For example, men could be rejected for having bad teeth.Īs the war progressed, the AIF needed more men to reinforce units with casualties and expand its army. In the first year of the war, almost one-third of volunteers were rejected. Only the biggest and fittest of the early volunteers were accepted in the forces. When men reported to a recruiting depot, a medical examination was arranged for them.Īuthorities set precise enlistment standards for military recruits. Within days of enlisting in the AIF, the first volunteers were in training camps set up around Australia.

New recruits received a free railway ticket to the nearest city so they could begin basic military training. They were willing to support the British Empire.Īustralian men at the recruiting office at the Town Hall, Melbourne, to enlist for service in World War I. Thousands of Australian men joined the AIF in the first few months. Recruiting offices opened at army barracks around Australia on 10 August 1914, only 6 days after the war began. It was an important decision that affected most families in Australia. Each man of 'military age' (19 to 38 years old) had to decide whether to join the armed forces and go to war. Recruitment of volunteersĪustralia's population in mid-1914 was just over 4.9 million, of which 52% were men. The RAN only needed to recruit naval personnel to fill any shortfalls. Australian ships, submarines and sailors were ready to serve in the war overseas. The government had to form a new army to serve in the war: the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).Ī defence strategy was quickly created to plan the structure of the AIF.Īt the outbreak of war, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was placed under the command of the British Admiralty. This was true even if they were already members of Australia's Regular Army or Army Reserves.

Under Australian law at the time (the Defence Act 1903), members of the military forces could not serve in a war overseas.

Part of the Australia's response to war was to pledge an immediate force of 20,000 Australian troops, with more to follow. When the United Kingdom (UK) declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, nations in the British Empire followed willingly.

1942 call of war day change