1How many men were in the Navy in 1790-1815
120,000 people
2How did the Navy recruit men during 1790-1815?
Impressment - seafarers aged 15-55 cound be forced to join the Navy, Press gangs - merchant seamen could be pressed into joining, Quota Systerm - each area had a number of people expected to join the Navy, Naval officers - wealthier people could use family influence / buy higher ranks
3What was the Navy like from 1815-1914?
After 1815, a lot of ships were decommisioned so there wasn’t much need for recruitment. There were enough recruits for the Navy as it was less acceptable to beat the men and it was a good career with better terms and conditions than the Army. The Royal Navy Reserve was created in 1859. More engineers were needded in the Navy was the ships changed from sail to steam
4How many people were in the Army in 1793?
40,000 men
5What was recruiting like in the Army 1793?
Every regiment has a recruiting sergeant whose job it was to encourage men to join the army. There wasn’t a legal way to do this, so they often got men drunk. Some members were also criminals who took the job instead of a punishment
6What was the militia? (Army 1790)
It was 1/5 of British land forces. Their role was home defence and they were selected by ballot and had to serve for 5 years. Afte 1805, 74,000 militiamen joined for regular service as they were motivated by patriotism and already had training. A lot of the army was poor people who joined because they had to - they were paid £40 for the regular army or £25 for the militia
7What was the British Army like for foreign people? (1790)
Men from Hanover joined the King’s German Legion, which also took recruits from other countries. By 1812, there were 52,000 foreigners in the army (1/5 of the total)
8What was the army like for Officers? (1790)
Not many officers had formal training, they often bought their position. They could buy promotions when vacancies appeared, however vacancies were only sold if the senior officers in the rank below couldn’t fulfill the role and commisions couldn’t be bought in the Royal Artillery or the Royal Engineers - men had to work for at least 2 years minimum before they could buy commissions. The Duke of York’s reforms dealt with this as Officers had to serve for at least 2 years before they could buy a Captain’s commission and 6 yeards befor they could become a Major
9What was the army like for Officers after 1815?
After 1815, the Officer class also included the sons of doctors, lawyers etc. instead of just aristocrats and gentry. It was possible for men to rise the ranks without paying (still not common, only 1/20 people) However, most officers did come from landed classes. Overall, very few officers managed to advance without money or patronage
10What was recruitment like in the army after 1815?
Public copinion turned against using dubious methods to persuade people to join, so they focused on finding willing voulenteers. The state of the economy had huge factors on rectruitment - in times of poverty, more joined. In the 19th centrury, there was an economic boom so recruitment was harder. It was easier to recuruit from poorer areas, instead of ones with more employment opportunities. It was hard to find voulenteers during peacetime, but in the Crimean and Boer wars, there was enought patriotism to get enough men. As literacy rates improved in the 19th century, posters and adverts became common. After the Boer war, public schools played a large role in getting people to join the army. In 1908, these cadet schools became the OTC (link to Haldane’s reforms)
11What was the role of Kitchener for recruitment in WW1?
He was the Secretary of State for War in 1914. He was one of the few leaders that believed WW1 would be long so he had concern about the army’s preparation. He knew people wouldn’t like conscription but was unsure how to get more voulenteers. The government agreed to raise an army of 500,000 men. By 25th August 1914, 100,000 had voulenteered and between August-September 1914, 761,000 recruits joined up. The numbers for voulenteers stayed high until 1915
12What was the relevance of the PALS battalion in WW1?
It was one of the main ways to encourage men to sign up, where each town was asked to provide a battalion of men. It was initially General Rawlinson’s idea and started in London, but spreak across the UK. Political and religious figures encouraged men to join. By October 1914, there were 50 PALS battalions and over the war there was 300 battalions containing 250,000 men
13What did the introduction of Conscription in WW1 do?
The numbers of voulenteers decreased by 1915. There was such a demand for soldiers that conscription was introducedin the Military Service Act of Jan 1916. This wasn’t as effective as intended as many elegible men had already signed up. Howver, by 1918, an extra 2.5 million men had been enlisted. There was such a demand for men that this led to a change in the social composition of the army. Many men from professional backgrounds joined as ordinary soldiers. The nature of the officer class changed to have many more men from middle classes, however the social composition of high command didn’t change much