Expert: Ron - 7/11/2006

Question
I need to know the legal age for a Canadian citizen to volunteer to serve during World War One.  I am trying my hand at writing an historical novel and I need to know if, in those days, you could join at 16 or did you have to be 18.  Could it have been even younger than 16?  Also did we have boot camp here where they trained or did they train in England first before deployment and about how long was training.  Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Ruth


Answer
Hi Ruth:

18 was the magic age, although I personally know of a few fellows who lied about their age and joined up at 16.

Unlikely that there were earlier ages, although some one could have slipped in

Yes, new soldiers went through basic training .... it varied anywhere between 12 and 16 weeks. In the beginning some trained with wooden rifles ...because real ones weren't available.

Ron