The British Militia was the principal military reserve force of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Militia units were repeatedly raised in Great Britain during the Victorian and Edwardian eras for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions . The British Militia was transformed into the Special Reserve under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 , which integrated all militia formations into the British Army .
39-547: 1–2 Militia and Special Reserve battalions Up to 4 Volunteer and Territorial battalions The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire) , which
78-630: A bill was introduced to Parliament to allow Militia volunteers to serve in Europe. In the event only three battalions were raised, and these were sent to serve under Henry Bayly . On 12 April 1814 they arrived in Bordeaux , where they were attached to the 7th Division . After the Napoleonic Wars, the Militia fell into disuse, although regimental colonels and adjutants continued to appear in
117-430: A county basis, and filled by voluntary enlistment (although conscription by means of the militia ballot might be used if the counties failed to meet their quotas). It was intended to be seen as an alternative to the army. Training was for 56 days on enlistment, then the recruits would return to civilian life but report for 21–28 days training per year. The full army pay during training and a financial retainer thereafter made
156-637: A uniform), and after six months full-time training would be discharged into the reserve. The first intake was called up, but the Second World War was declared soon afterwards, and the militiamen lost their identity in the rapidly expanding army. Two units still maintain their militia designation in the British Army , in the Army Reserve . These are the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (formed in 1539) and
195-489: A useful addition to the men's civilian wage. Of course, many saw the annual camp as the equivalent of a paid holiday. The militia thus appealed to agricultural labourers, colliers and the like, men in casual occupations , who could leave their civilian job and pick it up again. The militia was also a significant source of recruits for the Regular Army, where men had received a taste of army life. An officer's commission in
234-401: Is housed at Abington Park , Northampton. The following is a list of the battalions which the regiment raised (f. Formed, c. Cadre , d. Disbanded, t. Transferred); The badges of the regiment included references to the units combined in 1881. The cap badge featured a representation of a castle and key and the battle honour " Gibraltar ", earned by the 58th Foot in 1779–1783. Below the castle
273-581: The 11th Infantry Brigade , 4th Infantry Division . It saw extensive service in France , Tunisia , Sicily and Italy before ending the war in Austria. The 4th Battalion was reformed as a 2nd Line Territorial Army formation serving in the 183rd Infantry Brigade , as part of the 61st Infantry Division . It was raised in 1939, when the Territorial Army was doubled in size, as the duplicate of
312-690: The 12th (Eastern) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 6th (Service) Battalion landed in France as army troops to the 18th (Eastern) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 73rd Brigade in the 24th Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front. Between the two world wars,
351-644: The 24th Brigade in the 8th Division in November 1914 also for service on the Western Front. The 1/4th Battalion landed at Suvla Bay as part of the 162nd Brigade in the 54th (East Anglian) Division in August 1915; it was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915 and arrived at Alexandria and then served in Egypt and Palestine later. The 5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) landed in France as pioneer troops to
390-593: The 304th Infantry Brigade . The 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion was assigned to the 143rd Infantry Brigade , part of the 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division . The 48th Division was sent to join the British Expeditionary Force in France in early 1940, the first Territorial division to be sent overseas in the Second World War, and the battalion was exchanged for the 1st Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and transferred to
429-573: The 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1755) were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Northamptonshire Regiment, with the regimental depot at Northampton . The regiment was initially based at Gibraltar Barracks in Northampton . As well as the two regular battalions, the Northampton and Rutland Militia became the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, and the 1st Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps became
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#1732773361828468-544: The 5th Infantry Division . The battalion saw active service as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the battles of Belgium and France and had to be evacuated at Dunkirk . After being evacuated to England, the battalion spent two years on home defence, re-training and re-equipping. 2nd Battalion then joined the forces sent to invade Madagascar in May 1942 and then travelled to India and overland to Persia (now Iran) and Iraq in September of
507-620: The Army List . Whilst muster rolls were still prepared during the 1820s, the element of compulsion was abandoned. For example, the City Of York Militia & Muster Rolls run to 1829. They used a pre-printed form with a printer's date of Sept 1828. The Militia was revived by the Militia Act 1852 ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 50), enacted during a period of international tension. As before, units were raised and administered on
546-488: The First World War , but their rank and file did not, since the object of the special reserve was to supply drafts of replacements for the overseas units of the regiment. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to Supplementary Reserve in 1924, though the units were effectively placed in "suspended animation" until disbanded in 1953. The term militiaman was briefly revived in 1939. In
585-717: The Jersey Field Squadron (The Royal Militia Island of Jersey) (formed in 1337). 24th Division (United Kingdom) The 24th Division was an infantry division of the British Army , raised in September 1914 from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener 's New Armies during the First World War . After almost a year spent training in England the division was sent to the Western Front between August and September 1915. It served in Belgium and France in
624-802: The Second Boer War . In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve ; the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions. The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of 2nd Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front . The 2nd Battalion, which had been in Alexandria , returned to England and then landed at Le Havre as part of
663-702: The trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war. The Division was one of the six created for the Third New Army on 13 September 1914. It moved to France in August 1915 and it saw action at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 and the Final Advance in Picardy in 1918. From its arrival in France to May 1917, it was commanded by Major-General John Capper . It
702-526: The 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment. The regiment was awarded the following battle honours: Colonels of the regiment were: Militia (United Kingdom) A separate voluntary Local Militia was created in 1808 before being disbanded in 1816. By 1813 the British Army was experiencing a shortage of manpower to maintain their battalions at full strength. Some consideration was given to recruiting foreign nationals; however, on 4 November 1813
741-528: The 5th Battalion. Despite being raised for war service, it remained in the United Kingdom until February 1945 when, now as part of the 115th Infantry Brigade , it went to North West Europe . The 50th (Holding) Battalion was raised on 12 June 1940. The role of the Holding battalion was to temporarily 'hold' men who were medically unfit, temporarily homeless, returning from abroad or awaiting orders. It
780-698: The First Volunteer Battalion. With the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 , they became the 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th ( Territorial Force ) battalions respectively. In the years 1881–1914, the two regular battalions saw overseas service in Hong Kong , India , Singapore and South Africa , with the regiment receiving battle honours for actions in the North West Frontier Province and
819-530: The War Office from that time onwards. Under the reforms introduced by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, the remaining militia infantry regiments were redesignated as numbered battalions of regiments of the line, ranking after the two regular battalions. Typically, an English, Welsh or Scottish regiment would have two militia battalions (the 3rd and 4th) and Irish regiments three (numbered 3rd – 5th). The militia must not be confused with
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#1732773361828858-516: The aftermath of the Munich Crisis Leslie Hore-Belisha , Secretary of State for War , wished to introduce a limited form of conscription , an unheard of concept in peacetime. It was thought that calling the conscripts 'militiamen' would make this more acceptable, as it would render them distinct from the rest of the army. Only single men aged 20–22 were to be conscripted (given a free suit of civilian clothes as well as
897-484: The base of which was a horseshoe, representing Rutland . The regimental buttons of other ranks bore the castle and key surmounted by a crown, while those worn on officers' mess dress displayed a scroll inscribed "Talavera" below a crown. The facing colours of the 48th and 58th Foot were buff and black respectively. Although white facings were imposed in 1881 by the Childers reforms, the old colours were still used in
936-531: The battalion was transferred to the Royal Artillery and became 50th (Northamptonshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery. Due to a severe shortage of manpower in the 21st Army Group fighting in North-west Europe , particularly in the infantry, the regiment was converted back into infantry, becoming 637th (Northamptonshire Regiment) Infantry Regiment, Royal Artillery and joined
975-401: The militia was often a 'back door' route to a Regular Army commission for young men who could not obtain one through purchase or gain entry to Sandhurst . Under the act, Militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time service in three circumstances: Until 1852 the militia were an entirely infantry force, but the 1852 Act introduced Militia Artillery units whose role
1014-519: The necessary physical requirements.' A further contrast was the replacement of several weeks of preliminary training with six months of full time training upon enlisting in the Special Reserve. Upon mobilisation, the special reserve units would be formed at the depot and continue training while guarding vulnerable points in Britain. The special reserve units remained in Britain throughout
1053-556: The recommendations of the 1957 Defence White Paper , the 1st Battalions of the Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Regiments were merged on 1 June 1960 to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire) . This regiment was short-lived, becoming part of the Royal Anglian Regiment on 1 September 1964. The Museum of the Northamptonshire Regiment
1092-406: The regiment. The regimental stable belt consisted of equal stripes of black, buff and sky blue. In 1927 the regiment's facings were changed to buff. The scarlet and blue officers' mess dress worn in the 1930s included collar and cuffs in the buff of the 48th and waistcoats in the black of the 58th. A black lanyard was worn on the battle-dress blouse introduced in 1937, and this was later adopted by
1131-567: The regular battalions spent long periods in India, the 1st Battalion arriving there in 1932 and the 2nd Battalion arriving there in 1919. On 17 October 1935, a Royal Scot Class locomotive of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway was named The Northamptonshire Regiment at a ceremony at Northampton (Castle) Station . After Gibraltar Barracks became too dilapidated, the regiment re-located to Quebec Barracks at Wootton in 1939. The 1st Battalion
1170-535: The regular forces. Volunteer Corps required recruits to fund their own equipment, however, effectively barring those with low incomes. The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the military reforms of Haldane in the reforming post 1906 Liberal government. In 1908 the militia infantry battalions were redesignated as "reserve" and a number were amalgamated or disbanded. Altogether, 101 infantry battalions, 33 artillery regiments and two engineer regiments of special reservists were formed. In contrast with
1209-650: The same year. It travelled to Egypt and next fought in Sicily and Italy before being transferred to North-West Europe as part of 21st Army Group in February 1945. The 4th Battalion was transferred to the Royal Engineers and converted, before the war, into the 50th (Northamptonshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers . On the outbreak of war, it was serving with the 32nd (Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade , 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division . In August 1940,
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1248-404: The soldier serving in the militia, those who served under Special Reserve terms of service had an obligation to serve overseas, as stipulated in paragraph 54. The standards of medical fitness were lower than for recruits to the regular infantry. The possibility of enlisting in the army under Regular terms of service were facilitated under paragraph 38, one precondition was that the recruit 'fulfils
1287-501: The volunteer units created in a wave of enthusiasm in the second half of the nineteenth century. In contrast with the Volunteer Force , and the similar Yeomanry Cavalry, they were considered rather plebeian. Volunteer units appealed to better-off recruits as, unlike the Militia which engaged a recruit for a term of service, a volunteer could quit his corps with fourteen days notice, except while embodied for war or training with
1326-460: Was a Regular Army unit that served in the Burma campaign and India throughout the war with the 32nd Indian Infantry Brigade , 20th Indian Infantry Division . The 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment was also part of the Regular Army. Throughout the war, the battalion was assigned to the 17th Infantry Brigade , alongside the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers and 2nd Seaforth Highlanders , part of
1365-533: Was a scroll bearing the honour "Talavera", and the badge was encircled by a laurel wreath earned by the 48th Foot in 1809 during the Peninsular War . The collar badge (which was also used as the design for the regimental "crest"), was based on that of the Northamptonshire and Rutland Militia. This featured the cross of St George within a crowned circle. Around the circle was a laurel wreath, on
1404-553: Was amalgamated with the 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) , the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) and the Royal Leicestershire Regiment to form the present Royal Anglian Regiment . The Northamptonshire Regiment was formed as part of the reorganisation of the infantry by the Childers Reforms when the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1741) and
1443-506: Was disbanded by March 1919. The 24th Division was constituted as follows during the war: 71st Brigade The brigade moved to the 6th Division in 11 October 1915, swapping with the 17th Brigade . 72nd Brigade 73rd Brigade 17th Brigade The brigade transferred from the division from the 6th Division on 18 October 1915, swapping with the 71st Brigade. Divisional Troops Royal Artillery Royal Engineers Royal Army Medical Corps The following commanded
1482-462: Was redesignated the 6th Battalion in October 1940 and was assigned to the 223rd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) . However, the battalion would remain in the United Kingdom throughout the war, later transferring to 204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) and becoming a reserve training battalion for the rest of the war. In 1948, the regiment was reduced to a single regular battalion. Following
1521-583: Was to man coastal defences and fortifications, relieving the Royal Artillery for active service. Some of these units were converted from existing infantry militia regiments, others were newly raised. In 1877 the militia of Anglesey and Monmouthshire were converted to Royal Engineers . Up to 1855, the Home Office administered the Militia and Yeomanry, until such time as they were Embodied. The resultant ‘confusion and inconvenience’ it caused, from 1854 to 1855, resulted in being administered exclusively by
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