If WW3 breaks out, there may be some key workers deemed too vital to national security to be made to fight – so these key vocations could be spared conscription to the front lines or the war effort
The prospect of World War Three is a deeply unsettling thought, but with the escalating attacks between Iran and Israel this week -and Iran aligning itself with China and Russia – the world feels closer to a global conflict than it has in a long time.
Yet, in the grim eventuality that WW3 erupts, some professions could be considered too critical for national security to conscript – potentially saving those in pivotal roles from being drafted into combat or wartime duties.
While the modern form of conscription remains uncertain, lessons can be learnt from the past. During WW2, key workers who were crucial to keeping things running were excused from conscription – bakers, farmers, doctors, nurses and engineers.
READ MORE: Should women be conscripted in the event of a world war? Take our poll and have your say
At the time, Brits who morally objected to fighting, referred to as ‘conscientious objectors’, faced tribunals and, rather than serving on the battlefield, contributed through non-combatant roles still aiding the war effort.
Back in WW2, men aged 20 to 22 were first called up for conscription in 1939, up to six months before the war actually broke out, reports Yorkshire Live.
The UK Parliament website explains: “During the spring of 1939 the deteriorating international situation forced the British government under Neville Chamberlain to consider preparations for a possible war against Nazi Germany.”
“Plans for limited conscription applying to single men aged between 20 and 22 were given parliamentary approval in the Military Training Act in May 1939. This required men to undertake six months’ military training, and some 240,000 registered for service.”
However, when war was declared, the age range was immediately expanded to include any man aged 18 to 41. It continues: “On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed a more wide-reaching measure.
“The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription on all males aged between 18 and 41 who had to register for service. Those medically unfit were exempted, as were others in key industries and jobs such as baking, farming, medicine, and engineering.”
By the end of 1941, women and ‘all childless widows’ between the ages of 20 and 30 were called up, while men aged up to 51 were also called upon for military service. Even those aged 52 to 60 were required to take part in ‘some form of military service’.
It added: “The main reason was that there were not enough men volunteering for police and civilian defence work, or women for the auxiliary units of the armed forces.”
On modern day conscription, Mike Martin, an Afghanistan veteran and the MP for Tunbridge Wells, told the Express: “There’s a significant chance that it [war with Russia] might happen so we must be prepared.”
The Liberal Democrat issued a stark warning: “Obviously, if we get involved in a general war with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the population – there’s no question about that,” but emphasised the importance of strength as a deterrent.
“Being prepared generates deterrence, which decreases the likelihood [of war]. The whole point about building the military up is it decreases the likelihood of this happening. I think that’s an important caveat. I’ve fought in wars, I’m not a warmonger. But I recognise that you’ve got to [pursue] peace through strength.”