These 5 jobs will ensure you ‘keep away from conscription’ within the UK if WW3 breaks out
The UK has only used conscription twice in the modern era – but if WW3 ever erupts, these are the 5 jobs that could be exempt from military call-up, based on historical precedent from the Second World War
There have been calls for conscription to be reintroduced in the UK(Image: Getty)
Military leaders are not expecting a revival of conscription, but officials have acknowledged that plans are being developed for the “mass mobilisation” of civilians should large-scale warfare emerge. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has acknowledged that a strategy is being formulated to prepare Britain for attacks on domestic territory amid growing concerns about the menace from Russia.
Lieutenant General Sir Charles Collins, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, stated that national service is not under consideration “at the moment”. Instead, senior military officials have informed the House of Lords national resilience committee that top commanders are examining methods to boost numbers of regular soldiers, reservists and civilian volunteers who would be urged to assist should conflict ever erupt.
The UK has only implemented conscription twice in the contemporary period, between 1916 and 1920, and 1939 and 1960.
And while conscription, and hopefully another major war, seems improbable, many have nevertheless demanded that national service be reinstated to address military personnel shortages.
Should it ever occur again, we cannot say precisely what form it would take today, but we do have historical examples from the previous global conflict, the Second World War.
During this period, certain vital occupations were considered too essential to be conscripted. Those in critical sectors were exempt from conscription – particularly bakers, farmers, doctors or nurses and engineers. Those who refused to fight, referred to as ‘conscientious objectors’, were dispatched to tribunals and subsequently assigned to non-combat roles that supported the war effort through alternative means, reports the Express.
The National Service (Armed Forces) Act enforced conscription on all men between the ages of 18 and 41 who were required to register for duty, though those considered medically unsuitable were excluded.
Conscription served a crucial function in the war, assisting in dramatically strengthening Britain’s numbers.
It persisted in subsequent years as national service, a uniform system of peacetime conscription, operated from 1949 to 1960.
Demands for its return have surged amid escalating tensions with Russia and following moves by several European countries, most recently Germany and France, to reintroduce new forms of military service to strengthen their armed forces.
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