Image ID: 26093

Territorial Army, Arnold Section

Near Glade Hill
Arnold
England

Britain has had a long history of reliance on amateur, part-time soldiers to supplement the standing Regular full-time forces for defence of the realm. These forces were often assembled as needed for defence against invasion or for maintaining domestic order. Their history and constitution is complex since terms of service and liability for call-up varied greatly. What is now known as the Territorial Army has had a more confusing history than the Militia, and the two have often co-existed. While the Militia were an institution of the State, the volunteers were supposeddly self-sufficient forces raised during crises (notably the 1650s, 1660s, 1715, 1745, and from 1778-1782). The first specific volunteer legislation was enacted in 1782, but the principal units were created as infantry, artillery and mounted yeomanry during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The embodiment of the Militia for long periods in the latter part of the 18th century contributed to the formation of the Volunteer movement, which originally took the form of companies within Militia regiments. Volunteers were to serve in support of the local civil power, but could occasionally serve outside their locality, in which case they were paid and lodged as regulars. A French invasion scare in 1794 led the government to pass a bill inviting the county Lord Lieutenants to raise troops of volunteer cavalry composedd of gentlemen and yeomanry. The latter were tenant farmers and freeholders. By 1798 every county had raised several such troops, and one (the Castlemartin Yeomanry Cavalry, later the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry) had actually earned a unique battle honour for repelling the last invasion of Great Britain - at Fishguard on the Welsh coast. This was also the only battle honour ever awarded to the British Army for an action in Britain. In 1816 all Volunteer units were disbanded, and the yeomanry were reduced, many serving for years without pay. The yeomanry continued to play an important role in the maintenance of law and order until the establishment of local police forces. The revolutions of 1848 in continental Europe, and the emergence of the French Second Republic and Second Empire fuelled British mistrust of France (despite their alliance against Russia) and gave rise to a renewed volunteer movement. The middle class formed 'Rifle Volunteer Corps' (as well as some artillery and engineer units) in most towns throughout the country. The government grudgingly recognised these, and in 1860-63 organised them into administrative battalions. In 1881 the RVCs became volunteer battalions of regular infantry regiments (for example, the 1st Yorkshire East Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps became the 1st VB of The East Yorkshire Regt.) The major reorganization of 1908 which saw the abolition of the Militia also witnessed the consolidation of the yeomanry and volunteers into the Territorial Force. The yeomanry regiments kept their titles, but most of the infantry battalions were renumbered consecutively after the regular battalions (1st and 2nd) and Special Reserve (3rd and sometimes 4th). Thus the 1st VB of The East Yorkshire Regiment became its 4th Battalion. A notable exception was the all-Territorial London Regiment, which at its peak consisted of 34 battalions. (The 1st through 28th were so designated in 1908, and the remainder were short-lived units during the First World War.) In 1916 the London battalions affiliated with regular regiments while retaining their titles, and by 1939 the London Regiment had ceased to exist. The Territorial Force did not originally extend to Ireland or the UK dependencies of the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, but in 1947 TA units were formed in Northern Ireland from war-raised battalions. The Territorial Force was mobilised in August 1914, whereupon its units became full-time combatants on a par with the regular army. Territorial Force units were disembodied during demobilisation in 1918 and reconstituted in 1920 as the part-time Territorial Army. (information from www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/lists/targts)

Date: 1900 - 1914

Organisation Reference: NCCC002103

Organisation: