Conscription in the United Kingdom

Conscription
1780 caricature of a press gang
Related concepts
Alternative civilian service Civil conscription Conscientious objector Conscription crisis Draft evasion Impressment Military service National service War resister
By historical country
Ottoman Empire Russian Empire Soviet Union
By modern country
Australia Azerbaijan Bermuda Brazil Canada China Congo-Kinshasa (child soldiers) Cuba Cyprus (reduction) Denmark Egypt Eritrea Finland France Germany Greece Israel Iran North Korea South Korea Latvia Lithuania Myanmar the Netherlands New Zealand Norway Mexico Monaco the Philippines Russia Serbia Singapore South Africa Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Ukraine Vietnam
By geographical area
Ireland
v t e

In the United Kingdom, military conscription has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1920, and the second from 1939 to 1960. The last conscripted soldiers left the service in 1963.

It was legally designated as "Military Service" from 1916 to 1920, and as "National Service" from 1939 to 1960. However, between 1939 and 1948, it was often referred to as "War Service" in documents relating to National Insurance and pension provision.