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Kitchener wanted men for Britain鈥檚 volunteer army. He got 2.5million but Devon was reluctant to enlist. Why?

By November 1914, the number of men the county had sent to war were half of the national average (4.7% compared to 10.2%).

The Lord Lieutenant, Earl Fortescue of Castle Hill used the newspapers to criticise the county鈥檚 reluctance to recruit. He often blamed local farmers for resisting the call to arms. Across the country rural recruitment was lower than urban enlistment.

The declaration of war during the summer harvest meant there was certainly no rush to war in Devon. But even after the country鈥檚 biggest recruitment week (5 September 1914), Devon鈥檚 figures remained lower than the national average.

In March 1915, the Lord Lieutenant published the recruitment numbers for the mid- Devon parishes. Widecombe was lowest with 3% and Chudleigh the highest with 11.9%.

Location: Castle Hill, Filleigh, Devon EX32 0RQ
Photograph of recruitment in Castle Hill, courtesy of Graham Naylor c/o Plymouth Library Services

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