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75-590: The Royal South Gloucestershire Light Infantry (RSGLI), later the 3rd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment was a Militia regiment raised in the county of Gloucestershire in the West of England . From its formal creation in 1759 the regiment served in home defence in all of Britain's major wars until 1918. The universal obligation to military service in the Shire levy was long established in England and its legal basis

150-444: A Grade II listed building on 24 June 2020 for its historic interest ('as an eloquent witness to the service and sacrifice of soldiers who trained at Milstead Camp and the lasting impact they had on the collective memory of Milstead village') and design ('as a simple, but well executed structure probably using materials sourced from nearby Milstead Manor (Grade II*)'). Militia (United Kingdom) A separate voluntary Local Militia

225-852: A captain in the Royal North Gloucesters in 1820, was commissioned as lieutenant-colonel commandant of the Royal South Gloucesters on 3 April 1854. War having broken out with Russia in 1854 and an expeditionary force sent to the Crimea , the Militia were called out. In this year the regiment was redesignated the Royal South Gloucestershire Light Infantry (RSGLI), or more pompously as the Royal South Battalion of

300-610: A mobilisation scheme began to appear in the Army List from December 1875. This assigned Regular and Militia units to places in an order of battle of corps, divisions and brigades for the 'Active Army', even though these formations were entirely theoretical, with no staff or services assigned. The North and South Gloucestershire Militia were both assigned to 1st Brigade of 3rd Division, V Corps . The division would have mustered at Gloucester in time of war, and did actually undertake collective training at Minchinhampton Common in 1876 during

375-593: A new legislative body. On 3 November 1795, the Directory was established. Under this system, France was led by a bicameral Parliament, consisting of an upper chamber called the Council of Elders (with 250 members) and a lower chamber called the Council of Five Hundred (with, accordingly, 500 members), and a collective Executive of five members called the Directory (from which the historical period gets its name). Due to internal instability, caused by hyperinflation of

450-668: A third of the recruits and many young officers went on to join the Regular Army. The Militia Reserve, formed in 1868, consisted of present and former militiamen who undertook to serve overseas in case of war. After the disasters of Black Week at the start of the Second Boer War in December 1899, most of the Regular Army was sent to South Africa, and many militia units were embodied to replace them for home defence and to garrison certain overseas stations. The 3rd Gloucesters

525-673: The 11th (Service) Bn at Abbey Wood. In November it moved to Cheltenham and trained to join 106th Brigade in 35th Division. On 10 April 1915 the War Office decided to convert the K4 battalions into 2nd Reserve units, providing drafts for the K1–K3 battalions in the same way that the SR was doing for the Regular battalions. The Glosters' battalion became 11th (Reserve) Battalion in 4th Reserve Brigade and

600-550: The 7th Division . After the Napoleonic Wars, the Militia fell into disuse, although regimental colonels and adjutants continued to appear in 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

675-750: The British Army , in the Army Reserve . These are the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (formed in 1539) and the Jersey Field Squadron (The Royal Militia Island of Jersey) (formed in 1337). French First Republic In the history of France , the First Republic ( French : Première République ), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France , and officially

750-645: The French Republic (French: République française ), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution . The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire on 18 May 1804 under Napoléon Bonaparte , although the form of government changed several times. This period was characterised by the downfall and abolition of the French monarchy , the establishment of

825-532: The Glorious Revolution (when they were among the few units to see action in a largely bloodless campaign). The Gloucestershire Militia continued to be mustered for training during the reign of William III ; by now they were divided into four foot regiments (White, Green, Blue and Red) as well as a regiment of horse and a separate Bristol regiment. But after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 the militia

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900-598: The Gloucestershire Regiment ('The Glosters') and the RSGLI became its 3rd Battalion on 1 July 1881. All recruits, whether Regular or Militia, underwent training at the regimental depot before being posted to their battalions, and by 1880 the RSGLI had moved its headquarters to the Glosters' depot at Horfield Barracks , Bristol. Militia battalions now had a large cadre of permanent staff (about 30). Around

975-877: The National Convention and the Reign of Terror , the Thermidorian Reaction and the founding of the Directory , and, finally, the creation of the Consulate and Napoleon's rise to power. Under the Legislative Assembly , which was in power before the proclamation of the First Republic, France was engaged in war with Prussia and Austria . In July 1792, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick , commanding general of

1050-473: The September Massacres . As a result of the spike in public violence and the political instability of the constitutional monarchy, a party of six members of France's Legislative Assembly was assigned the task of overseeing elections. The resulting Convention was founded with the dual purpose of abolishing the monarchy and drafting a new constitution. The convention's first act was to establish

1125-552: The 3rd Bn, was appointed Temporary Lt-Col to command the 12th (Service) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment (Bristol's Own) . He trained the battalion assiduously, but when it was ready to be sent to join the BEF he was considered too old for active service at the age of 59 and was ordered to relinquish command in August 1915. However, after the war he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 3rd Battalion. The 11th (Reserve) Battalion (see below)

1200-525: The 3rd Gloucesters was erected at the field where they camped. George Burges was promoted to Brevet Colonel at the end of the war and died on 6 August 1919 while still in command. His grave at St Michael the Archangel Church, Warfield , Berkshire , is a Commonwealth War Grave. The 3rd Bn was disembodied on 9 August 1919, when its remaining personnel were drafted to the 1st Bn. After Lord Kitchener issued his call for volunteers in August 1914,

1275-534: The 4th Bn was disbanded on 31 July. The Burges family of Bristol was well-represented among the officers of the Glosters, both Regular and Militia. William E.P. Burges was first commissioned into the RSGLI in 1880 and was promoted to command it in 1905. When he retired on 9 October 1913, George H. Burges (first commissioned into the battalion on 23 November 1889) was promoted to succeed him. The 3rd Battalion under Lt-Col George H. Burges completed its 1914 annual training at Perham Down Camp and returned to Bristol where

1350-614: The Austro–Prussian Army, issued his Brunswick Manifesto , threatening the destruction of Paris should any harm come to King Louis XVI of France . This foreign threat exacerbated France's political turmoil amid the French Revolution and deepened the passion and sense of urgency among the various factions. In the insurrection of 10 August 1792 , citizens stormed the Tuileries Palace , killing six hundred of

1425-724: The Committee of Public Safety instated a policy of terror, and perceived enemies of the republic began to be executed by guillotine at an ever-increasing rate. This began a period which is known today as the Reign of Terror . Despite growing discontent with the National Convention as a ruling body, in June the Convention drafted the Constitution of 1793 , which was ratified by popular vote in early August. However,

1500-514: The Committee of Public Safety was seen as an "emergency" government, and the rights guaranteed by the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the new constitution were suspended under its control. The constitution of the republic did not provide for a formal head of state or a head of government. It could be discussed whether the head of state would have been the president of

1575-527: The French First Republic and officially strip the king of all political powers. Louis XVI , by then a private citizen bearing his family name of Capet , was subsequently put on trial for crimes of high treason starting in December 1792. On 16 January 1793 he was convicted, and on 21 January, he was executed. Throughout the winter of 1792 and spring of 1793, Paris was plagued by food riots and mass hunger. The new Convention did little to remedy

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1650-528: The Glosters brigaded with the 4th Bn Oxfordshire Light Infantry and 3rd Bn Berkshires. training was Under the more sweeping Haldane Reforms in 1908, the Militia was replaced by the Special Reserve , a semi-professional force whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for Regular units serving overseas in wartime (similar to the former Militia Reserve). The former RSGLI became the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment on 7 June 1908, while

1725-745: The Gloucestershire Light Infantry Militia The regiment was disembodied in 1856 and unlike the RNG was not embodied during the Indian Mutiny in 1857. After Earl FitzHardinge died on 10 October 1857, his nephew Francis FitzHardinge Berkeley (later Lord Fitzhardinge), formerly a captain in the Royal Horse Guards , was appointed honorary colonel of the RSGLI on 22 December. In the 1860s Col Berkeley took over from Newman as lieutenant-colonel commandant of

1800-503: 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 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

1875-549: The King's Swiss guards and insisting on the removal of the king. A renewed fear of counterrevolutionary action prompted further violence, and in the first week of September 1792, mobs of Parisians broke into the city's prisons. They killed over half of the prisoners, including nobles, clergymen, and political prisoners, but also common criminals, such as prostitutes and petty thieves. Many victims were murdered in their cells: raped, stabbed, and/or slashed to death. This became known as

1950-400: 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 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

2025-651: The National Assembly under international law. However, this changed every two weeks and was therefore not formative. After the arrest and execution of Robespierre on 28 July 1794, the Jacobin club was closed, and the surviving Girondins were reinstated. A year later, the National Convention adopted the Constitution of the Year III . They reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners, and most importantly, initiated elections for

2100-409: The Regular Army regarded them as a source of trained men if they could be persuaded to transfer. Their traditional local defence duties were taken over by the part-time Volunteers . Service in the militia could be hard: the men found that a daily food allowance of five pence did not go far when the price of provisions rose, and some units were involved in food riots. While stationed at Portsmouth in 1795

2175-494: The battalion moved to Bedford , where it was disbanded on 22 February 1918. The SR resumed its old title of Militia in 1921 and then became the Supplementary Reserve in 1924, but like most militia battalions the 3rd Gloucestershires remained in abeyance after World War I. By the time of his death in 1938, Col William Burges (as honorary colonel) was the only remaining officer listed for the battalion. The Militia

2250-409: The battalions of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd New Armies ('K1', 'K2' and 'K3' of ' Kitchener's Army ') were quickly formed at the regimental depots. The SR battalions also swelled with new recruits and were soon well above their establishment strength. On 8 October 1914 each SR battalion was ordered to use the surplus to form a service battalion of the 4th New Army ('K4'). Accordingly, the 3rd (Reserve) Bn formed

2325-528: The bulk of its quota (encompassing the vestiges of the old regiments) and was ready to issue them with arms on 15 May 1759. A train of waggons carrying arms and accoutrements for the regiment left the Tower of London on 22 May. The first or South battalion of the regiment was embodied for permanent duty at Gloucester on 27 July with eight companies under the command of Colonel Norborne Berkeley , who became Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 1762. At that time

Royal South Gloucestershire Light Infantry Militia - Misplaced Pages Continue

2400-486: The counties failed to meet their quotas). Training was for 56 days on enlistment, then for 21–28 days per year, during which the men received full army pay. Under the Act, Militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time service in three circumstances: Under the new organisation, militia regiments had an honorary colonel , but were commanded by a lieutenant-colonel . Henry W. Newman, originally commissioned as

2475-554: The counties were given an order of precedence determined by an annual ballot, beginning in 1778. In the French Revolutionary War the order balloted for in 1793 (Gloucestershire was 8th) remained in force until 1802, and another drawing took place at the start of the Napoleonic War (Gloucestershire was 7th), which remained in force until 1833. In that year the King drew the ballots for individual regiments and

2550-477: The country, undergoing training, suppressing smuggling and guarding prisoners, all the while being depleted by men volunteering for the regulars. During the summer of 1805, when Napoleon was massing his 'Army of England' at Boulogne for a projected invasion, the South Gloucestershire regiment with 723 men in 10 companies under Lt-Col John Wall was housed in the town and barracks at Brighton . It

2625-486: The county had to find 1163 more in 1802. A peace treaty having been agreed (the Treaty of Amiens ), the militia were disembodied in 1802. The peacetime quota for Gloucestershire was set at 1163 militiamen. But the Peace of Amiens quickly broke down, and they were embodied once more in 1803. Both regiments marched to Portsmouth, where they did duty alternately. They resumed the routine of summer camps and winter quarters around

2700-531: The duration of the embodiment. Both Gloucestershire regiments were at Weymouth, Dorset , in 1795 when King George III stayed there and granted them the title 'Royal', but the North regiment lost its 'Fusiliers' distinction the following year. During the French Wars the militia were employed anywhere in the country for coast defence, manning garrisons, guarding prisoners of war, and for internal security, while

2775-465: The end of the season the regiment was down to about 100 fit men. Colonel Berkeley had huts built by the regimental pioneers to house the sick men. In November the battalion marched to Bristol for the winter. The Seven Years War ended with the Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1763 and the two battalions of Gloucestershire militia were disembodied, but not before they became separate South and North regiments on 20 April. Norborne Berkeley, now Lord Botetourt,

2850-585: The event the militia was called out in its traditional role when Britain was threatened with invasion by the Americans' allies, France and Spain. The South Regiment was embodied in 1778 under the command of the Earl of Berkeley. In the summer of 1781 the regiment, 600 strong, formed part of the 3rd Brigade of the Plymouth garrison, accommodated in the town's barracks. It was disembodied in 1782. From 1784 to 1792

2925-540: The following month it moved to Belhus Park , near Grays, Essex , where it trained drafts for the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th (Service) Bns of the Glosters. In September it moved with 4th Reserve Bde to Seaford, East Sussex . On 1 September 1916 the 2nd Reserve battalions were transferred to the Training Reserve (TR) and the battalion was redesignated 16th Training Reserve Bn , still in 4th Reserve Bde at Seaford. The training staff retained their Glosters badges. Later

3000-558: The huge dumps of explosives distributed over Abbey Wood Marshes. From September the battalion sent its first reinforcement drafts to the 1st Battalion, which was serving with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front , and later to the 2nd Bn, when that returned from North China. Meanwhile there had been a flood of recruits for ' Kitchener's Army ', and Col William E.P. Burges, retired from

3075-593: The international crisis that led to the Russo-Turkish War ; the Militia Reserve were also called out during this crisis. Colonel J. Pitt Bontein, a longstanding officer in the regiment, was promoted to lt-col commandant on 18 August 1880. The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, with the linked regiments becoming two-battalion regiments and the militia formally joining as their 3rd and 4th Battalions. The 28th and 61st Foot became

Royal South Gloucestershire Light Infantry Militia - Misplaced Pages Continue

3150-435: The letters 'S.G.' beneath a crown. In the period 1814–20, when the regiment was seventh in the list of precedence, the officers' oval gilt shoulder-plates had the numeral '7' within a garter inscribed 'Honi soit qui mal y pense', superimposed on an eight-pointed star, the whole within a garter inscribed 'Gloucester Royal South', surmounted by a ducal Coronet . In 1854 the regiment was ordered to be uniformed as light infantry and

3225-577: 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 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

3300-551: The men of the Gloucestershire Militia forced the local butchers to lower their prices. As the invasion threat grew in 1796 the Militia was doubled in size: Gloucestershire had to find an additional 1757 militiamen for the Supplementary Militia, though unlike some counties these appear to have been incorporated into the two existing regiments. The Supplementary Militia were stood down in 1799, but

3375-497: The men were dismissed on 27 June. On the outbreak of war orders to mobilise were received on 4 August 1914, and 380 Special Reservists and 550 Army Reservists had joined by 8 August. That night the battalion left Bristol for its war station at Abbey Wood , near Woolwich , where it relieved a London battalion of the Territorial Force in camp. Besides training, the role of the battalion was to guard Woolwich Arsenal and

3450-667: The militia and ballots were still held, the regiments were rarely assembled for training after the Battle of Waterloo . The national Militia of the United Kingdom was revived by the Militia Act 1852 , enacted during a period of international tension. As before, units were raised and administered on a county basis, and filled by voluntary enlistment (although conscription by means of the Militia Ballot might be used if

3525-485: The militia were an entirely infantry force, but the 1852 Act introduced Militia Artillery units whose role 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,

3600-412: The militia were assembled for their 28 days' annual training, but to save money only two-thirds of the men were actually called out. In view of the worsening international situation the militia was embodied for service in 1792, even though Revolutionary France did not declare war on Britain until 1 February 1793. On 14 March 1794 the Earl of Berkeley was commissioned as a colonel in the Regular Army for

3675-471: The officers' silver shoulder-belt plate of this period displayed an eight-pointed star with a bugle-horn within a garter. A bugle-horn within a crowned garter inscribed with the regiment's title was adopted for the buttons and was also worn as the badge on the men's Forage caps 1874–81. The regimental facings changed to white when the RSGLI became a battalion of the Gloucesters, and the uniform thereafter

3750-407: The paper monies (" Assignats "), and French military disasters in 1798 and 1799, the Directory lasted only four years, until overthrown in 1799. The French Consulate era began with the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799. Members of the Directory itself planned the coup, indicating clearly the failing power of the Directory. Napoleon Bonaparte was a co-conspirator in the coup and became head of

3825-629: The problem until late spring of 1793, occupied instead with matters of war. Finally, on 6 April 1793, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety , and was given a monumental task: "To deal with the radical movements of the Enragés , food shortages and riots, the revolt in the Vendée and in Brittany , recent defeats of its armies, and the desertion of its commanding general." Most notably,

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3900-479: The ranks of the battalion during the war. It remained in the Sittingbourne area until the end of the war. Each summer it camped at Milstead where it played an active part in village life. The village school was requisitioned after school hours for an Army Schoolmaster to teach young soldiers, and the village hall served as a weekly cinema for the soldiers. After the war a memorial to Lt-Col George Burges and

3975-526: 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 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

4050-401: The regiment for over 40 years. On 22 August his eldest son William FitzHardinge Berkeley (claimant 6th Earl of Berkeley, later created Earl FitzHardinge) was commissioned colonel of the regiment in his place and continued until his death in 1857. After Napoleon's exile to Elba the Royal South Gloucestershire Militia was disembodied in 1814. Although officers continued to be commissioned into

4125-407: The regiment, reverting to hon col on 26 May 1868 when Sir William Guise, 4th Baronet of Highnam Court , formerly of the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot , was commissioned as lt-col. Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Militia regiments were brigaded with their local Regular and Volunteer battalions – for the Gloucestershire Militia this

4200-399: 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 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,

4275-426: 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 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

4350-449: The resulting list remained in force with minor amendments until the end of the militia. The regiments raised before the peace of February 1763 took the first 37 places, the South Gloucesters becoming No 23, but the North Gloucesters (independent from April 1763) became No 69. The uniform of the South Gloucestershire Militia was red with blue facings , the officers wearing gold lace from at least 1800. The coatee buttons from 1830 to 1854 had

4425-444: The second or North Battalion had only gathered two companies but it was formally raised with seven companies at Cirencester on 22 August 1760, despite riots in the town against the ballot. It was embodied on 9 April 1761 and both battalions were camped together at Winchester during the summer of 1761. Here the South battalion was badly hit by sickness: from a strength of 551 men in June, it had only 312 on parade on 5 October, and by

4500-465: 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 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

4575-444: The units were effectively placed in "suspended animation" until disbanded in 1953. The term militiaman was briefly revived in 1939. In 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

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4650-418: Was allowed to dwindle. Under threat of French invasion during the Seven Years' War a series of Militia Acts from 1757 re-established county militia regiments, the men being conscripted by means of parish ballots (paid substitutes were permitted) to serve for three years. Gloucestershire, with the cities of Gloucester and Bristol, was given a quota of 960 men to raise. It was one of the first counties to meet

4725-425: 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 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

4800-472: Was at the time the only unit in Maj-Gen the Earl of Craven 's brigade. The two Gloucestershire regiments came together again in August 1808, when a large militia camp was held near Brighton, the excuse being the birthday of the Prince of Wales , but the opportunity being taken to carry out collective manoeuvres. The militia continued to supply recruits to the Regular army, and struggled to replace them. The Earl of Berkeley died on 8 August 1810, having commanded

4875-511: 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 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

4950-416: Was disembodied on 13 July 1901. After the Boer War, there were moves to reform the Auxiliary Forces (Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers) to take their place in the six Army Corps proposed by the Secretary of State for War , St John Brodrick . However, little of Brodrick's scheme was carried out. Collective training in brigades was carried out on Salisbury Plain in 1906 and 1907, with the 3rd and 4th Bns of

5025-440: Was embodied on 15 May 1900. Although the battalion remained in the UK, some of its members did see overseas service: the 3rd Gloucesters provided 117 volunteers to the 4th (Royal North Gloucestershire Militia) Bn, which was sent to guard Boer prisoners of war on Saint Helena , while Major Christopher Dering Guise, younger brother of the 3rd Bn's honorary colonel, served as a staff officer in South Africa 1900–02. The 3rd Battalion

5100-491: 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 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

5175-415: Was formally disbanded in April 1953. The following served as Colonel or Honorary Colonel of the unit after its re-establishment in 1759: In September 1759 it was ordered that militia regiments on service were to take their relative precedence from the date of their arrival in camp. In 1760 this was altered to a system of drawing lots where regiments did duty together. During the War of American Independence

5250-456: Was formed alongside the 3rd Bn at Abbey Wood in October 1914 to provide reinforcements for the Kitchener battalions of the Glosters. The 3rd Battalion moved to Kent in May 1915, first to Gravesend and then to Sittingbourne in May 1916, forming part of the Thames and Medway Garrison, all the while training and forming drafts of reservists, recruits and returning wounded for the fighting battalions. Thousands of men would have passed through

5325-401: 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 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

5400-776: Was succeeded as Lord Lieutenant and colonel of the South Regiment by the Earl of Berkeley in 1766. After the outbreak of the War of American Independence in 1775 a controversial Act of Parliament was passed to 'Enable His Majesty to call out and assemble the Militia in all cases of Rebellion in any part of the Dominion belonging to the Crown of Great Britain' (raising the possibility that they may have to serve in North America). In

5475-790: Was the same as the Regulars. The first Regimental Colour was blue with the Union flag in the canton and probably with the Coat of arms of the Lord Lieutenant (in 1759 Lord Chedworth ) in the centre. A memorial to 3rd Gloucesters was erected at Horn Hill, Milstead, by Mrs B. Julian, wife of Milstead's rector. Constructed of old red bricks and tiles, it bears a limestone plaque with the inscription 'IN THIS FIELD/THE 3RD BATT./GLOUCESTERSHIRE/REGIMENT/Lt Col G.H. BURGES COMMANDING/WAS ENCAMPED/DURING THE SUMMERS 1916 – 1917/1918'. The memorial became

5550-528: Was updated by two acts of 1557 ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. cc. 2 and 3), which placed selected men, the ' trained bands ', under the command of Lords Lieutenant appointed by the monarch. This is seen as the starting date for the organised county militia in England. The Gloucestershire Trained Bands were called out in the Armada year of 1588, and again a century later during the Monmouth Rebellion and

5625-655: Was with the 28th (North Gloucestershire) and 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiments of Foot in Sub-District No 37 (County of Gloucester) in Western District . The Militia were now under the War Office rather than their county lords lieutenant. Although often referred to as brigades, the sub-districts were purely administrative organisations, but in a continuation of the Cardwell Reforms

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