Enlistment papers for WW1

[suek2075]

I have service papers for two brothers and was wondering why they are different - the front page of one is called an 'Enrolment Paper' (Army Form B2513) and the other a 'Short Service Attestation' (Army Form B 2512). As far as I know neither brother joined the army long term, so is it just that different parts of the army used different forms? Or they used one form when they ran out of the other??

The 'Enrolment' paper is for the RGA and what surprised me was that the soldier was asked his preference for where he wanted to serve.

I'm just wondering if the different forms shows that there was a difference in the way the boys enlisted - one was conscripted, one volunteered, or something like that. Or just one of those things...

[km1971]

In the top left hand corner on the title page you should find the details of the form design. This includes the initials of the printers, the size of the order etc. The key information for you is the MM/YY - the month and year the design was signed off. What are these?

B2512 and B2513 signify a major change.

The army had a habit of using up old stock of forms. For example they would add by hand 'or for the duration of the war' to a design that did not originally have that. You also have to remember that they thought that the war would be over by Christmas 1914 so they did not see the need (at first) to change the terms and conditions. So after the start of WW1 many men joined for a fixed term.

Before conscription was introduced men picked the unit they joined.

I have a B2505 authorised October 1914 and used January 1915. So they should be later than this.

Conscripts are often on 'Record of Service Papers' which removes any suggestion of volunteering.

Ken

[suek2075]

Thank you Ken - now you've mentioned they are dates I've had a look and yes, they are different.  Form 2512 'Short Service' has date 11/15, Form 2513 'Enrolment' has date 2/16. They tally with the enlistment dates. Even on the new forms they've crossed out 'Enrolment' and written 'Service Papers'. So both boys were conscripts.

Thanks for your help

Sue