Conscription in the United Kingdom Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times . The first was from 1916 to 1919 , the second was from 1939 to 1960 , with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963 . During the First and Second World Wars , it was known as War Service or Military Service . From 1948 it was known as National Service . First World War . Conscription during First World War began when the British government passed the Military Service Act in 1916 . The act specified that single men aged 18 to 41 years old were liable to be called up for military service unless they were widowed with children or ministers of a religion . There was a system of Military Service Tribunals to adjudicate upon claims for exemption upon the grounds of performing civilian work of national importance , domestic hardship , health , and conscientious objection . The law went through several changes before the war ended . Married men were exempt in the original Act , although this was changed in June 1916 . The age limit was also eventually raised to 51 years old . Recognition of work of national importance also diminished , and in the last year of the war there was some support for the conscription of clergy . Conscription lasted until mid - 1919 . Second World War . Conscription legislation lapsed in 1920 . However , as a result of the deteriorating international situation and the rise of Nazi Germany , Leslie Hore - Belisha , Secretary of State for War , persuaded the cabinet of Neville Chamberlain to introduce a limited form of conscription on 27 April 1939 , with the Military Training Act being passed the following month . Only single men 20 to 22 years old were liable to be called up , and they were to be known as ' militiamen ' to distinguish them from the regular army . To emphasise this distinction , each man was issued with a suit in addition to a uniform . The intention was for the first intake to 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 . At the outbreak of war , on 3 September 1939 , the Military Training Act was overtaken by the National Service ( Armed Forces ) Act , and the first intake was absorbed into the army . This act imposed a liability to conscription of all men 18 to 41 years old . Men could be rejected for medical reasons , and those engaged in vital industries or occupations were ' reserved ' at a particular age beyond which no one in that job would be enlisted . For example , lighthouse keepers were ' reserved ' at 18 years old . From 1943 , some conscripts were directed into the British coal mining industry and become known as the ' Bevin Boys ' . Provision was also made for conscientious objector s , who were required to justify their position to a tribunal , with power to allocate the applicant to one of three categories : unconditional exemption ; exemption conditional upon performing specified civilian work ( frequently farming , forestry or menial hospital work ) ; exemption from only combatant service , meaning that the objector had to serve in the specially created Non - Combatant Corps or in some other non - combatant unit such as the Royal Army Medical Corps . By 1942 , all male British subject s between 18 to 51 years old , as well as all females 20 to 30 years old resident in Britain , were liable to be called . Only a few categories were exempted : Pregnant women were theoretically liable to be called up but in practice were not called up . Men under 20 years old were initially not liable to be sent overseas , but this exemption was lifted by 1942 . People called up before they were 51 years old but who reached their 51st birthday during their service were liable to serve until the end of the war . People who had retired , resigned or been dismissed from the forces before the war were liable to be called back if they had not reached 51 years of age . Britain did not completely demobilise in 1945 , as conscription continued after the war . Those already in the armed forces were given a release class determined by length of service and age . In practice , releases began in June 1945 , and the last of the wartime conscripts had been released by 1949 . However , urgently needed men , particularly those in the building trades , were released in 1945 , although some restrictions on their immediate employment were supposed to be enforced . All women were released at the end of the war . The system of wartime conscription between 1939 and 1948 was called National Service , but is usually referred to as ' war service ' in documents relating to National Insurance and pensions . After 1945 . National Service as peacetime conscription was formulated by the National Service Act 1948 . From 1 January 1949 , healthy males 17 to 21 years old were expected to serve in the Armed Forces for 18 months , and remain on the reserve list for four years . They could be recalled to their units for up to 20 days for no more than three occasions during these four years . Men were exempt from National Service if they worked in one of the three " essential services " : coal mining , farming and the merchant navy for a period of eight years . If they quit early , they were subject to being called up . Exemption continued for conscientious objectors , with the same tribunal system and categories . In October 1950 , in response to the British involvement in the Korean War , the service period was extended to two years . To compensate the reserve period was reduced by six months . National Servicemen who showed promise could be commissioned as officers . National Service personnel were used in combat operations , including the Malayan Emergency , the Cyprus Emergency , in Kenya against the Mau Mau uprising , and the Korean War , where conscripts to the Gloucestershire Regiment took part in the last stand during the Battle of the Imjin River . In addition , National Servicemen served in the Suez Crisis in 1956 . During the 1950s there was a prohibition on serving members of the Armed Forces standing for election to Parliament . A few National Servicemen stood for election in the 1951 and 1955 General Elections in order to be dismissed from service . National Service ended gradually from 1957 . It was decided that those born on or after 1 October 1939 would not be required , but conscription continued for those born earlier whose call - up had been delayed for any reason . In November 1960 the last men entered service , as call - ups formally ended on 31 December 1960 , and the last National Servicemen left the Armed Forces in May 1963 . Currently , the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda practises conscription . This makes the Bermuda Regiment the only conscripted force still under the British Crown .