Most veterans of the armed forces never mention that before and during the war they were hardly volunteers but were forcibly drafted (conscripted).

These young conscripts across Britain and Europe found themselves in the armed forces for one reason alone: it was not to defeat Hitler or to defend Britain or their countries.

Shanghaied

Conscription was due to their being press-ganged into the armed forces against their will.  

If young men were to refuse conscription, then imprisonment and public humiliation would be the consequence. If there was genuine enthusiasm for the war, then conscription would be neither necessary nor desirable.

No social security

In the 1930s, millions of breadwinners were unemployed and unable to feed their families.  They endured a miserable existence living in slums without running water and lived hand-to-mouth.

Great Depression

In Britain, an estimated 7 million Brits died from hunger-related illnesses. No wonder that during both wars the young men of Britain volunteered; It was not to fight Germany, which nation many admire.

It was the only opportunity they had to earn enough to feed their families, get a fresh bunk in a barracks with a rain-proofed roof, and receive food and healthcare.

Poverty-stricken and desperate

Nor was there a healthcare or pension service both of which were unaffordable to the working classes.

Such desperate men were entirely dependent upon family support, turning their hand to whatever task they could, openly begging on the streets. 

Alternatively, they would be obliged to ask for state assistance.  Such was the soul-destroying humiliation of wending one’s way through the vetting means test procedure that few took that course for the few shillings it might provide if successful.  

Little wonder that ‘the king’s shilling’ won hearts, minds – and for many, their lives and limbs. Let readers know what you think

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