Five key jobs that will not be conscripted in the UK if WW3 breaks out | UK | News
The prospect of World War III is not something anyone likes, but with Vladimir Putin’s moves against Ukraine continuing and the US threatening to annex Greenland, it feels as if a global conflict has never been closer. However, if World War III breaks out, there may be some jobs deemed too vital to national security to fight; thus, these key occupations may be spared from front-line conscription or war efforts.
Tensions have risen since the US marched into Venezuela and just this week began making new noises about taking Greenland, stating that “the US military is always an option”. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to deploy British troops to Ukraine.
Just a few months ago Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin told the Express that conscription “will happen” if the UK goes to war with Russia.
We don’t know exactly what conscription would look like today, but we do have some historical precedents from the last global conflict, World War II. And there were some important jobs in World War II that were deemed too important to be drafted into the military. Workers in key industries, particularly bakers, farmers, doctors or nurses, and engineers, were exempt from compulsory military service.
Those who opposed fighting, known as ‘conscientious objectors’, were sent to the courts and then forced to work in non-combatant jobs that helped fight in other wars. In World War II, compulsory military service for men aged 20 to 22 began in 1939, six months before the actual start of the war.
The UK Parliament website says: “The worsening international situation in the spring of 1939 forced the British government under Neville Chamberlain to consider preparations for a possible war against Nazi Germany.
“Plans for limited conscription, applicable to single men aged 20 to 22, were put to parliament for approval by the Military Training Act in May 1939. This required men to undertake six months of military training, and approximately 240,000 men signed up for service.”
However, when war was declared, the age range was immediately expanded to include all men between the ages of 18 and 41.
It continues: “On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed a more far-reaching measure.
“The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed compulsory military service on all men between the ages of 18 and 41 who had to register for military service. The medically unfit were also exempt, as were others working in essential industries and occupations such as baking, farming, medicine and engineering.”
By the end of 1941, women aged 20-30 and ‘all childless widows’, and men up to the age of 51 were called to military service. Even those between the ages of 52 and 60 were required to participate in ‘some form of military service’.
It added: “The main reason for this was that there were not enough men volunteering for police and civil defense work or women volunteering for the armed forces’ auxiliary units.”
Afghanistan veteran and Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin told the Express: “There’s a significant possibility that [war with Russia] It can happen, so we must be prepared.
“Frankly, if we go into a general war with Russia, we will be conscripting the population; there is no doubt about that,” the Liberal Democrat added.
“Being prepared creates deterrence, which reduces the likelihood [of war]. The whole point of strengthening the military is to reduce the likelihood of this happening. I think this is an important warning. I’ve fought in wars, I’m not a warmonger. But I know you have to do it [pursue] peace through strength.”
Tensions escalated this week after the White House said on Tuesday that “the US military is always an option” despite a number of European leaders disavowing the President. Donald TrumpRenewed calls for the US to seize Greenland.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned earlier this week that a US takeover would mean the end of the NATO military alliance.
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined in a statement on Tuesday confirming that the mineral-rich island “belongs to its people”.
The statement defended the sovereignty of Greenland, which is a self-governing region of Denmark and therefore part of NATO.
Mr. Trump has floated the idea of buying Greenland since his first term, arguing that the United States should control the world’s largest island to ensure its own security in the face of growing threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.
