‘Florrie and Mrs Huntley both expressed great anxiety about their boys. “They haven’t signed on for Foreign Service,” they said, “but of course if all the others volunteer they won’t like not to.’ Diary of Eirene Champney, 5th February 1915

In Bristol almost 18,000 men volunteered before October 1915. One young man was refused by the medical board because he had a deformed toe. He had his toe amputated, in the hopes that he would then be eligible to join up. The number volunteering fell as the war went on. In October 1915, the Derby scheme asked men to register their commitment to serve if they should be needed. But too few came forward, so conscription was introduced in 1916. All men between 18 and 41 were obliged to join up. In Bristol 22,000 men appealed against being called up, of whom around 5,000 were granted exemption. During the entire war, about 55,000 men enlisted locally and some Bristol men joined up elsewhere.