British enlistment
and conscription

Britain's military had been all volunteer since the end of WWI. In April 1939, the Military Training Act declared all men ages of 20 and 21 had to serve for six months of military training and were then placed in the Reserves. Full conscription of men between the ages of 18 and 41 was enacted September 3, 1939, the day Britain declared war with Germany. Draftees were allowed to choose between the army, the navy and the air force.

In 1941 the conscription began to include single women between the ages of 20 and 30. These women worked in non-fighting occupations that would allow more men to be drafted into the fighting services.

A World War II British forces recruitment poster. Source: HM Government