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119-721: The English militia was descended from the Anglo-Saxon Fyrd , the military force raised from the freemen of the shires under command of their Sheriff . It continued under the Norman kings , notably at the Battle of the Standard (1138). The force was reorganised under the Assizes of Arms of 1181 and 1252 , and again by King Edward I 's Statute of Winchester of 1285. Under this statute 'Commissioners of Array' would levy

238-867: A National Covenant , pledging resistance to liturgical "innovations". The Marquess of Argyll and six other members of the Scottish Privy Council backed the Covenant. Charles agreed to defer discussion of the new canons to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, but at the same time told his supporters that he had no intention of making concessions. As a consequence, when the Assembly gathered in Glasgow in December it rejected

357-401: A feudal system which also contained an element of military obligation in the form of the feudal host. This system supplemented rather than replaced the fyrd, which continued to be deployed until at least the beginning of the 12th century. The Assize of Arms of 1181 combined the two systems by dividing the free population into four categories according to wealth and prescribing the weapons each

476-644: A 'Standing Army' tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported Cromwell's military dictatorship. The Sussex Militia was called out under Lord Lumley during the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion in 1685. After his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor it was a patrol of the Sussex Militia that captured the Duke hiding near Blandford Forum , and hard-riding Sussex Militia officers that brought

595-524: A 2nd Regiment, so that the original regiment was numbered 1st. The County Lieutenancy for Sussex ruled that supplementary militiamen were not entitled to a bounty unless they were actually embodied, a ruling that was adopted nationally under an Act of 1802. The Sussex Militia was disembodied April 1802 after the Treaty of Amiens . However, the Peace of Amiens was shortlived, and the militia were called out again:

714-706: A Catholic revival remained widespread, even though by the 1630s Catholicism was practiced only by some of the aristocracy, and in the remote Highlands . Scots volunteers and mercenaries fought on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years' War , while Scotland had close economic and cultural links with the Dutch Republic , then fighting for independence from Catholic Spain . In addition, many Scots had been educated in French Huguenot universities,

833-564: A Militia Brigade under the command of the Marquess of Buckingham . They embarked on 10–11 March and landed at Bordeaux just as the war was ending. They returned to England in June. The Local Militia were abolished after the Battle of Waterloo and the Sussex Militia was disembodied in January 1816. After Waterloo there was another long peace. Although officers continued to be commissioned into

952-625: A Scottish force of 16,500 led by the veteran Alexander Leslie , who had served with the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War . On 14 May, Charles announced the Scottish army would be destroyed if it moved to within ten miles of the border. On 3 June, a small force of cavalry was sent to investigate reports Scottish troops had reached Kelso, well within the limit. Encountering Scottish units, the English feared they were outnumbered, and retreated back across

1071-487: A constitutional revolution, including Tri-annual Parliaments, and making the Covenant compulsory for all holders of public office. His advisors convinced Charles the only way to finance a second war was to recall the English Parliament , and in December 1639, he issued writs for the first time since 1629. Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford , his most capable advisor and Lord Deputy of Ireland also asked

1190-611: A corps, and the Royal Sussex Militia Artillery (RSMA) came into existence on 9 April 1853 by the transfer of 206 volunteers from the RSLIM. It was based at Lewes with the Duke of Richmond as its colonel-in-chief. War having broken out with Russia in 1854 and an expeditionary force sent to the Crimea , the militia began to be called out for home defence. The RSLIM was embodied from December 1854 to January 1856 and

1309-592: A few volleys of musketry they were dispersed by a charge of the foot and horse of the Trained Band. Morley then gathered additional volunteers and recaptured Arundel, afterwards joining Waller, whose army retook Chichester in December 1642. A year later, in December 1643, Lord Hopton captured Arundel Castle for the Royalists once more, when Catcott's Company of the Sussex TBs was in the garrison. Hearing of

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1428-546: A further 2001 were armed but untrained, in addition to the cavalry: The trained bands were called out on 23 July, and shadowed the Armada as it sailed up the English Channel . Four thousand trained bandsmen of Kent were ordered to reinforce those of Sussex if the Armada landed there. But the Armada was defeated at sea and was unable to land any troops: the trained bands were stood down shortly afterwards. With

1547-550: A large cadre of permanent staff (about 30). Around a third of the recruits and many young officers went on to join the Regular Army. The RSLIM's headquarters had moved between Brighton and Chichester at various times in the 19th Century; now it joined the 35th and 107th in a shared depot at Chichester, where the existing barracks were expanded into Roussillon Barracks . In the Mobilisation Scheme developed in

1666-832: A large area, one of the most infamous acts being the destruction of Airlie Castle in Angus. As they had done in the First Bishops' War, the Covenanter forces also seized Dumbarton Castle , preventing Strafford's Irish army from landing in Scotland and so enabling them to focus on the threatened English invasion. The Scottish army was again led by Leslie and consisted of around 20,000 well-equipped men, and possessed vastly superior artillery compared to its opponents. The English troops consisted largely of militia from Southern England , poorly-equipped, unpaid, and unenthusiastic about

1785-612: A large navy as the first line of national defence, and a militia composed of their neighbours as additional defence and to preserve domestic order. Consequently, the English Bill of Rights (1689) declared, amongst other things: "that the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law..." and "that the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defense suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law." This implies that they are fitted to serve in

1904-571: A minority within the Church of England, while religious Independents opposed any state church, let alone one dictated by the Scots. One of their most prominent opponents was Oliver Cromwell , who claimed he would fight rather than agree to such an outcome. Many of the political radicals known as the Levellers , and much of the New Model Army , belonged to Independent congregations; by 1646,

2023-424: A quasi-feudal system, whereby he looked to the nobility to raise forces, but expected them to do so within the constraints of the shire levies, and the last use of indenture to raise an army came in 1512. Italian ambassadors reckoned that England had 150,000 armed men in 1519 and 100,000 in 1544 and 1551 available through their militia, while a French ambassador in 1570 reported that 120,000 were ready to serve. This

2142-544: A temporary truce, and continued preparations for another military confrontation. The General Assembly met again in August 1639 and confirmed the decisions previously taken at Glasgow, which were then ratified by the Scottish Parliament. When Charles' representative, Lord Traquair , tried to suspend it, his action was declared illegal and Parliament continued to sit. A series of acts were passed which amounted to

2261-475: A treaty . The peace terms included calling a new General Assembly and Scottish Parliament , which Charles hoped would reverse their earlier decisions. Instead, they were re-confirmed, and both sides again made preparations for war. In 1640, in what is now called the Second Bishops' War, the Scots invaded and occupied parts of northern England, after winning a victory at the Battle of Newburn . Under

2380-595: Is he did not trust his ill-disciplined and mutinous troops, but morale in the rest of the army now collapsed, forcing Charles to make peace. The only other significant action of the war was the siege of Edinburgh Castle , held by the Royalist commander Sir Patrick Ruthven , who had previously served with Leslie in the Swedish army. Blockaded since the end of May, starvation forced him to surrender in September. Under

2499-640: The British Militia . The origins of military obligation in England pre-date the establishment of the English state in the 10th century, and can be traced to the 'common burdens' of the Anglo-Saxon period, among which was service in the fyrd , or army. There is evidence that such an obligation existed in the Kingdom of Kent by the end of the 7th century, Mercia in the 8th century and Wessex in

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2618-576: The Council of State . From now on the term 'Trained Band' began to disappear in most counties. Under the Commonwealth and Protectorate the militia received pay when called out, and operated alongside the New Model Army to control the country. Among the 1648 commissioners for the militia in Sussex were Herbert Morley and his brother-in-law John Fagg , MP for Rye . During the Scottish invasion of

2737-533: The Hundred Years' War , the king raised armies for service in France by indenture , which contracted magnates , under their obligation as subjects rather than feudal tenants, to supply a certain number of men for a specific amount of time in return for a set fee. Those forces allocated for the defence of England, however, were raised on the basis of the general obligation In 1511, King Henry VIII signalled

2856-790: The Middle Ages , English militia units continued to be raised for service in various conflicts such as the Wars of Scottish Independence , the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses . Militia troops continued to see service in Tudor and Stuart periods , most prominently in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . Following the Acts of Union 1707 , the English Militia was transformed into

2975-539: The Mutiny Act is also renewed on an annual basis by parliament . If it lapses, the legal basis for enforcing discipline disappears, and soldiers lose their legal indemnity for acts committed under orders . In 1707, the Acts of Union united the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland . The Scottish navy was incorporated into the Royal Navy. The Scottish military (as opposed to naval) forces merged with

3094-958: The Parliament of Ireland for funds. In March 1640, they approved an army of 9,000 to suppress the Covenanters, despite violent opposition from their co-religionists in Ulster. This provides an example of how the Bishops Wars destabilised all three kingdoms. Charles hoped this would provide an example for the Short Parliament , which assembled in April; however, led by John Pym , Parliament demanded he address grievances like ship money before they would approve subsidies. After three weeks of stalemate, Charles dissolved Parliament, ensuring he would have to rely on his own resources to fund

3213-595: The Powhatan Federation and other native polities. In the Virginia Company 's other outpost, Bermuda , settled officially in 1612 (unofficially in 1609), the construction of defensive works was placed before all other priorities. A Spanish attack in 1614 was repulsed by two shots fired from the incomplete Castle Islands Fortifications manned by Bermudian Militiamen . In the nineteenth century, Fortress Bermuda would become Britain's Gibraltar of

3332-576: The Second Anglo-Dutch War , in the aftermath of the Battle of Beachy Head and in the face of the Jacobite risings , the militia entered a period of decline. In some areas it received at best only 12 days of annual training, and in others it had not been mustered in a generation. It was regarded as so ineffective that against the Jacobite rising of 1745 it would prove more expedient to raise an ad hoc force of volunteers than to rely on

3451-730: The Spanish Netherlands , exposing him to accusations of using foreign Catholics against his own subjects. Though both sides included large numbers of professional soldiers who had served in the European wars, many of the senior English commands went to Charles' favourites, who were largely inexperienced. This was exacerbated by factional disputes within the leadership, some of whom like the Presbyterian Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex , appeared unclear as to what they were fighting for. The English faced

3570-545: The Third English Civil War in 1651, English county militia regiments were called out to supplement the New Model Army. In August the Sussex Militia was ordered to a rendezvous at Oxford , but was not present at the Battle of Worcester . After the death of Oliver Cromwell , Fagg was commissioned to raise a regiment of foot by the Rump Parliament in 1659 and was taken prisoner by forces loyal to

3689-528: The truce negotiated in October 1640, the Scots were paid £850 per day and allowed to occupy Northumberland and County Durham until peace terms had been finalised. Many believed this arrangement was secretly agreed between the Parliamentary opposition and the Scots, since it allowed them to maintain pressure on London by controlling the export of coal from Newcastle, while only Parliament could levy

Sussex Militia - Misplaced Pages Continue

3808-783: The 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, the militia were brigaded with their local Regular and Volunteer battalions. For the RSLIM this was in Sub-District No 43 (County of Sussex) in South Eastern District, grouped with the 35th (Royal Sussex) and 107th Regiments of Foot and several Rifle Volunteer Corps. The militia now came under the War Office rather than their county lords lieutenant and battalions had

3927-647: The 1760s. It was not until the American War of Independence , when Britain was threatened with invasion by the Americans' allies, France and Spain, that the Sussex Militia was reformed. It was raised and embodied at Chichester on 29 June 1778, the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex , Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond , taking personal command as colonel. The force was still unpopular in Sussex: the imposition of

4046-533: The 1870s, the RSMA's war station was at Newhaven Fort . The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, with the linked regular regiments becoming two-battalion regiments and their attached militia formally joining as sequentially numbered battalions. The Cardwell system had envisaged two militia battalions in each regimental district, so the RSLIM was split to form the 3rd and 4th (Royal Sussex Militia) Bns, Royal Sussex Regiment , on 1 July 1881. However,

4165-497: The 3rd and 4th Bns were amalgamated again on 1 April 1890. 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, the militia reserve was called out to reinforce them, and many militia units were embodied to replace them for home defence and to garrison certain overseas stations. The 3rd Bn Royal Sussex was embodied on 11 December 1899, and

4284-578: The 9th century, and the Burghal Hidage of 911–919 indicates that over 27,000 men could have been raised in the defence of 30 West Saxon boroughs. In the late 10th century, areas began to be divided into ' hundreds ' as units for the fyrd. The obligation to serve was placed on landholders, and the Domesday Book indicates that individuals were expected to serve for approximately 60 days. The Norman conquest of England in 1066 brought with it

4403-438: The Bermudian force operated under a Letter of Marque, its members, as with all military age Bermudian males, were members of the militia. By this time, the 1707 Acts of Union had made Bermudian and other English militiamen British . Up until the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the Crown and Parliament were in strong disagreement. The English Civil War left a rather unusual military legacy. Both Whigs and Tories distrusted

4522-504: The Church of Scotland then expelled bishops from the church, turning a religious dispute into a struggle for political supremacy. The new Covenanter government raised an army to prevent Charles using force to restore his authority. The First Bishops' War began in early 1639, when minor skirmishing between Covenanters and Scottish Royalists took place in north-east Scotland. In June, English and Scottish armies assembled near Berwick-upon-Tweed , but withdrew without fighting, after reaching

4641-413: The Covenanter government ordered a force of 8,000 under Montrose to occupy Aberdeen, which fell bloodlessly on 30 March. On 13 May, the Royalists won a minor victory at the so-called Trot of Turriff , where a Royalist soldier became the first casualty of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Royalists under Viscount Aboyne retook Aberdeen, but were then defeated on 19 June at the Brig of Dee by Montrose. This

4760-447: The Covenanters occupied Edinburgh Castle, then secured likely landing places on the West Coast, notably Dumbarton Castle . This ended any prospect of an Irish landing, while Hamilton's amphibious force was unable to disembark after finding the Forth estuary strongly defended. Despite widespread domestic support for the Covenant, this was less so in north-east Scotland, particularly in Aberdeenshire and Banffshire . Recognising this,

4879-529: The English, with pre-existing regular Scottish regiments maintaining their identities, though command of the new British Army was from England. The Militia of England and Wales continued to be enacted separately from the Militia of Scotland (see Militia (Great Britain) and, for the period following 1801, Militia (United Kingdom) ). Bishops%27 Wars The Bishops' Wars were two separate conflicts fought in 1639 and 1640 between Scotland and England , with Scottish Royalists allied to England. They were

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4998-463: The Militia Ballot caused riots in the county, but the officers took over from the parish constables the task of raising subscriptions from those who were liable, and used the money to hire volunteers. The Sussex Militia were disembodied in March 1783 after the preliminaries of the Treaty of Paris had been signed, ending the war. From 1784 to 1792 the militia were assembled for their 28 days' annual peacetime training, but to save money only two-thirds of

5117-471: The RSMA from 1 February 1855 to 16 June 1856. Neither served overseas. A number of militia regiments were also called out to relieve regular troops required for India during the Indian Mutiny , and the RSLIM was embodied from 12 November 1857 to February 1861 Thereafter the regiments were called out for their annual training. The Militia Reserve introduced in 1867 consisted of present and former militiamen who undertook to serve overseas in case of war. Under

5236-405: The Royalists persisted with the amateur tradition, the Parliamentarians developed the New Model Army , a small but disciplined, well-equipped and trained army led by officers selected according to ability rather than birth. The New Model Army defeated the Royalist army at the Battle of Naseby in 1645, effectively ending the First English Civil War in victory for the Parliamentarians. Following

5355-505: The Royalists secured the trained band armoury. Next day the Royalist High Sheriff of Sussex , Sir Edward Ford , arrived with a force to garrison Chichester. Ford then advanced across Sussex, establishing a garrison at Arundel and moving towards Lewes. However, at Hayward's Heath he encountered the Lewes Trained Band under Herbert Morley , MP for Lewes . Although Ford's force outnumbered the trained bandsmen four-to-one, most of his men were raw country folk levied during his advance, and after

5474-422: The SR was doing for the Regular battalions. The Royal Sussex battalion became 10th (Reserve) Battalion and the following month it moved to Colchester in 5th Reserve Brigade , where it trained drafts for the 7th, 8th and 9th (Service) Bns of the Royal Sussex. In September it moved with the brigade to Shoreham-by-Sea . On 1 September 1916 the 2nd Reserve battalions were transferred to the Training Reserve (TR) and

5593-428: The Sussex Artillery from 1 May to 17 October 1900. As the war continued, additional troops were required in South Africa for line of communication duties. The 3rd Bn volunteered in March 1901 and served in South Africa until the end o the war, receiving the Battle honour South Africa 1901–02 . After the Boer War, there were moves to reform the Auxiliary Forces (militia, yeomanry and volunteers) to take their place in

5712-432: The Sussex were embodied on 5 May 1803. They resumed the round of coast defence and garrison duties, and increasingly became a source of recruits for the regulars. While the established militia were the mainstay of national defence during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, they were supplemented from 1808 by the Local Militia, which were part-time and only to be used within their own districts. These were raised to counter

5831-429: The Trained Bands primary weapons were 42% firearms, 26% pikes, 18% longbows, and 16% bills. A 1522 survey had revealed a significant lapse in the obligation to maintain arms and train in their use, and from 1535 commissioners of muster held tri-annual inspections. In the mid-16th century Lords Lieutenant began to be appointed, a great improvement in local authority, and an increasingly efficient machinery for enforcing

5950-412: The United Kingdom was revived by the Militia Act 1852 , enacted during a renewed 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). Training was for 56 days on enlistment, then for 21–28 days per year, during which

6069-407: The West , heavily fortified by a Regular Army garrison to protect the Royal Navy's headquarters and dockyard in the Western Atlantic. In the 17th century, however, Bermuda's defence was left entirely in the hands of the Militia. In addition to requiring all male civilians to train and serve in the militia of their Parish, the Bermudian Militia included a standing body of trained artillerymen to garrison

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6188-411: The army was of poor quality. Control of the trained bands was one of the major points of dispute between Charles I and Parliament that led to the English Civil War . However, with a few exceptions neither side made much use of the trained bands during the war beyond securing the county armouries for their own full-time troops. Sussex was one exception, its TBs seeing some action, first when involved in

6307-407: The battalion became 23rd Training Reserve Bn , still in 5th Reserve Bde at Shoreham, later moving to St Albans . The training staff retained their Sussex badges. On 24 October 1917 the battalion transferred to the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) as 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion , remaining in 5th Reserve Bde. After the war ended it was converted into a service battalion on 8 February 1919 and

6426-476: The border without a shot being fired. Their retreat further lowered English morale, while the Scots now felt confident enough to ignore the 10 mile limit, and on 5 June advanced as far as Duns . Neither side was anxious to fight and opened negotiations on 11 June, concluding with the signing of the Pacification of Berwick on 19 June. This referred all disputed questions either to the General Assembly, or Parliament of Scotland . However, both sides viewed this as

6545-458: The changes, expelled bishops from the Kirk, and affirmed its right to meet annually, not just when granted permission. The Marquis of Hamilton , Charles' chief advisor on Scottish affairs, now advised him there was no alternative to war. Charles decided to re-assert his authority by force, using his own financial resources and thus avoiding the need to recall Parliament to obtain tax funding. An English army of 20,000 would advance on Edinburgh from

6664-429: The command (the 'old fiddlestick' was Newcastle, who was Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex and later of Sussex also). Newcastle had opposed the Militia Acts, but even he felt that Sussex, a county standing right in the path of potential invasion, should raise its men. Nevertheless, the county gentry were apathetic, preferring to pay a large fine instead. Sussex remained a defaulter county liable for militia fines throughout

6783-400: The creation of a large standing army not under civilian control. The former feared that it would be used as an instrument of royal tyranny. The latter had memories of the New Model Army and the anti-monarchical social and political revolution that it brought about. Consequently, both preferred a small standing army under civilian control for defensive deterrence and to prosecute foreign wars,

6902-411: The declining numbers of Volunteers, and if their ranks could not be filled voluntarily the Militia Ballot was employed. There are records of the Pevensey Local Militia being formed in Sussex. From November 1813 the militia were invited to volunteer for limited overseas service, primarily for garrison duties in Europe. Some of the Sussex Militia volunteered for this service, and were sent to France with

7021-456: The elevation of the national obligation as the sole means of raising armies from the citizenry. He ordered the commissioners of array be responsible not just for the raising of levies, but also for ensuring that they were suitably equipped according to the Statute of Winchester. He also restricted landowners to raising forces only from their own tenants or others for whom, by the tenure of office, they were responsible. By these means Henry instituted

7140-449: The establishment of the army as an accepted state body and a military leader in Europe. The status of the army as a state institution under parliamentary control and subject to national law was normalised in 1689 by the Bill of Rights and the annually passed Mutiny Acts . Failure in the Monmouth Rebellion and controversy over the mis-use of funds had an adverse effect on the militia. Although it continued to be called out, for example in

7259-417: The execution of King Charles I, the establishment of the Commonwealth of England and the subsequent Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell , the New Model Army became politicised, and by the time of Cromwell's death in 1658, martial law and the Rule of the Major-Generals had renewed the traditional mistrust of standing armies. On the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660, the New Model Army

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7378-414: The expedition to the Netherlands, but the Queen ordered 'none of her trayned-bands to be pressed'. Replacing the weapons issued to the levies from the militia armouries was a heavy cost on the counties. The Armada Crisis in 1588 led to the mobilisation of the trained bands. They were mustered in April when the returns from Sussex indicated that of 7572 able-bodied men in the county 2004 were trained, and

7497-461: The first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , which also include the First and Second English Civil Wars , the Irish Confederate Wars , and the 1650 to 1652 Anglo-Scottish War . In 1637, Charles I , then king of both Scotland and England , imposed changes in religious practice on the Church of Scotland . These were strongly opposed by many Scots who, in 1638, signed a National Covenant and became known as Covenanters . The General Assembly of

7616-412: The gentry. The legislation made it a counter to the standing army, the main bulwark against disorder and the guarantee of the political settlement. The army – which, by the time of King James II's accession in 1685, comprised seven regiments of foot and four mounted regiments – was officially part of the royal household and had no basis in law; both king and Parliament were careful to refer to

7735-420: The interim Treaty of Ripon , the Covenanters continued the occupation pending a final settlement, during which Charles agreed to pay their expenses. This required him to recall the Parliament of England to raise money for this purpose and to ratify the treaty which was finalised in August 1641. Though this ended the Bishops' Wars, political differences between Charles and the new English Parliament escalated to

7854-422: The invasion-threatened 'maritime' counties including Sussex. In the 16th Century little distinction was made between the militia and the troops levied by the counties for overseas expeditions. However, the counties usually conscripted the unemployed and criminals rather than the Trained Bandsmen – in 1585 the Privy Council ordered the impressment of able-bodied unemployed men in Surrey (100) and Sussex (150) for

7973-447: The lord lieutenant. Sussex was given a quota of 800 men to raise, but failed to do so – possibly because the Leader of the Opposition , the Duke of Newcastle , and his Pelham family members were powerful in the county. A patriotic ballad of the time declared: All over the land they'll find such a stand, From our English Militia Men ready at hand, Though in Sussex and Middlesex folks are but fiddlesticks, While an old fiddlestick has

8092-543: The loss of Arundel, Captain Edward Apsley, whose company of the Bramber Trained Band was garrisoning Cowdray House , joined other Sussex Parliamentarians in advancing against Arundel, but he was captured by a Royalist patrol. Waller finally secured Arundel for Parliament after the Battle of Alton and left Morley in command. As Parliament tightened its grip on the country after the First English Civil War it passed new Militia Acts in 1648 and 1650 that replaced lords lieutenant with county commissioners appointed by Parliament or

8211-444: The maintenance of horses and armour ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 2). The county militia was now under the Lord Lieutenant , assisted by the Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace (JPs). The entry into force of these Acts in 1558 is seen as the starting date for the organised county militia in England. Although the militia obligation was universal, it was clearly impractical to train and equip every able-bodied man, so after 1572

8330-408: The majority of which were suppressed by Louis XIII in the 1620s . A general perception Protestant Europe was under attack meant increased sensitivity to changes in church practice. In 1636, a new Book of Canons replaced John Knox's Book of Discipline and excommunicated anyone who denied the King's supremacy in church matters. When followed in 1637 by a new Book of Common Prayer , the result

8449-399: The men from the southern counties were not actually used in the King's abortive campaign. In the Second Bishops' War Sussex was ordered in March 1640 to send 600 trained bandsmen to Gravesend to be shipped to Newcastle upon Tyne along with the trained bands of other southern counties to take part in the campaign. In the event, most counties sent 'pressed men' rather than the trained men, and

8568-628: The men of the Special Reserve RFA would form Brigade Ammunition Columns for the Regular RFA brigades on the outbreak of war. On the outbreak of World War I the Special Reserve was embodied on 4 August and the 3rd Royal Sussex mobilised at Chichester before going to its war station at Dover . Its role throughout the war was to prepare reinforcement drafts of reservists, special reservists, recruits and returning wounded for

8687-537: The men received full army pay. Under the Act, Militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time home defence service in three circumstances: The 1852 Act introduced Artillery Militia units in addition to the traditional infantry regiments. Their role was to man coastal defences and fortifications, relieving the Royal Artillery (RA) for active service. Sussex was one of the counties selected to have

8806-535: The men were actually mustered each year. The Sussex Militia were re-embodied on 11 March 1792, before Revolutionary France declared war on Britain. 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 the regulars regarded them as a source of trained men if they could be persuaded to transfer. Their traditional local defence duties were taken over by

8925-474: The midst of the English Civil War there was some debate as to whether the militia should be a supplement or an alternative to a standing army, and a series of ordinances were passed in attempts to replace the repealed 1558 act. These reflected the ongoing struggle for control of the militia until, in the early 1660s, new legislation established the militia under the control, through the lieutenancy, of

9044-592: The military capability of the country and in 1539 he called out a 'Great Muster' across the country, when the armed men mustered in the rapes of Sussex amounted to: (These figures do not include the Rape of Lewes nor the men who were to be fielded by the great landowners and clergy. The 'aliens' in Chichester include Frenchmen , Dutchmen and Bretons .) The legal basis of the militia was updated by two acts of 1557 covering musters ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 3) and

9163-580: The military regime when he tried to help Morley to secure Portsmouth for Parliament. After the Stuart Restoration , The King's Sole Right over the Militia Act 1661 and the City of London Militia Act 1662 re-established the English Militia under the control of the king's lords-lieutenant, the men to be selected by ballot. This was popularly seen as the 'Constitutional Force' to counterbalance

9282-628: The militia and ballots were still held, the regiments were rarely assembled for training and the permanent staffs of sergeants and drummers were progressively reduced. From 4 December 1819 Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond was colonel of the Sussex Militia and during his colonelcy the regiment was redesignated as the Sussex Light Infantry Militia in 1835 and as the Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia (RSLIM) in 1846. The Militia of

9401-596: The militia itself. Although the militia continued to exist, it fell into neglect as attempts to introduce new legislation to regulate it failed. The beginning of the English Civil War was marked by a struggle between King Charles I and Parliament for control of the militia. The indecisive Battle of Edgehill in 1642, the first pitched battle of the war, revealed the weakness of the amateur military system, and both sides struggled with barely trained, poorly-equipped, ill-disciplined and badly led armies. While

9520-521: The militia, which was intended to serve as a counterweight to the standing army and preserve civil liberties against the use of the army by a tyrannical monarch or government. The Crown still (in the British constitution) controls the use of the army. This ensures that officers and enlisted men swear an oath to a politically neutral head of state, and not to a politician. While the funding of the standing army subsists on annual financial votes by parliament,

9639-522: The militia. Successful English settlement of North America, where little support could be provided by regular forces, began to take place in 1607, in the face of Spain's determination to prevent England establishing a foothold in territory it claimed for itself. The settlers also had to contend with frequently hostile native populations. It was immediately necessary to raise militia amongst the settlers. The militia in Jamestown saw constant action against

9758-451: The monarch as head of both church and state, while Covenanters held this applied only to secular matters, and "Chryst Jesus ... was King of the Kirk". However, there were many other factors, including nationalist allegiance to the Kirk, and individual motives were very complex; Montrose was a Covenanter in 1639 and 1640 before becoming a Royalist, and switching sides was common throughout

9877-475: The monarch, Presbyterian by presbyters , elected by ministers and elders . This meant arguments over the role of bishops were as much about politics, and the extent of royal authority, as they were about religious practice. The vast majority of Scots, whether Covenanter or Royalist, believed a "well-ordered" monarchy was divinely mandated; they disagreed on what "well-ordered" meant, and who held ultimate authority in clerical affairs. In general, Royalists viewed

9996-407: The news to King James II . The militia returns for 1697 show that Sussex had two regiments – East and West – amounting to 19 companies, with an independent company at Chichester and two Troops of horse, a total of 1733 foot and 105 horse. The two colonels were John Fagg, now Sir John Fagg, 1st Baronet, MP for Steyning , and Sir William Thomas, 1st Baronet , MP for Sussex . However, the militia

10115-543: The numerous fortifications which ringed New London ( St. George's ). This standing body was created by recruiting volunteers, and by sentencing criminals to serve as punishment. The Bermudian militiamen were called out on numerous occasions of war, and, on one notable occasion, to quell rioting privateers. In 1710, four years after Spanish and French forces seized the Turks Islands from Bermudian salt producers in 1706, they were expelled by Bermudian privateers. Although

10234-407: The obligations of the citizenry to be ready for war resulted in 1558 the Militia Act, which ended the quasi-feudal system and implemented a more efficient, unified national militia system. In an attempt to remove the statutory limitations and allow the lieutenants to increase their demands on the militia, the act was repealed in 1604. This, however, succeeded only in removing the statutory basis for

10353-549: The outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. The Reformation in Scotland created a Church of Scotland , informally referred to as the Kirk , that was Presbyterian in structure, and Calvinist in doctrine . While Presbyterian and Episcopalian now imply differences in both structure and doctrine, this was not the case in the 17th century. Despite shared Protestant beliefs, Episcopalian churches were governed by bishops, usually appointed by

10472-834: The part-time Volunteers and mounted Yeomanry . In a fresh attempt to have as many men as possible under arms for home defence in order to release regulars, the Government created the Supplementary Militia, a compulsory levy of men to be trained in their spare time, and to be incorporated in the Militia in emergency. Sussex's additional quota was fixed at 1160 men, and they were organised into 14 companies. These were mustered on 29 March 1797 for 20 days' training, with three companies at Chichester, two at Arundel, two at Shoreham-by-Sea , one at East Grinstead , three at Horsham and three at Lewes. In 1799 they were formed into

10591-568: The passing of the threat of invasion, the trained bands declined in the early 17th Century. Later, King Charles I attempted to reform them into a national force or 'Perfect Militia' answering to the king rather than local control. By 1638 Sussex had 1804 musketeers, 1000 corslets and 160 horsemen, organised by rapes as follows: This system was tested in the Bishops' Wars . On 18 November 1638 all English counties were instructed to muster their trained bands and keep them in readiness. However,

10710-431: The period. When James VI and I succeeded as king of England in 1603, he viewed a unified Church of Scotland and England as the first step in creating a centralised, Unionist state. This policy was adopted by his son, Charles I , but the two were very different in doctrine; many in both Scotland and England considered Charles' reforms to the Church of England as essentially Catholic . This mattered because fears of

10829-538: The practice was to select a proportion of men for the Trained Bands , who were mustered for regular training. The government aimed for 10 days' training a year, with a two-day 'general muster' at Michaelmas , and two 'special musters' lasting four days for detailed training at Easter and Whitsun . When war broke out with Spain training and equipping the militia became a priority. From 1583 counties were organised into groups for training purposes, with emphasis on

10948-806: The previous militia reserve, whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for regular units serving overseas in wartime. The 3rd (Royal Sussex Militia) Bn became the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment on 14 June 1908. Although the majority of the officers and men of the Sussex RGA (M) accepted transfer to the Special Reserve Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the unit became the Sussex Royal Field Reserve Artillery on 24 May 1908, all these units were disbanded in March 1909. Instead

11067-481: The rebellion, King James II was able to expand the army with 16 new regiments, paid for by money misappropriated from funds voted by Parliament for the militia. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought the Dutch King William III to the throne, and with him came interests in continental Europe. It was the defence of these interests that would lead, by the time of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, to

11186-479: The regiments as 'guards', based on their role as bodyguards to the king, and it was still intended that the militia would provide the country's main force in the event of war. However, it was the army, already made more palatable to Parliament by acts of civilian service in support of the common good, that defeated the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, the militia having proved too slow to mobilise. Following

11305-705: The regular battalions serving overseas: the 1st Royal Sussex remained in India throughout the war, but the 2nd Bn went to France with the British Expeditionary Force and fought on the Western Front until the Armistice with Germany . The SR battalions also formed reserve battalions for the service battalions of ' Kitchener's Army '; 3rd (Reserve) Bn formed 10th (Reserve) Bn ( see below ) at Dover in October 1914. The SR battalions' secondary role

11424-538: The required number of men from each shire. The usual shire contingent was 1000 infantry commanded by a millenar , divided into companies of 100 commanded by centenars or ductores , and subdivided into platoons of 20 led by vintenars . The coastal towns of Sussex forming part of the Cinque Ports also had a legal obligation to supply ships, seamen and marines for the Royal Navy . King Henry VIII strengthened

11543-459: The rest of Leslie's army. The Scots bypassed the town, and headed for Newcastle-upon-Tyne , centre of the coal trade with London , and a valuable bargaining point. On 28 August, the Scots forced a passage over the River Tyne at the Battle of Newburn ; they still had to take Newcastle, but to Leslie's surprise, when they arrived on 30 August, Conway had withdrawn to Durham . One suggestion

11662-630: The siege of Portsmouth and Southsea Castle when they were captured for Parliament by Sir William Waller in September 1642. On the night of 15 November a group of Royalists in Chichester overpowered Captain Henry Chitty's company of trained bandsmen guarding the walls and seized their cannon at the North Gate (one of those captured at Portsmouth). Chitty and William Cawley , the Member of Parliament (MP) for Midhurst , fled to Portsmouth while

11781-607: The six army corps proposed by St John Brodrick as Secretary of State for War . However, little of Brodrick's scheme was carried out. The artillery militia became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), with the Sussex unit redesignated the Sussex RGA (Militia) . Under the sweeping Haldane Reforms of 1908, the militia was replaced by the Special Reserve , a semi-professional force similar to

11900-582: The south, while an amphibious force of 5,000 under the Marquis of Hamilton landed on the east coast, where it would link up with Royalist troops led by the Marquess of Huntly . Lastly, an Irish army under the Earl of Antrim would invade western Scotland from Carrickfergus , where he would join forces with the MacDonalds and other Royalist clans. This overly complex plan quickly fell apart. On 21 March 1639,

12019-437: The struggle that led to war in August 1642. Both he and Parliament agreed on the need to suppress the revolt but neither trusted the other with control of the army raised to do so, and it was this tension that was the proximate cause of the First English Civil War . Victory confirmed Covenanter control of government and the Kirk, and Scottish policy now focused on securing these achievements. The 1643 Solemn League and Covenant

12138-578: The taxes needed to pay the occupation costs. The so-called Long Parliament that assembled in November 1640 asserted its power by executing Strafford in May 1641. By August, the Treaty of London was signed and the Scottish army finally evacuated Northern England. While defeat forced Charles to call a Parliament he could not get rid of, the Irish Rebellion of 1641 was arguably more significant in

12257-422: The time. Because it was not practical to call out every man, King Edward I introduced a system whereby local gentry were authorised to conduct commissions of array to select those who would actually be called for military service. During the reign of King Edward III , feudal service was recognised as increasingly obsolete, and the feudal host was formally called out in full for the last time in 1327. During

12376-580: The war. Meanwhile, in January 1640 the Covenanter leaders mustered their regiments, and to secure their rear, occupied Aberdeen, centre of the Royalist north-east. In June, the Scottish Parliament met in Edinburgh, and granted Argyll a commission of 'fire and sword' against the Royalist areas of Lochaber , Badenoch and Rannoch in the Scottish Highlands. A force of 5,000 conducted this campaign with great brutality, burning and looting across

12495-488: The war. On the march north, lack of supplies meant they looted the areas they passed through, creating widespread disorder; several units murdered officers suspected of being Catholics, then deserted. Lord Conway , the English commander in the north, focused on reinforcing Berwick-upon-Tweed , the usual starting point for invading England. On 17 August, cavalry units under Montrose crossed the River Tweed , followed by

12614-415: The weapons they used (mainly bills and longbows) prompted the creation of the more elite Trained Bands , who numbered 50,000 in 1588 (comprising about a third of the militia). This was only a partial solution however. By 1591 official records show 102,000 men on the rolls, of whom 42,000 are fully trained and furnished, plus 54,000 armed but not sufficiently trained and 6,000 neither armed nor trained. In 1588

12733-558: Was absorbed into 2/4th Bn, Queen's, in April 1919. The SR resumed its old title of Militia in 1921 and then became the Supplementary Reserve in 1924, but almost all militia battalions remained in abeyance after World War I. Until 1939 they continued to appear in the Army List , but they were not activated during World War II and were all formally disbanded in April 1953. English militia The English Militia

12852-520: Was allowed to decline thereafter, especially after the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. 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. There was a property qualification for officers, who were commissioned by

12971-596: Was anger and widespread rioting, said to have been set off with the throwing of a stool by Jenny Geddes during a service in St. Giles Cathedral . Historians like Mark Kishlansky now argue her action was not spontaneous, but one in a series of planned and co-ordinated opposition to the Prayer book, the origin of which was as much political as religious. These culminated in February 1638, when delegates from across Scotland agreed

13090-672: Was as garrison troops in Home Defence and 3rd (Res) Bn moved in May 1915 to Newhaven, where it remained in the Newhaven Garrison for the rest of the war. It was disembodied on 4 August 1919. After Lord Kitchener issued his call for volunteers in August 1914, 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

13209-468: Was disbanded. Despite the concerns of Parliament about expense and the threat to the power it had only recently won from the Crown, it still proved necessary to maintain a small standing force in England, for the protection of the new king and to garrison coastal forts. A new army was therefore established in 1660, comprising two regiments born in the civil war; one raised in 1656 as Charles's bodyguard while he

13328-427: Was driven by concern over the implications for Scotland if Parliament were defeated; like Charles, the Covenanters sought political power through the creation of a unified church of Scotland and England, only one that was Presbyterian, rather than Episcopalian. However, success in the Bishops Wars meant they overestimated their military capacity and ability to enforce this objective. Unlike Scotland, Presbyterians were

13447-520: Was in exile during the Interregnum , the other raised in 1650 as part of the New Model Army. Several conspiracies uncovered towards the end of 1660 convinced Parliament of the need for two more regiments – again, one raised in exile during the Interregnum, the other originally a New Model Army regiment – and the army was officially established by royal warrant on 26 January 1661. In

13566-625: Was ordered to use the surplus to form a service battalion of the 4th New Army ('K4'). Accordingly, the 3rd (Reserve) Bn at Dover formed the 10th (Service) Bn of the Royal Sussex. It trained for active service as part of 97th Brigade in 32nd 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

13685-503: Was reasonably close to the truth as 183,000 militiamen were mustered in 37 counties in 1575, and in the officials returns of 1588 more than 132,000 were expected to be fielded in England and Wales. They were intended to comprise part of the armies raised to combat the Spanish invasion. There were expected to be a total of 92,000 men mustered in the south of England (including 5,300 cavalry). Their poor state of readiness and obsolete nature of

13804-475: Was recruited, with several instances of men attacking their own officers. Internal conflict was enhanced by Covenanter propaganda, and meant many English politicians opposed the war. In May, an English army of around 15,000 assembled at the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed . The vast majority were untrained conscripts from the northern trained bands or militia, many armed only with bows and arrows. Charles tried to compensate by recruiting foreign mercenaries from

13923-491: Was the only significant engagement of the First Bishops' War. The First Bishops' War was unpopular in England, where it was labelled "King Charles's northern follies" by many within the English media and political class. Since only Parliament could approve taxes, Charles tried to fund the war using forced loans, impressments, and requiring the civilian population to provide accommodation for his troops. This resulted in widespread anti-war sentiment among those from whom his army

14042-440: Was the principal military reserve force of the Kingdom of England . Militia units were repeatedly raised in England from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions . One of the first militia units in England were the fyrd , which were raised from freemen to defend the estate of their local Shire 's lord or accompany the housecarls on offensive expeditions. During

14161-416: Was to maintain. The first category corresponded to the feudal host, the next two corresponded to the old fyrd and the last to a general levy. The Statute of Winchester in 1285 introduced two more non-feudal categories to impose a general military obligation on all able-bodied males, including non-free, between the ages of 15 and 60, and updated the prescribed weaponry in the light of developments in warfare at

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