War chronicle · August · Wellington, New Zealand
Conscription
Eligible New Zealand men face compulsory military service by ballot, known as
‘death’s lottery’.
Soldiers are needed – fast. Since mid-1915, fewer men have been signing up voluntarily. The numbers required for each two-month intake have risen from 800 to 2000 in response to the losses suffered at Gallipoli. There is only one way to boost the numbers – make it compulsory to join up.
The Military Service Act is passed on 1 August, and on 23 November 1300 registered men are selected during the first conscription ballot. The men are picked by chance, in what will become known as ‘death’s lottery’. Two numbered marbles are randomly selected from a pair of small wooden barrels. An army official uses the number on the first marble to direct him to a drawer, and the second to a card. A man’s details are written on the card. This man has been chosen to go to war.
Every month, for the rest of the war, thousands of eligible New Zealand men aged 20–45 face an anxious wait to see if
death’s lottery has chosen them.
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