signed up to join the armed forces.

By the end of 1914 1,186,337 men had joined.

Original recruitment poster of Lord Kitchener pointing at the viewer
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Who joined the army?

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 3, Photograph of a man giving his name to an officer at a recruitment drive in Trafalgar Square during World War One, Recruitment drives were held in places like Trafalgar Square Only men aged between 18 and 41 could become soldiers. (The age limit was increased to 51 in April 1918.)
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What were Pals Battalions?

Watch our video to find out more about men from workplaces, churches and villages who joined the army together.

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Did some people refuse to fight?

A white feather
Image caption,
A group called The Order of the White Feather tried to make men feel ashamed.
  • Some men refused to fight for moral or religious reasons.
  • They were called conscientious objectors.
  • A white feather was given to men in the street or on the bus if they weren't wearing uniform. The idea was to shame the man and make him join the army. This was unfair. There were many good reasons why a man might not be in uniform.
  • Some conscientious objectors were allowed to do other jobs like farming in Britain, or carrying stretchers on the battlefield.
  • Others were sent to prison.
A white feather
Image caption,
A group called The Order of the White Feather tried to make men feel ashamed.
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What happened to all the soldiers?

Millions of British men were injured or died in the war. The government needed to replace them so recruitment became a part of everyday life.

By the end of the war almost one quarter of all the men in Britain had been in the armed forces.

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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Soldier Recruitment

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Activity 2: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about World War One.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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More on World War One

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