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TheVolunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as apopular movement throughout theBritish Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with theBritish Army after theChilders Reforms in 1881, before forming part of theTerritorial Force in 1908. Most of the regiments of the presentArmy ReservesInfantry,Artillery,Engineers andSignals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units.
Prior to theCrimean War, the British military (i.e.,land forces) was made up of multiple separate forces, with a basic division into theRegular Forces (including theBritish Army, composed primarily of cavalry and infantry, and theOrdnance Military Corps of theBoard of Ordnance, made up of theRoyal Artillery,Royal Engineers, and theRoyal Sappers and Miners though not including the originally civilianCommissariat Department, stores and supply departments, all of which, with barracks and other departments, were absorbed into the British Army when the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855).[1][2][3][4] and theReserve Forces. After the 1855 consolidation of the Regular Forces (ignoring minor forces such as theYeomen Warders and theYeomen of the Guard) into theRegular Force (i.e., theBritish Army), there still remained a number of British military (not to be confused withnaval) forces that were not part of the British Army; specifically the part-timeReserve Forces, which had at various times included theHonourable Artillery Company,Militia Force (also referred to as theConstitutional Force, and originally an infantry force),[5][6][7][8] theYeomanry Force (made up of mounted units, organised similarly to the Volunteer Force),[9]Volunteer Force,[10][11] andFencibles. Equivalents were also raised in theCrown Dependencies and many colonies. Known collectively as theReserve Forces, most of these had been allowed to lapse after the Napoleonic Wars, although the Yeomanry was maintained to potentially support the civil authorities against civil unrest, as at the 1819Peterloo massacre, the Militia remained as apaper tiger, and rifle clubs were encouraged as the backbone against which the Volunteer force might be re-raised. The Militia and Volunteer Force were both re-organised in the 1850s. These forces were originally local-service, embodied during wartime or emergency, and placed under the control ofLords-Lieutenant of counties, and, inBritish colonies, under thecolonial governors. After the British Army'sRegular Reserve was created in 1859, bySecretary of State for WarSidney Herbert, and re-organised under theReserve Force Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 110), the Reserve forces, to avoid confusion, were generally known as theAuxiliary Forces orLocal Forces. TheRegulation of the Forces Act 1871[12] removed the Lord-Lieutenant as head of the county reserve forces and they were increasingly integrated with the British Army.[13]
A large number ofVolunteer Corps were formed during theFrench Revolutionary War but were stood down afterwards. Following theCrimean War, it was painfully clear to theWar Office that, with half of the British Army dispositioned around the Empire on garrison duty, it had insufficient forces available to quickly compose and despatch an effective expeditionary force to a new area of conflict, unless it was to reduce the British Isles' own defences. During theCrimean War, the War Office had been forced to sendmilitia andyeomanry to make up the shortfall of soldiers in theRegular Army. The situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of theHome Office until 1855.[14]
Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following theOrsini affair, an assassination attempt onEmperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the would-be assassin,Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have thebombs used in the attack manufactured inBirmingham.[14] The perceived threat of invasion by the much largerFrench Army was such that, even without sending a third of the army to another Crimea, Britain's military defences had already been stretched invitingly thin. On 29 April 1859war broke out between France and theAustrian Empire (theSecond Italian War of Independence), and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in a wider European conflict.[15]
On 12 May 1859, theSecretary of State for War,Jonathan Peel issued a circular letter tolieutenants of counties in England, Wales and Scotland, authorising the formation of volunteer rifle corps (VRC, a.k.a. corps of rifle volunteers and rifle volunteer corps), and of artillery corps in defended coastal towns.[16] Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of theVolunteer Act 1804 (44 Geo. 3. c. 54),[17] which had been used to form local defence forces during theNapoleonic Wars.[15]Alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poemRiflemen Form inThe Times on 9 May 1859.[15] As a basis for the units, many communities hadrifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting.
Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under the command of a captain, with some localities having subdivisions of thirty men under a lieutenant. The purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy's flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts.[15] Although not mentioned in the circular letter, engineer corps were also formed, principally to placeunderwater mines for port defence.[18] Stretcher-bearers attached to the rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to theArmy Medical Corps. In a handful of counties, units oflight horse ormounted rifles were formed.
Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted byQueen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force. These were theExeter and South Devon Volunteers, formed in 1852, who became the 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers (and were often referred to as the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps), and theVictoria Rifles (descended from theDuke of Cumberland's Sharpshooters, formed in 1803) who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for ninety-two other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county.
The most senior artillery corps was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on 2 August 1859.[19]
Initially, there were attempts at class distinction with the middle class seeing the formation of rifle units as a contrast with the strict class divide between the officers of thegentry and the other ranks of the working class and farm labourers of themilitia and the standing army. Some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics andmarksmanship principles ofrifle regiments of theNapoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army. Many units initially favoured green and grey (colours until then used by British and German rifle units in the army) rifleman uniforms as opposed to thered coats of the infantry and engineers of the army and militia. In turn, the army was glad not to have amateur volunteers wear the scarlet of theregulars.[20] The provisions of the volunteers having to purchase their own rifles and uniforms was felt by some to exclude the lower classes.[21]
Unlike regular rifle regiments, the volunteer units hadcolours often made and presented by the women of the community.[22] These were unauthorised, however, with theVolunteer Regulations stating "Neither Standards nor Colours are to be carried by Corps on parade, as the Volunteer Force is composed of Arms to which their use is not appropriate".[23]
The large number of small independent corps proved difficult to administer, and, by 1861, most had been formed into battalion-sized units, either by "consolidation": increasing an existing corps to battalion size (usually in large urban areas), or by forming administrative battalions or brigades by the grouping of smaller corps (in rural areas). An official book of drill and rifle instructions for the Corps of Rifle Volunteers and volunteer regulations were published in 1859 and 1861 respectively.[14][15]
From 1860 Cadet Corps were also formed, consisting of school-age boys, which were the forerunners of theArmy Cadet Force andCombined Cadet Force. Like the adult volunteers, the boys were supplied with arms by the War Office, for which they had to pay a fee, which reduced the longer they remained members. Cadet Corps were usually associated with private schools. They paraded regularly in public.[24]
In 1862, aroyal commission chaired byViscount Eversley was appointed "to inquire into the condition of the volunteer force in Great Britain and into the probability of its continuance at its existing strength".
According to the report, as of 1 April 1862, the Volunteer Force had a strength of 162,681 consisting of:
Their report made a number of recommendations and observations on funding and training:
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An act to consolidate and amend the Acts relating to the Volunteer Force in Great Britain. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 26 & 27 Vict. c. 65 |
| Territorial extent | [b] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1863 |
| Commencement | 21 July 1863[c] |
| Repealed | 23 May 1950 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1950 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Volunteer Act 1897 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to declare the Effect of the Provisions of the Volunteer Act, 1863,[k] with respect to Rules for Volunteer Corps. |
| Citation | 60 & 61 Vict. c. 47 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 August 1897 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1966 |
Status: Repealed | |
To carry into effect the recommendations of the commission, and to replace the 1804 legislation, theVolunteer Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 65) was passed.[26]
Part I of the act dealt with the organisation of the Volunteer Force. It became lawful for "Her Majesty to accept the services of persons desiring to be formed under the act into a Volunteer Corps, and offering their services to Her Majesty through the Lieutenant of a County". On acceptance, the corps would be deemed lawfully formed. Existing corps were to continue under the new act, although the power was given to the Crown to disband any corps. The constitution of a permanent staff consisting of an adjutant and serjeant instructors was permitted for each corps. The grouping of two or more corps into administrative regiments was recognised, and a permanent staff could be provided for the grouping. However the individual corps were to continue to exist. As in the earlier legislation, a volunteer could resign with fourteen days notice, with the addition that if a commanding officer refused to remove a volunteer from the roll of the corps, then he could appeal to two justices of the peace of the county. An annual inspection by an officer of the regular army was instituted, and efficiency standards were to be set byOrder in Council, as were regulations for governing the Force. The lord-lieutenant of a county, or the commanding officer of a corps or administrative regiment was empowered to appoint a court of inquiry into any corps, officer, non-commissioned officer or volunteer.
Part II of the act dealt with "Actual Military Service". The terms for calling out of the force were altered: this would now happen in "the case of actual or apprehended invasion of any part of the United Kingdom (the occasion being first communicated to both Houses of Parliament if parliament is sitting, or declared in council and notified by proclamation if parliament is not sitting.)" As well as being entitled to pay and billets, relief was also to be given to the wives and families of volunteers. A bounty of one guinea was to be paid to volunteers on release from actual military service, such release being notified in order by writing by the lord-lieutenant. If disabled on service, officers and volunteers were to receive a pension.
Part III dealt with discipline and part IV with the rules and property of the corps.
Part V dealt with the process of acquiring land for shooting ranges. Apart from the corps taking ownership of the land, a municipal corporation or private company could grant a licence to the volunteers to use their land for the purpose. Justices of the peace were given the power to close rights of way adjacent to ranges.
The act concluded by defining the counties to which the corps were to belong: for the purposes of the act theIsle of Wight, theTower Hamlets and theCinque Ports were separate counties, with the Governor of the Isle of Wight, the Constable of the Tower of London and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports commissioning officers in place of the lord-lieutenant. TheIsle of Man was also to dealt with as if it were a county of England, with theLieutenant-Governor performing the same role as a county lord-lieutenant.
In 1872, under the provisions of the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871, jurisdiction over the volunteers was removed from the county lord-lieutenants and placed under theSecretary of State for War. Volunteer units became increasingly integrated with the Regular Army. This culminated in theChilders Reforms of 1881 which nominated rifle volunteer corps as volunteer battalions of the new "county" infantry regiments, which also consisted of regular and militia battalions within a defined regimental district. Over the next few years many of the rifle volunteer corps adopted the "volunteer battalion" designation and the uniform of their parent regiment. This was far from universal, however, with some corps retaining their original names and distinctive dress until 1908.[27]
The artillery volunteers were similarly remodelled as reserve formations of theRoyal Artillery, eventually being redesignated as Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) in 1902, while the Engineer Volunteers became Royal Engineers (Volunteers).
The volunteers finally saw active service during theSecond Boer War, when the prolonged campaign necessitated an increase in the size of British forces in South Africa. Volunteer Battalions formed Volunteer Active Service Companies that joined the regular battalions of their county regiments. Following the war, thebattle honour "South Africa 1900–02" was awarded to the volunteer units that provided detachments for the campaign.
By 1907, when its civilian administration teetered on the brink of insolvency, the Volunteer Force had become indispensable to British defence planning, as well as an enabler of the Regular Army's drawing its own forces away from home defence stations. Consequently, the government passed theTerritorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, which merged the Volunteer Force with theYeomanry to form theTerritorial Force in 1908 (while theMilitia was re-organised as the Special Reserve, which provided a body of trained men available for drafting to regular battalions as required during wartime). The total cost of the TF was to be met in future by central government. In addition to the introduction of terms of service for volunteers, most of the units lost their unique identities, becoming numbered territorial battalions of the local army regiment, albeit with distinctive badges or dress distinctions.[28]
The 1907 act did not extend to theIsle of Man, and consequently the7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion ofThe King's (Liverpool Regiment) continued to serve as the only remaining unit of the Volunteer Force until disbandment in 1922. (1868–1922)
According to theTerritorial Year Book 1909, the Volunteer Force had the following strength over its existence:[29]
| Year | Establishment | Strength | Classed as efficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 | 211,961 | 161,239 | 140,100 |
| 1870 | 244,966 | 193,893 | 170,671 |
| 1880 | 243,546 | 206,537 | 196,938 |
| 1885 | 250,967 | 224,012 | 218,207 |
| 1890 | 260,310 | 212,048 | 212,293 |
| 1895 | 260,968 | 231,704 | 224,962 |
| 1899 | 263,416 | 229,854 | 223,921 |
| 1900 | 339,511 | 277,628 | 270,369 |
| 1901 | 342,003 | 288,476 | 281,062 |
| 1902 | 345,547 | 268,550 | 256,451 |
| 1903 | 346,171 | 253,281 | 242,104 |
| 1904 | 343,246 | 253,909 | 244,537 |
| 1905 | 341,283 | 249,611 | 241,549 |
| 1906 | 338,452 | 255,854 | 246,654 |
| 1907 | 335,849 | 252,791 | 244,212 |
The yeomanry, a mounted force drawn from the upper classes, was created at the peak of the fear of French invasion and used extensively in support of the civil authority to put down riots and disturbances.
Troop shortages and patriotic zest during the imperial crises and expansion of the British Empire in the second half of the 19th century prompted the creation of other volunteer and yeomanry units, such as the Volunteer Force, with a far less distinct role, as well as the permanent embodiment of the militia in vulnerable British towns.
