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from volunteering to conscription
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If successful in the tests,new volunteers had to make a solemn promise to do their duty.
In a ceremony led by recruiting officers,new soldiers swore an oath of allegiance to the
King.But,with so many men eager to join up,the process was often rushed.Sometimes
men were asked to recite the oath simultaneously in groups so as to speed up the process.
The oath required every recruit to swear to‘faithfully defend His Majesty,His Heirs
and successors… against all enemies’.It also required each man to promise to obey the
authority of‘all Generals and Officers set over me’.Recruits pledged to serve as long as
the war lasted.
Minimum physical standards fluctuated during the war. When the rush of recruits was
at its peak,the height limit was raised from an original 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 6 inches to
prevent an unmanageable flood of
volunteers.Itwas subsequently lowered on a number of
occasions in response to dwindling numbers of new recruits.But in the chaos of early 1914
a blind eye was often turned to official standards.Examinations could be brief and hasty,
allowing many underage or unfit men to slip through into theArmy.
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Four young men hold Bibles as they take the oath at a recruitment office. An army officer can be seen
on the right of the photograph,reading from a sheet of paper. Q 30071 © IWM