What choices did your ancestor face when Britain went to war? Delve into this remarkable collection from Southwark Archives, where the names and stories of local men who joined the Central Association Volunteer Training Corps in 1916 are carefully recorded. These forms reveal not just physical details and occupations but also family circumstances and personal reasons for staying on the home front. They offer a powerful glimpse into a community determined to serve in any way it could.
What choices did your ancestor face when Britain went to war? Delve into this remarkable collection from Southwark Archives, where the names and stories of local men who joined the Central Association Volunteer Training Corps in 1916 are carefully recorded. These forms reveal not just physical details and occupations but also family circumstances and personal reasons for staying on the home front. They offer a powerful glimpse into a community determined to serve in any way it could.
For each search result, you will see both a transcription and an image of the original enrolment form. The transcription includes the following details.
We always recommend that you view the original image. Original records can reveal more about your ancestors including:
Your ancestor may not have served overseas, but he still answered the call. This Regimental Enrolment Book for the Central Association Volunteer Training Corps, preserved by Southwark Archives, offers a rare glimpse into the men who took up home defence duties in 1916, at the height of the First World War. The Volunteer Training Corps was a national organisation coordinated by the Central Association with their headquarters at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The VTC volunteers were men of military age (17 and older) who often were employed in occupations considered necessary to the war effort and therefore could not serve in the armed forces.
The book records individual enrolment forms from Southwark men who volunteered for the VTC, a national organisation formed to coordinate local corps across the country. Each entry captures key personal details including name, age, height, occupation, previous military training, residence, and even whether the applicant owned a horse or vehicle. It also records reasons for not joining the Regular Forces, often because the individual was engaged in essential war work or had been granted conditional exemption by a military tribunal. If married, men were asked to list the number of children they had and give the age and sex of each child, offering a rare window into family life during wartime.
Although initially unrecognised by the War Office, the Volunteer Training Corps became formally established under the Central Association in March 1916. VTC members trained seriously with parades, drills, lectures, and inspections. They were issued uniforms with a red armlet marked with the letters GR. While some remained in the VTC throughout the war, others later enlisted in the armed forces. Any rank held in the corps would lapse upon joining the Army.