Hello All, Can anyone tell me why someone in the Royal Artillery TA would have been called up in September and October 1938? Cheers Skip
The Military Training Act was passed in May 1939, after Hore Belisha, the Secretary of State for War introduced limited conscription on 27th April. Only single men 20 to 22 years old were liable to be called up, and they were known as 'militiamen' to distinguish them from the regular army. They even got a civilian suit along with the uniform. The first intake would undergo six months of basic training before being discharged into an active reserve. They would then be recalled for short training periods and attend an annual camp. The war happened before this really got going and the National Service(Armed Forces) Act was passed on 3rd September 1939, conscripting men between 18 and 41 on a rolling basis.. There was a partial mobilisation of the Territorial army and reservists over the Munich crisis in 1938 when Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia - I have heard tales of artillery TA being mobilised to man forts around Portsmouth and other ports? Plenty of people joined the Territorials then and as a result - was he a reservist? Or did he actually volunteer?
As Brian has pointed out, the TA was partly mobilised in the autumn of 1938 because of the Munich crisis. At the time much of the Territorial force was being converted en masse to anti-aircraft defense, and there was a perceived need to mount a guard against a German 'knock out blow' from the air. This wasn't a 'call-up' in the sense that term is usually meant, and I would try not to use it to avoid confusion. Best, Alan
Alan and Brian. Many thanks for both your responses. Both provide exactly what I was after and make perfect sense in context with everything else I know about him. Much appreciated.
