Another group of men listed in the Buchan Observer newspaper of 26th January 1915 are the National Reservists. These Reservists were generally but not exclusively, former soldiers, Militia or Territorials and most were aged 30 or over. They did not have to attend the annual camp as other Reservists were obliged to do. Their only obligation was an agreement to serve in time of national emergency. Initially their role, along with that of the Reserve Battalions was to guard railways and ports in order to release men for fighting units.

On December 9th 1914 the following announcement was placed in an Aberdeenshire newspaper:

Mobilisation Order

The following notice is being issued by the County Territorial Associations:-

The War Office has issued instructions to call all Class I and Class II national reservists under the age of 50 who have so far not made good the obligation undertaken in peace time to place themselves at the disposal of His Majesty the king in time of national emergency.
Your name is shown on the county register as A Class national reservist and there is no record of your having yet presented yourself for enlistment.
In accordance with the above mentioned War Office instructions, the county association do hereby call upon you to offer yourself for enlistment without further delay, and to enable you to do so you must sign one of the two forms A and B overleaf, and then enclose this letter in the addressed envelope sent herewith and post it. On receipt of the form duly signed further instructions will be sent to you.
You should not give up your present employment till you have been actually enlisted, when, if you wish it, you will be given three days' leave on full pay in which to arrange your affairs before joining the unit to which you are posted.

(Aberdeen Journal 9th Dec 1914)

As many of these men were relatively old, they did not serve overseas and so are hard to trace. The service records (WO363 and WO364) of a few exist and the main details are summarised below.

One man, William Cumming,  wrote about his experience as a National Reservist who was called for duty with the 5th (1st Reserve) Battalion in late 1914.
 
In December 1914 the War Office seemed to be aroused to the fact that a number of ex-soldiers, ex-Volunteers, and ex-Terriers, had signed "little scraps of paper", promising their services to their country in the event of necessity. Mere honourable undertakings these - no attestation, no swearing in, merely a promise to help King and country - and each man signing had the option of resigning "on sight".

What were our motives [for joining the National Reserve]. Many of us dearly loved to cuddle the stock of a rifle, to peer through the sights, press the trigger and look for a "bull". But long-distance shooting was only possible on military ranges - the fortnight's camp demanded of the "Terriers" barred us from joining - and the ammunition for practise was free to the National Reserve. [National Reserve shooting clubs were very popular in pre-war days, and in Aberdeenshire there were weekly shooting competitions.)

We had all "done our bit" before, but there was no medical qualification, no age qualification, no nothing except that we had previously served at least three years.

The 28th December found many of us proceeding to Peterhead in answer to a gentle reminder that we had not yet fulfilled our "honourable obligations." A hefty lot we were, varying in age from thirty to fifty, just a little on the "wechty" [weighty] side.

Happy the man who had no wife and children to make his path of duty less clear. Home or country - which should have the first claim? ... To throw too heavy a burden upon the shoulders of one's partner in life by any deliberate action of your own, even for the sake of your countrymen ... requires justification. However, we had swallowed the camel and were now soldiers of the King; and at least we hoped that the action of the "old" boys would lessen the chances of our little chaps becoming conscript soldiers when they reached man's estate.

Our soldiering commenced on 5th January 1915. .. As to soldiering my time on the square was short - 25 days' service saw me a full blown C.Q.M.S - raw but willing.     William Cumming (War Book of Turriff p371)

  Blyth, William Frank