When was the National Services Act?

When was the National Services Act?

• A. 1938
• B. 1939
• C. 1940
• D. 1941

Answer: (B)

The year the National Service Act was introduced marks when Britain first moved to compulsory military service to meet the demands of a world war. As soon as World War II began in 1939, Parliament passed this act to authorize conscription and raise manpower for the armed forces, changing the system from voluntary service to mandatory service. The initial act set up the call-up for a defined group of men, and later measures in 1940–41 widened who could be drafted, but the essential point is that the act first appeared in 1939. So 1939 is the right answer because it is the year the policy of national service began, with later years expanding its scope.

The year the National Service Act was introduced marks when Britain first moved to compulsory military service to meet the demands of a world war. As soon as World War II began in 1939, Parliament passed this act to authorize conscription and raise manpower for the armed forces, changing the system from voluntary service to mandatory service. The initial act set up the call-up for a defined group of men, and later measures in 1940–41 widened who could be drafted, but the essential point is that the act first appeared in 1939. So 1939 is the right answer because it is the year the policy of national service began, with later years expanding its scope.