100 Stories > Joining Up

Whilst some men joined the Royal Navy and Royal Flying Corps, the majority served in the Army.

It is not surprising that most men served in the East Lancashire Regiment but, unusually, it was the Cameronians, a Scottish regiment, which was the second most popular.

The reason was the regiment seemed to be very good at recruiting. However, after the losses on the Somme in 1916, there was a determined effort by the Army to steer men away from joining local regiments.

The attestation form was completed by an individual when enlisting and contained the basic information about the person. However, it did not stop him lying about his name or age.