In 1918 during the last months of the war, the Military Service (No. 2) Act raised the age limit to 51. Conscription was extended until 1920 to enable the army to deal with continuing trouble spots in the Empire and parts of Europe. During the whole of the war conscription had raised some 2.5 million men.
Conscription during the First World War began when the British government passed the Military Service Act in January 1916. The act specified that single men aged 18 to 40 years old were liable to be called up for military service unless they were widowed with children, or were ministers of a religion.
Each man of 'military age' (19 to 38 years old) had to decide whether to join the armed forces and go to war. It was an important decision that affected most families in Australia. Recruiting offices opened at army barracks around Australia on 10 August 1914, only 6 days after the war began.
The oldest soldier to enlist in WWI is quartermaster sergeant Robert Frederick Robertson (UK, b. 12 September 1842), who was 71 years of age when he enlisted in late 1914. Robert's service records were destroyed in a WW2 bombing raid, however census reports and newspaper articles date his enlistment as late 1914.
Although boys aged 14-17 could enlist as buglers, trumpeters and musicians, many gave false ages in order to join as soldiers. Their numbers are impossible to determine. Enlistment of boys was normal practice for the Navy and several died on service during the First World War.
Age limits
Army: 17 - 35. Coast Guard: 17 - 31. Marine Corps: 17 - 28. Navy: 17 - 39.
Following his death and funeral, there were two surviving World War I veterans, British-born Florence Green and British Australian citizen Claude Choules, both of whom served in the British Armed Forces.
The graph above shows the ages of the men who died in the War. The average age of death was 27 but more 19 year olds were killed than any other age.
The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111.
Troops were paid a minimum of six shillings a day (more than three times the wage of English forces) leading to the phrase 'six bob a day tourists'. Although slightly below the basic wage, it was still attractive to many because of the tough financial conditions and high unemployment in 1914.
James (Jim) Martin was 14 years old when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He served as a private in World War I. Arriving at Gallipoli in early September 1915, he served in Wire Gully and Courtney's Post among other places.
On average, 38 members of the Australian armed forces died per day during the 1,560 days of the war. At 64.8%, the Australian casualty rate (proportionate to total embarkations) was among the highest of the war.
About one to every 10,000 men. With one exception – I'll speak about that later – there has been no widespread disease among the armies on the western front. This is a splendid record. In our previous wars thousands of soldiers died in hospitals without ever seeing action.
In general, the Defense Department restricts enlistment to those 35 and younger. Prior enlisted service members can subtract their previous years of service from their age in order to extend eligibility.
By far, artillery was the biggest killer in World War I, and provided the greatest source of war wounded.
The people listed below are, or were, the last surviving members of notable groups of World War II veterans, as identified by reliable sources. About 70 million people fought in World War II between 1939 and 1945 and, as of 2022, there are still approximately 167,000 living veterans in the United States alone.
Towards the end of the war, the Germans established an entire SS Panzer Tank Division with the majority of its recruits being 16- and 17-year-old boys from the Hitler Youth brigades. In the 1st Battalion over 65% were under 18 years old, and only 3% were over 25.
For a serviceman who joined the army at the beginning of the war the probability of survival to the end of the conflict is 0.74 for officers and 0.85 for other ranks.
The Triple Entente (also known as the Allies) lost about 6 million military personnel while the Central Powers lost about 4 million. At least 2 million died from diseases and 6 million went missing, presumed dead.
The German army suffered the highest number of military losses, totaling at more than two million men. Turkey had the highest civilian death count, largely due to the mass extermination of Armenians, as well as Greeks and Assyrians.
By the time battle ended, 18,000 'boy soldiers' had been killed or wounded. The youngest 'boy soldier' was a boy called Sidney Lewis.
Throughout history and in many cultures, children have been involved in military campaigns. For example, thousands of children participated on all sides of the First World War and the Second World War.
The casualties suffered by the participants in World War I dwarfed those of previous wars: some 8,500,000 soldiers died as a result of wounds and/or disease. The greatest number of casualties and wounds were inflicted by artillery, followed by small arms, and then by poison gas.