Lives in Cricket No 9 - JH King

Chapter Nine Interlude Upon the outbreak of war King did not enlist. Why should he? The war in its early months was expected to be a short and triumphant adventure for a gay and gallant band of youngsters, and King was past 43. Great Britain was the only European country involved in the Great War not to introduce early conscription, for the government feared exacerbating the split in opinion of the Cabinet, some of whose members disliked fighting ‘the industrious, respectable ant’ of Germany in defence of ‘the decadent and frivolous grasshopper’ of France, in Tuchman’s memorable phrases. When conscription was finally introduced, in early 1916, it was only for men up to the age of 41. Later, however, upon the raising of the maximum age he was indeed called up, but the verdict delivered at the Glen Parva barracks was ‘Mr King is not a fighting man and would be much more use on the home front’. He consequently did work on the farm of a Mr Custouce on the Narborough Road, south of the village of that name, cycling every day from Aylestone via Coalpit Lane. The County Ground had meanwhile been commandeered by the Army, the pavilion 91 Total war. The Army Service Corps on parade at the Aylestone Road ground, probably in 1915.