Parental consent required?

[jbml]

Just a quick quesiton which I am SURE somebody will know the answer to ...

... when WWI broke out, the age of majority was still 21 not 18. (It wasn't lowered to 18 until 1970.)

Does this mean that parental consent was required for somebody under the age of 21 to join the armed forces, or was there some special provision in effect allowing them to join up without needing parental consent (how convenient)? If parental consent was required, was this requirement regularly and routinely flouted?

[3sillydogs]

This may shed some light on the matter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zcvdhyc

[jcjc123]

Great question. I've just learned a relative signed up at 16 (he was 14 but gives a different date on his papers) and I did wonder if he was running away if he'd need consent....
Following replies with interest!

[jcjc123]

i wanted to reply as nobody else has,
i've since found the signing up papers for another relative, that includes a signature of a magistrate, but not parents. he was claiming to be 16 (though i suspect he was 14) both parents were alive but neither is mentioned on the papers -
lots of possibly reasons but it seems to shed a bit of light on whether parental consent was required, in this case, if it was, it had to be approved by a magistrate,

[km1971]

After about 1840 an officer could also take an Attestation oath. Most WW1 recruits were sworn in by an officer.

Parents were not involved in a man's recruitment. Which is strange given that a 14 year old could sign on until he was 30. Maybe the magistrate/officer was considered a responsible adult.

Ken

[philipsearching]

I believe that in 1914 the rule was that a boy had to be 18 to sign up and 19 to serve in the army overseas (but I don't have a definitive source for the information).

But of course, boys anxious for adventure lied about their ages! (look up Sidney George Lewis - born March 1903, signed up August 1915!)

There is a disturbing documentary "Britain's Boy Soldiers" (available on youtube) which claims that over 250,000 under age boys fought in WW1.

[km1971]

19 was the age to serve in a war zone, later reduced to 18 years and 6 months if the recruit had six months training. You could join a TF battalion at 17 before conscription.

Ken