Requirements for joining army

[crystal49]

Can anyone tell me what the requirements were in 1928 to join up?  Age height etc. 

[km1971]

I don't think it had changed since WW1. Then it was 5ft 3in and 18 for the Regular army. The smallest uniform was for 5ft 3inch. They would take 18 year olds at 5ft 2ins with the expectation that they would grow. During WW1 they had Bantam battalions For men of a minimum height of 5ft, but they were disbanded after the war.

For the part-time Militia and TA the minimum age was 17. Both Regulars and part-timers had a very small number of Boys of minimum age of 14. But most regiments kept these for sons of soldiers who had died.

Ken

[crystal49]

Thank you Ken.  The reason I ask is that my father joined up in 1928 and made himself older, but only by 6 months.  If the age was 18 and not 17 and 1/2 as I thought, then the dates would work out. Helen

[km1971]

Hi Helen

A silly thing to do. It would have been better for him to join the Militia legally. He then would have had seven weeks training on enlistment, plus (depending on the time of year) about the same at a summer camp. All of which he would have been paid for at the same rate as a Regular. Once 18 he could have had a free discharge from the militia to become a Regular. My GF joined the Militia 3-4 weeks before reaching 18 and changed on his 18th birthday at no cost.

You father would have had about four months to discover if he would like army life without signing up to 12 years with £20 to purchase his discharge if he changed his mind. When the lie was discovered he would have been forced to serve an extra six months as time underage did not count towards his '12'.

He also would have avoided committing a crime.

Ken

[crystal49]

I have his army record Ken and it states any false information would result in a 2 years' sentence with hard labour, so I can understand why he kept quiet about it.  Being so young he may not have known about the boys' service or maybe there was none in the Blackwatch.  Helen