Recruitment in the British Army

This is a history of recruiting in the British Army.

The 17th to 19th centuries

The 18th and 19th centuries saw the Army rank and file consisting of mainly people recruited from the poorest sections of society or people keen upon taking the King's Shilling. The men were enticed to join by recruiting parties who often donned immaculate full dress uniform whom often misrepresented the realities of Army life. The officers were mainly drawn affluent backgrounds, most having attended public schools, indeed it was said that the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 was 'won on the playing fields of Eton'. This was largely in part to the purchasing of commissions, finally abolished due to the Cardwell reforms in the 1870s. In spite of its abolishment, the status of an officer being from a privileged background and that of another rank being from a less privileged one has, for the most part, endured into the 21st century. The Royal Family traditionally had its members serve in the Armed Forces, usually with the Royal Navy though many have served with the Army. This tradition has continued into the 21st century, with Prince Harry and Prince William both joining the Army as officers. Foreign Royals have also served in the Army, such as King Abdullah II of Jordan who served as a Second Lieutenant with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own).

Boer and First World War

See Recruitment to the British Army during World War I for a detailed insight into the recruiting during that conflict.

Empire and Commonwealth

The subjects of the British Empire were usually recruited into indigenous regiments to garrison their own land, thus ensuring that the Army did not have to allocate its own units to garrison the territories. For example, the Fiji Infantry Regiment (raised in 1920) garrisoned the Pacific territory, consisting of one battalion, while one of the largest was the Royal West African Frontier Force which garrisoned British West Africa, consisting in 1928 of The Nigeria Regiment.

The Army in the early 21st century normally has a recruitment target of around 25,000 soldiers per year. Low unemployment in Britain has resulted in the Army having difficulty in meeting its target, and there has been a marked increase in the number of recruits from other (mostly Commonwealth) countries, who in mid-2004 comprised approximately 7.5% of the Army's total strength. In July 2004 there were 5,620 foreign soldiers from 42 countries in the Army (not counting over 3,000 Nepalese Gurkhas). After Nepal, the nation with most citizens in the British Army is Fiji, with 1,895, followed by Jamaica with 960; soldiers also come from more prosperous countries such as Australia, South Africa and the Republic of Ireland.

External links

• [1] BBC article on recruitment in the British Army, including information on "Taking the King's Shilling"