VOLUNTEERS, MILITIA & TERRITORIALS

(1793 – PRESENT)

VOLUNTEERS, MILITIA & TERRITORIALS

(1793 – PRESENT)

Scottish Militia battalions originated during the Napoleonic Wars. The outbreak of war with France in 1793 left the British Army stretched across commitments in Europe and the colonies, leaving Britain undefended. This led to the creation of hundreds of local companies of part-time Volunteers, tasked with providing a last line of defense in the event of an invasion on home soil. Despite their enthusiasm, the Volunteers were reinforced by the full-time Militia in 1797.

The ‘Scotch Militia Act’ of 1802 divided the country into districts comprised of one or more counties and led by Lord Lieutenants – during the Napoleonic Wars, the Militia regiments were enlisted full-time for a period of three years. By the end of the Wars in 1815, the Volunteers ceased training; by 1852, the system was replaced by voluntary service.

Prior to the formation of an official Territorial Army, there were three auxiliary forces: the Militia, the Yeomanry, and the Volunteers (including 213 rifle corps across the UK). The earliest Highland Rifle Volunteer battalions were formed in 1859, and comprised battalions in Ross-shire, Sutherland, Elgin, and Inverness. The Volunteers had little formal association with the regular army until the Army Reforms of 1881, when Volunteer battalions became an integral part of the territorial regiments.

In 1907, the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act amalgamated the Volunteer Force with the mounted Yeomanry; the Militia was designated to form a new Special Reserve of the Regular Army. In 1908, under the Haldane Reforms of the Army, the Militia became the basis for the Territorial Force, and by 1921, the regiment was officially recognised as the Territorial Army which today is the part-time volunteer force of the British Army.

A comprehensive, 500-page account of the Scottish Volunteer regiments can be accessed here.