Museum audio
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
British (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Two years into the first World War, the British army faced a crisis in manpower as a result of falling volunteer recruitment and high casualty rates. As a result, military conscription was introduced for the first time in British history. Conscription laws exempted some men from military service on the grounds of ill health, hardship, occupation or moral and political grounds. Of the thousands who applied to the military tribunals on the basis of religious or moral grounds, fewer granted exemption and were ordered to join the non combatant corps, or NCC toe work in support roles that did not involve the use of arms to assist the war effort. But some men even refused to submit to this service. They became known as absolutists.