At the start of World War I the United Kingdom was the sole European country that did not have compulsory military service. By the end of 1915 it was clear to the Government that the loss of men was so great that the voluntary scheme of recruitment then in place was not sufficient to meet the needs of the military so early in 1916 the first conscription act was introduced. This was still not sufficient to meet the army’s requirements and so over the following 15 months further acts were introduced each expanding the range of men liable for military service. The coverage of these acts could not be extended to foreign nationals so, with an increasingly desperate need for men for the trenches, Britain reached agreement with a number of individual allied governments effectively to bring aliens from these friendly nations within the jurisdiction of the Military Service Acts. These bilateral agreements all followed the same basic form, requiring men of military age in their own country living within the jurisdiction of the other, either to return to their native country for compulsory conscription to the armed forces or, if they remained in the host country, to be subject to the conscription laws there. Repatriation was to take place within a specified period from the date of the announcement of the agreement. Papers relating to these Agreements survive at the National Archives at Kew, for example: HO 45/10783/281476 Anglo - Italian Military Service Agreement - Italians of Military age in the United Kingdom. 1916 - 1918 HO 45/10882/344662 WAR: Military Service Agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States of America. 1917 - 1918 HO 45/10886/349367 WAR: Anglo-French Military Service Agreement 1917 - 1919 Note that the acts were quite late coming into effect; the Italian act, for example, was not implemented until January 1918. Colin Moretti On 21 February 2012 00:06, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I was interested to read about the mystery surrounding Charlies birth. > > At the other end of his life he was subject of complexity as I believe his will holds the record for taking the longest time to be probated. > > I am also puzzled that Charlie, one of the fittest young men of his day did not get called up for Military Service in WWI. At the time he was unmarried, in good health and would have made a good trooper. > > Does anyone know the procedures for an british Citizen living overseas re military service in WWI? > > > Julian Duffus > SoG member 1979~present