Derby Scheme

The Derby Scheme was introduced during World War I in Britain in the autumn of 1915 by Herbert Kitchener's new Director General of Recruiting, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (1865–1948) after which it was named.

It used strong pressure tactics to try to pressure men regarded as eligible to serve in the military to voluntarily enlist. In spite of persuading nearly 2/3 of single men and almost half of married to do so, wartime manpower needs were sufficiently great that by 1916 the Military Service Act would be passed instituting compulsory conscription.