ABSTRACT
The introduction of peacetime conscription in Britain in April 1939 has generally been ignored in studies of the pre-war period, or given short shrift as an inevitable step in the intensification of defence preparations. Peacetime conscription seemed to be firmly ruled out in 1936, when Stanley Baldwin pledged that it would not be introduced by his government. Labour fears that the unemployment problem might be tackled by introducing compulsory military service, and widespread distrust of conscription in peacetime as the forerunner of continental military ventures, were thereby largely allayed. The Government's military advisers, however, with support from individuals in the Cabinet and the Foreign Office, argued that there were compelling military and political reasons why Britain should make a significant contribution on land. Chamberlain was brought to take the very step he had pledged his government against—to introduce conscription in peacetime, as a political gesture to French and allied opinion, and to public and parliamentary opinion in Britain.
