National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1939 c. 81 |
National Service (Armed Forces) Act, 1939
(2 & 3 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 81.
An Act to make provision for securing and controlling the enlistment of men for service in the armed forces of the Crown; and for purposes connected with the matter aforesaid.
[3rd September 1939]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same. as follows:—
1 Proclamations subjecting persons to Act.
(1) His Majesty may from time to time by proclamation direct that, save as otherwise provided by this Act, every male person who—
(a ) at the date of the proclamation is a British subject; and
(b ) has at that date attained such age not being less than eighteen years of age as may be specified in the proclamation, but has not, at that date, attained such greater age not being more than forty-one years as may be so specified; and
(c ) is at that date within Great Britain, or not having been in Great Britain at that date subsequently enters it,
shall on the date of the proclamation or on the date on which he first enters Great Britain after the date of the proclamation, as the case may be, become liable under this Act to be called up for service in the armed forces of the Crown:
Provided that a person shall not by virtue of any proclamation become liable under this Act to be called up after he has attained the age of forty-one years.
(2) A person who by virtue of any proclamation under this section becomes liable to be called up for service shall, save as otherwise provided by this Act, remain so liable until he has attained the age of forty-one years and no longer.
2 Registration.
(1) The Minister may make regulations requiring persons who become liable under this Act to be called up for service—
(a ) to furnish, at such place and time, in such manner, and to such authority or person, as may be notified in accordance with the regulations, such particulars about himself as may be so notified; and
(b ) except in the case of a person not required by the regulations to make such an application, to make at such place and time, in such manner and to such authority or person as may be notified in accordance with the regulations, an application to be registered under this Act.
(2) Such regulations as aforesaid may make different provision in relation to different classes of persons liable under this Act to be called up for service, and may provide for exempting from any requirements of the regulations any class of persons with respect to whom the Minister is satisfied that particulars sufficient for the purposes of this Act can be ascertained by him otherwise than by virtue of those requirements.
(3) If any person fails to comply with any of the requirements of regulations made under subsection (1) of this section, he shall, save as hereinafter provided, be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(4) It shall be the duty of the Minister to secure—
(a ) that upon an application being duly made for registration under this Act, the name and address of the applicant (together with particulars of the matters with respect to which information was given by the applicant in accordance with the regulations), are entered in a register kept for the purposes of this Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘the military service register’); and
(b ) that upon the applicant being registered a certificate of registration is issued to him in the prescribed form.
(5) The Minister may cause a certificate of registration to be issued to any person of a class exempted from any of the requirements of regulations under this section, as if that person had duly made application to be registered under this Act.
(6) If any person liable under this Act to be called up for service notifies the Minister in the prescribed manner that he has a preference for naval or air force service, that fact shall be recorded in the military service register, or, if he is a person of a class exempted from registration, in such other manner as the Minister thinks fit.
(7) A person to whom a certificate of registration has been issued under this section shall, if at any time while he is liable under this Act to be called up for service he is requested so to do by a constable in uniform, produce the certificate to the constable or, if the person to whom the request is made has not the certificate with him, produce it in person within two clear days at such police station as he may notify to the constable making the request.
If any person fails to comply with this subsection, he shall, save as hereinafter provided, be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(8) Regulations of the Minister may provide for the issue, in specified circumstances, of fresh certificates of registration in place of certificates which have been lost, destroyed or defaced.
(9) If, at any time while a person registered under this Act is liable under this Act to be called up for service, ally change occurs in his name or address, he shall forthwith notify the change to the Minister in the prescribed manner, and at the same time return to the Minister any certificate of registration held by him, and if he fails to do so, he shall, save as hereinafter provided, be guilty of an offence under this Act; and the Minister, upon the receipt of the notification, shall cause the necessary corrections to be made in the register and shall either cause the certificate to be corrected and returned to him or cause a fresh certificate to be issued to him.
3 Medical examination.
(1) The Minister may from time to time cause to be served on any person for the time being liable under this Act to be called up for service a written notice in the prescribed form requiring that person to submit himself to medical examination by a medical board at such place and time as may be specified in the notice; and where such a notice has been served on any person the Minister may at any time while that person remains liable to be called up for service cancel the notice or cause to be served on him a further notice varying the original notice by altering the place or time at which he is thereby required to submit himself to medical examination.
(2) The Minister may make regulations for determining the constitution of medical boards for the purposes of this section, and for regulating the procedure of such boards, and such regulations may, in particular, provide for enabling a medical board—
(a ) in a case where the board is unable to complete a medical examination on one occasion, to direct the person examined to submit himself to a further medical examination by a medical board at a specified time and place; and
(b ) to direct the person examined to submit himself to examination by a consultant examiner.
(3) The Minister shall by regulations determine the categories in which persons medically examined under this section are to be placed by reference to their physical condition.
(4) If any person fails to comply with the requirements of a notice served on him under this section or of any regulations made or directions given by virtue thereof, he shall, save as hereinafter provided, be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(5) The court by which any person is convicted of an offence under this Act by reason of his failure to comply with the requirements of regulations made under subsection (1) of the last preceding section, with the requirements of subsection (9) of that section or with the requirements of a notice served on him or directions given to him under this section, may, without prejudice to any penalty which may be imposed on him, make such orders (including orders for his arrest and detention) as may be necessary to secure compliance with the requirements or otherwise to secure his attendance before a medical board or consultant examiner, as the case may be.
(6) A notice served on any person under this section shall cease to have effect if, before the date on which he is thereby required to submit himself to medical examination, he ceases to be liable under this Act to be called up for service.
(7) The Minister may pay—
(a ) to members of medical boards constituted for the purposes of this section, and to consultant examiners employed for those purposes, such remuneration and allowances as he may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine, and
(b ) to persons undergoing medical examination under this section such travelling and other allowances, including compensation for loss of remunerative time, in accordance with such scale as he may, with the consent of the Treasury, approve.
4 Enlistment in the forces.
(1) The Minister may cause to be served on any person for the time being liable under this Act to be called up for service who has been medically examined under the last preceding section a written notice (hereinafter referred to as ‘an enlistment notice’) stating that he is called upon for service in such one of His Majesty's armed forces as may be specified in the notice, and requiring him to present himself at such place and time (not earlier than the third day after the date of the service of the notice), and to such authority, as may be so specified; and, subject to the following provisions of this Act, the person upon whom the notice is served shall be deemed, as from the day so specified, to have been duly entered or enlisted for service in the force so specified, and the term or period for which he is so entered or enlisted shall, notwithstanding anything in any Act or regulations, be deemed to be from the beginning of the said day until the end of the present emergency.
(2) Where an enlistment notice has been duly served on any person, the Minister may, at any time while...
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