We Had to Join

DESCRIPTION: "We had to join, We had to join, We had to join (Belisha's/Churchill's/Bevin's) Army, (Fourteen bob/three quid) a week... Marching round the square With great big blisters on our feet. If it wasn't for the war, we'd have fucked off long before...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Page-KissMeGoodnightSergeantMajor)
KEYWORDS: soldier warning | conscription
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Palmer-WhatALovelyWar, p. 30, "Come On and Join" (3 texts; the first is "Lord Kitchere's Army," the second "Billy Hughes's Army," the third "We Had to Join")
Page-KissMeGoodnightSergeantMajor, p. 20, "Belisha's Army" (1 text)
Roud #29693
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Billy Hughes's Army" (songs lumped by Palmer)
NOTES [114 words]: Leslie Hore-Belisha (1893-1957), the subject of the Page-KissMeGoodnightSergeantMajor version of this song, served in multiple cabinet positions (and was a member of several different political parties) during his career. From 1937 to 1940, he was Secretary of State for War. Thus he was in charge of recruitment when World War II started. He was thus responsible for administering conscription when it was brought into effect (in stages) starting in 1939.
There seem to have been multiple versions of this, including at least one involving a labor strike rather than World War II conscription. Perhaps they should be considered different songs, but the structure is mostly the same. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.2
File: PKMG020A

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