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124-697: 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

248-825: 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

372-401: 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

496-680: 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,

620-611: 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

744-479: 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

868-810: 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

992-606: 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

1116-555: 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,

1240-533: A number volunteered for active service or to garrison overseas stations. At the same time, some of the regiments recruited from large urban areas such as Liverpool added two new Regular battalions, so the 3rd and 4th (Militia) battalions of the King's (Liverpool) Regiment and the Manchester Regiment were each renumbered 5th and 6th. The embodiments of the militia battalions of Lancashire regiments were as follows: All

1364-575: A peace treaty had been agreed. In peacetime, the reformed militia regiments were supposed to be assembled for 28 days' annual training. Part of the RLM held a training camp in 1763, but it was not called out again until 1778. The militia was called out after the outbreak of the War of American Independence when the country was threatened with invasion by the Americans' allies, France and Spain. The Royal Lancashire Militia

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1488-429: A permanent footing on 17 August 1798 as the 2nd Royal Lancashire Militia (2nd RLM) after which the 'Old County Regiment' became the 1st Royal Lancashire Militia (1st RLM). The 2nd Royal Lancashire Supplementary Militia was also raised in 1797 at Preston, becoming the 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia in 1800. The 3rd , 4th and 5th Supplementary Regiments were formed but only had a brief existence. An attempt to turn

1612-424: 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

1736-531: 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

1860-468: 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

1984-580: 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

2108-511: The 7th Lancashire Militia (Rifles) (Royal from 1864) raised at Bury on 21 February 1855. Therefore the Lancashire Militia and its recruiting areas was organised as follows after 1855: War having broken out with Russia in 1854 and an expeditionary force sent to the Crimea, the militia were called out for home defence and service in overseas garrisons: The 1st and 3rd RLM were each awarded

2232-654: 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 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

2356-655: The Battle honour Mediterranean for their overseas service. A number of militia regiments were also embodied to relieve regular troops required for India during the Indian Mutiny . The Lancashire units called out were the 4th RLM, from September 1857 to April 1859, serving at Aldershot and Portsmouth, and the RLMA, embodied from October 1857 to June 1860, which was stationed to man coastal batteries. The Militia Reserve introduced in 1867 consisted of present and former militiamen who undertook to serve overseas in case of war. Under

2480-578: The Brigade of Guards . There is a story that many of the guardsmen at the Battle of Waterloo were still wearing their militia uniforms. Waterloo ended the war, but much of the regular army remained in France as part of the Army of Occupation for several months, and the Lancashire Militia continued their garrison duty at Dublin. They returned to Lancashire to be disembodied between February and April 1816. Militia training

2604-731: The Council of State . At the same time 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. After the Restoration of the Monarchy , the English Militia was re-established by the Militia Act 1661 under the control of the king's lords-lieutenant,

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2728-473: 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

2852-661: The Kingdom of Kent by the end of the 7th century, Mercia in the 8th century and Wessex in 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

2976-519: The Luddite disturbances. The 3rd RLM was granted the subtitle Prince Regent's Own in 1813. Over the same period the 2nd RLM had been successively stationed at Chelmsford , Sunderland , Liverpool, Hull and Tiverton, Devon , the 3rd RLM at Exeter , Bristol , Gosport , Alton , Chichester and Dover . Although the volunteer corps had been reformed after the resumption of the war, their quality varied widely and their numbers steadily declined. One of

3100-573: 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

3224-876: 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

3348-578: 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

3472-561: 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

3596-471: The Seven Years' War . The 1757 Militia Act re-established the county militia regiments, raised by conscription by means of parish ballots. Lancashire's quota was set at 800 men in one regiment which was embodied for service on 23 December 1760. It received the title Royal Lancashire Militia (RLM) the following year. After serving in home defence for two years the regiment was disembodied in December 1762 once

3720-628: The Somme , at Arras , and in the Battle of Polygon Wood . It fought against the German spring offensive in 1918, and participated in the Allies' final Hundred Days Offensive to the end of the war. 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

3844-704: 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

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3968-582: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms . Following the Acts of Union 1707 , the English Militia was transformed into 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

4092-516: 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

4216-420: The 'Active Army', even though these formations were entirely theoretical, with no staff or services assigned: The Childers Reforms of 1881 completed the process by incorporating the militia battalions into the expanded county regiments: The militia artillery was reorganised into 11 divisions of garrison artillery in 1882, and the RLMA became the 2nd Brigade, Lancashire Division, RA (the 1st Brigade comprised

4340-521: The 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Militia regiments were brigaded with regular and Volunteer battalions in a regimental district sharing a permanent depot at a suitable county town. Seven double-battalion or paired single-battalion regular regiments were assigned to Lancashire, and each was linked with one of the militia regiments. The militia now came under

4464-403: The 'Supplementary Militia' to reinforce the standing militia regiments and to form additional temporary regiments. Lancashire had to find an additional 5160 militiamen in five regiments, the RLM sending a party to Lancaster to begin training them. Although recruitment of such large numbers became difficult, the 1st Royal Lancashire Supplementary Militia was raised on 1 March 1797. It was placed on

4588-495: The 3rd RLM). No further militia training took place for the next 21 years. Although officers continued to be appointed to fill vacancies the ballot was suspended. The long-standing 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

4712-550: The 4th Supplementary Regiment into the 5th RLM was abandoned when the men refused to serve in Ireland. The 5th Supplementary Regiment fell into disorder when it was stripped for volunteers by the regulars. The 2nd and 3rd RLM were embodied from March 1798 to April 1802. The supplementary militia was abolished in 1799, the remaining balloted men in Lancashire being distributed to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd RLM to fill vacancies The Peace of Amiens

4836-599: 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

4960-504: 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

5084-558: 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

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5208-603: 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,

5332-529: 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

5456-410: The RFA and the unit had a larger cadre of regular instructors, gunners and drivers than normal for a militia unit, amounting to 25 per cent of its total strength. The unit trained for two months each year on Salisbury Plain , and that degree of commitment made it difficult to obtain part-time junior officers. The rest of the militia artillery formally became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA),

5580-499: The RLM was marched to Manchester for disembodiment in March 1783. The militia were re-embodied in January 1793 shortly 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

5704-405: 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

5828-412: The SR and were subtitled 'Reserve' (or 'Extra Reserve' in the case of 4th battalions). Although the majority of its members volunteered to transfer to the SR, the Lancashire RFA was disbanded in 1909 along with all the RGA militia units. Instead the men of the RFA Special Reserve would form Brigade Ammunition Columns for the Regular RFA brigades on the outbreak of war. The Special Reserve was embodied on

5952-429: 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

6076-450: The War Office rather than their county lords lieutenant, and officers' commissions were signed by the Queen. Although often referred to as brigades, the regimental districts were purely administrative organisations, but in a continuation of the Cardwell Reforms 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

6200-407: 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

6324-400: The arms and armour for the trained bands. Although the trained bands were exempt from foreign service, they were frequently employed in Ireland . The Armada Crisis in 1588 led to the mobilisation of the trained bands and Lancashire furnished 1170 trained men, with 20 lancers and 50 light horsemen (another return has 64 lancers and 265 light horse). With the passing of the threat of invasion,

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6448-476: 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

6572-458: 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

6696-503: The chief reasons to join was to avoid the militia ballot. They were supplemented from 1808 by the Local Militia, which were part-time and only to be used within their own districts. If their ranks could not be filled voluntarily the militia ballot was employed. In Lancashire the local militia regiments were organised by townships or hundreds : The Local Militia were uniformed similarly to their county militia regiments. They were increased in numbers in 1812. There were questions over

6820-413: The command of the Earl of Derby's brother, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon James Stanley . After training on Fulwood Moor near Preston it sailed with the army from Wallasey in June 1690 and played a full part in the campaign, at the Siege of Carrickfergus , the Battle of the Boyne , and the Siege of Athlone . It returned to England in September 1691 to be disembodied. A regiment of the Lancashire Militia

6944-400: 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,

7068-456: 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

7192-411: The end of the year it moved to Kent spending its winter in barracks or billets and its summers in camps on the South Coast. In 1795–96 it became part of a concentration round London to prevent disorder, then in the summer of 1796 the regiment crossed to Warley Camp in Essex . It spent the winter in villages outside London, then went to Plymouth in 1797. In March 1798 legislation was passed to allow

7316-449: 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

7440-417: 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

7564-489: 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 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

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7688-461: 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

7812-456: The first two would be regular, and the bulk of the third would be militia, while the rest of the militia and the volunteers would be assigned to fixed defences round London and the seaports. 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, followed by many militia reservists as reinforcements. Militia units were embodied to replace them for home defence and

7936-412: 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

8060-430: The historian of Edward's Welsh Wars writing in 1901, likened this process to calling out the Militia Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers ). A contingent of 2000 men was summoned from Lancashire for the campaign of 1300, and in the event 1000 men in 10 companies, together with 327 men from Blackburnshire , were present at the Siege of Caerlaverock . This procedure was continued for border campaigns under later kings, with

8184-426: The infantry battalions saw active service in South Africa and received the battle honour. In addition the 3rd Bn Loyals served in the garrison of Malta for a year before going to South Africa, and received the Mediterranean battle honour. After the Boer War, the future of the Militia was called into question. There were moves to reform the Auxiliary Forces (Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers ) to take their place in

8308-420: 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

8432-622: The loyalty of Local Militia during the Luddite disturbances – in fact the Lancashire Local Militia proved very reliable (probably because they were better paid and fed than the rioters) and a standing detachment of 350 men drawn from the six regiments was kept embodied from May 1812. Towards the end of the Napoleonic War the militia had become one of the biggest sources of recruits to the regular army, and whole regiments were encouraged to volunteer for garrison service in Ireland on in Continental Europe. The three Lancashire regiments served in Ireland from 1814. Napoleon had abdicated in April and peace

8556-408: 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

8680-519: The men to be selected by ballot. This was popularly seen as the 'Constitutional Force' to counterbalance a 'Standing Army' tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported Cromwell's military dictatorship. The Lancashire Militia were called out in 1663 when there were rumours of plots against the new regime, and no sooner had they been sent home in October than they were called out again on receipt of new information. Some counties were slack in training and equipping their men: in 1674 most of

8804-406: 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

8928-466: 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 the men received full army pay. Under the Act, militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time service in three circumstances: The 1852 Act introduced Artillery Militia units in addition to the traditional infantry regiments. Their role

9052-588: 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

9176-576: The militia obligation was universal, it was clearly impractical to train and equip every able-bodied man, so after 1572 the practice was to select a proportion of men for the Trained Bands , who were mustered for regular training. Lancashire held a two-day 'general muster' at Michaelmas , and two 'special musters' lasting four days for detailed training at Easter and Whitsun . The Lancashire JPs ordered armouries to be set up at Lancaster , Preston , Chorley , Ormskirk , Whalley and Manchester to store

9300-454: The militia to volunteer for service in Ireland, where a rebellion had broken out. The 1st Royal Lancashire Militia immediately volunteered, and served there in 1798–99, while the last embers of the rebellion were put down. It returned to Lancashire and was disembodied in November 1799. It was called out again at the end of its 1801 training and stationed at Tynemouth Castle . The Peace of Amiens

9424-587: The militia was updated by two acts of 1557 covering musters ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 3) and 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

9548-516: 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,

9672-517: 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

9796-447: 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

9920-475: 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

10044-536: 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

10168-461: 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

10292-531: The outbreak of World War I on 4 August 1914 and the battalions proceeded to their war stations. All but one of them then carried out their dual tasks of garrison duties and preparing reinforcement drafts of regular reservists, special reservists, recruits and returning wounded for the regular battalions serving overseas. They also formed reserve battalions to carry out the same role for the ' Kitchener's Army ' battalions. They were demobilised in 1919. The one Lancashire Special Reserve battalion that saw active service

10416-539: 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

10540-659: The part-time Volunteers and mounted Yeomanry . In February 1793 the RLM was sent into the West Riding of Yorkshire where an outbreak of civil disorder was feared. After it was relieved by regular troops the regiment was moved into the South Yorkshire–North Nottinghamshire area, and then to the East Midlands . In June 1794 the RLM joined the great anti-invasion camp on the South Downs above Brighton . At

10664-431: 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

10788-471: 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

10912-615: The rebels arrived. This company then operated alongside a volunteer unit, the 'Liverpool Blues', in harrying the Young Pretender 's force as it marched through Lancashire. They destroyed bridges and cutting off stragglers, before joining the regulars in the Clifton Moor Skirmish against the retreating Jacobites. After it was disembodied in January 1746 the Lancashire Militia was not called out again for training or active service until

11036-471: 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

11160-584: The regular RA units of the division). When the Lancashire Division was abolished in 1889 the title was altered to the Lancashire Artillery (Southern Division) RA . The unit's HQ transferred from Liverpool to Seaforth in 1889. Although Cardwell's army corps scheme had been abandoned, the Stanhope Memorandum of 1888 proposed that the home defence army should consist of three corps, of which

11284-491: 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 constables, and subdivided into platoons of 20 led by vintenars . Edward I regularly summoned the men of the County palatine of Lancaster (Lancashire) to fight in his Welsh Wars and to the army that won the Battle of Falkirk in Scotland in 1298. (John E. Morris,

11408-453: 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

11532-480: The same day. The Liverpool-based 2nd RLM raised a 2nd Battalion at Warrington after the 1st Battalion had been embodied for the Crimean War in December 1854. The 2nd RLM was redesignated as a Rifle regiment on 30 January 1855, becoming the 2nd Royal Lancashire Militia (Duke of Lancaster's Own Rifles) . These were followed by the 6th Lancashire Militia (Royal from 1860) raised at Ashton-under-Lyne on 8 January 1855 and

11656-618: The shire levies of Lancashire and other northern counties being called out in 1327 during the campaign that ended in the Battle of Stanhope Park . By now the infantry were mainly equipped with the English longbow . Edward III called out the Lancashire levies in 1332 and again 1333, when they served at the Siege of Berwick and the Battle of Halidon Hill . In 1334 the king ordered 4000 archers to be levied in Lancashire, and almost 1000 (a quarter of them Mounted infantry ) served in 1335. The legal basis of

11780-475: The six army corps proposed by St John Brodrick as Secretary of State for War . Some batteries of militia garrison artillery were to be converted to Royal Field Artillery (RFA). However, little of Brodrick's scheme was carried out. The only RFA militia unit actually formed was the Lancashire RFA (M) as a new brigade of three batteries at Preston on 6 May 1901. The commanding officer was a regular officer of

11904-617: 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,

12028-437: 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

12152-560: 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

12276-446: The threat of war against Russia, the three regiments were ordered to recruit up to their full establishment of 1200 men. Additional infantry militia regiments were also formed in Lancashire at this time: the 4th Duke of Lancaster's Own Light Infantry (soon retitled the 4th Royal Lancashire Militia (The Duke of Lancaster's Own Light Infantry) ) raised on 22 March 1853 at Warrington, and the 5th Royal Lancashire Militia raised at Burnley on

12400-422: 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

12524-460: 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. The trained bands including the Lancashire contingent were called out in 1639 and 1640 for the Bishops' Wars , though many of the men who actually went were untrained hired substitutes Control of the trained bands

12648-614: The trained bands' magazine at Manchester, being forestalled by Lord Strange and William Farington (appointed Commissioner of Array by the King), who had already gained control of the magazines at Liverpool and Preston for the Royalists. The resulting skirmish at Manchester on 15 July when Strange and his men were driven out by Wharton's Parliamentarians, was among the first battles of the war. Once Parliament had established full control in 1648 it passed new Militia Acts that replaced lords lieutenant with county commissioners appointed by Parliament or

12772-564: The unit at Seaforth taking the title of Lancashire RGA (M) . Under the sweeping Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Militia was replaced by the Special Reserve , a semi-professional force similar to the previous Militia Reserve, whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for regular units serving overseas in wartime. All the Lancashire militia battalions (except the 4th Bn Kings Own (Royal Lancaster), which disbanded on 1 August 1908) transferred to

12896-617: 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

13020-482: 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

13144-498: The weapons of the Lancashire Militia were found to be defective, and many had to be replaced again in 1689. Following the Glorious Revolution in which King William III supplanted James II the militia were called out in 1689. The Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, William Stanley, 9th Earl of Derby , organised three regiments of foot and three Troops of horse. This brigade volunteered for service in William's campaign in Ireland under

13268-415: 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

13392-584: 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

13516-530: Was called out on the outbreak of the Jacobite Rising of 1715 , and fought at the Battle of Preston on 12–13 November, where they suffered heavy losses (11 officers and 105 men) attacking the rebel barricades in Church Street. In the Jacobite Rising of 1745 , while the Lancashire Militia concentrated to protect Liverpool, the company at Lancaster succeeded in removing the county weapons from the armoury before

13640-433: Was declared on 30 May, but the regiments had still not been disembodied in February 1815 when he escaped from Elba and the war was resumed. The three regiments of Royal Lancashire Militia, which happened to be stationed together at Dublin , were allowed to recruit back to full strength by ballot and 'by beat of drum'. They also provided drafts of around 1000 volunteers to the regular regiments being sent to Belgium, including

13764-416: 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

13888-427: 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

14012-685: Was embodied in April 1778 and after training was stationed in invasion-threatened Hampshire . It spent the following winter in Liverpool, and then was in garrison on Tyneside for a year in 1779–80. It wintered in Manchester in 1780–81, then spent 1781–82 in Cheshire and 1782–83 along the Cumberland coast. Although Cumberland was remote from a possible French invasion, Whitehaven had been attacked by John Paul Jones in 1778. A peace treaty having been drawn up,

14136-565: 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

14260-474: Was one of the major points of dispute between Charles I and Parliament that led to the English Civil War , but 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. Lord Wharton had been appointed Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire by Parliament in 1641, and on the outbreak of hostilities in July 1642 he attempted to seize

14384-498: 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

14508-475: 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

14632-514: Was shortlived, and the militia was called out again in March and April 1803. Once again, the regiments moved around the country, sometimes in garrisons, at other times in anti-invasion camps or guarding Prisoner-of-war camps . In the summer of 1805 the 1st RLM was on duty at Weymouth, Dorset , while the royal family was in residence. In 1811 the 1st RLM was diverted to the Nottingham area to guard against

14756-464: Was signed on 27 March 1802, and on 1 April the regiment was ordered to disembody once more, apart from the small permanent staff. Lancashire's militia quota set in 1760 was small in proportion to its population, which soared during the Industrial Revolution . By 1796 it represented only one man in every 43 of those eligible. But in that year an additional ballot was carried out to raise men for

14880-416: Was suspended in most years after Waterloo, but the 1st RLM was called out for its 28 days' training in 1821, 1825 and 1831. Balloting continued, but the permanent staff was progressively reduced over the years. Just before the 1831 training King William IV bestowed on the three Lancashire Militia Regiments the additional title The Duke of Lancaster's Own . (replacing the title 'Prince Regent's Own' carried by

15004-612: Was the 4th Bn King's (Liverpool Regiment) – possibly because one of that regiment's regular battalions spent the war in India and did not require so many reinforcements. It went to the Western Front in March 1915, joining the 3rd (Lahore) Division in the Indian Corps and serving with it at the Second Battle of Ypres . Early in 1916 the battalion joined 33rd Division , fighting with it on

15128-491: 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

15252-416: 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

15376-617: Was to man coastal defences and fortifications, relieving the Royal Artillery (RA) for active service. Lancashire was one of the counties selected to have a corps of militia artillery, and on 10 March 1853 the Lord Lieutenant was requested to raise it from scratch, rather than by conversion of an existing infantry regiment. It came into existence on 13 April 1853 as the Royal Lancashire Militia Artillery (RLMA). With

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