<P> Due to the political situation in Ireland, conscription was never applied there; only in England, Scotland and Wales . </P> <P> Conscription legislation lapsed in 1920 . However, as a result of the deteriorating international situation and the rise of Nazi Germany, Leslie Hore - Belisha, Secretary of State for War, persuaded the cabinet of Neville Chamberlain to introduce a limited form of conscription on 27 April 1939, with the Military Training Act being passed the following month . Only single men 20 to 22 years old were liable to be called up, and they were to be known as "militiamen" to distinguish them from the regular army . To emphasise this distinction, each man was issued with a suit in addition to a uniform . The intention was for the first intake to undergo six months of basic training before being discharged into an active reserve . They would then be recalled for short training periods and attend an annual camp . </P> <P> At the outbreak of war, on 3 September 1939, the Military Training Act was overtaken by the National Service (Armed Forces) Act, and the first intake was absorbed into the army . This act imposed a liability to conscription of all men 18 to 41 years old . Men could be rejected for medical reasons, and those engaged in vital industries or occupations were "reserved" at a particular age beyond which no one in that job would be enlisted . For example, lighthouse keepers were "reserved" at 18 years old . From 1943, some conscripts were directed into the British coal mining industry and become known as the "Bevin Boys". Provision was also made for conscientious objectors, who were required to justify their position to a tribunal, with power to allocate the applicant to one of three categories: unconditional exemption; exemption conditional upon performing specified civilian work (frequently farming, forestry or menial hospital work); exemption from only combatant service, meaning that the objector had to serve in the specially created Non-Combatant Corps or in some other non-combatant unit such as the Royal Army Medical Corps . </P> <P> By 1942 all male British subjects between 18 and 51 years old and all females 20 to 30 years old resident in Britain were liable to be called up, with some exemptions: </P>

Did england have a draft in world war 2