page_title: Military recruitment
section_title: In the United Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Military recruitment / In the United Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: English: British volunteers for "Kitchener's Army" waiting for their pay in the churchyard of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London.
context_page_description: Military recruitment refers to the activity of attracting people to, and selecting them for, military training and employment.
context_section_description: During both world wars and a period after the second, military service was mandatory for at least some of the British population. At other times, techniques similar to those outlined above have been used. The most prominent concern over the years has been the minimum age for recruitment, which has been 16 for many years. This has now been raised to 18 in relation to combat operations. In recent years, there have been various concerns over the techniques used in (especially) army recruitment in relation to the portrayal of such a career as an enjoyable adventure.
caption: British volunteer recruits in London, August 1914
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