2nd Royal Surrey Militia

The 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, later the 3rd Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was an auxiliary regiment raised in Surrey in the Home counties of England. From its formal creation in 1797 the regiment served in home defence in all of Britain's major wars. It saw active service during the Second Boer War, including the Defence of Okiep, and trained thousands of reinforcements during World War I. After a shadowy postwar existence it was formally disbanded in 1953

Background

The universal obligation to military service in the Shire levy was long established in England and its legal basis was updated by two acts of 1557 (4 & 5 Ph. & M. cc. 2 and 3), which placed selected men, the 'trained bands', under the command of Lords Lieutenant appointed by the monarch. This is seen as the starting date for the organised county militia in England.Davis, pp. 1–12.Fortescue, Vol I, pp. 5, 12, 16.Hay, pp. 11–17, 25–6, 60–1.Holmes, pp. 90–1. The Surrey Trained Bands formed part of the army at Tilbury during the Armada campaign of 1588, and some elements saw active service during the English Civil War. The Militia was re-established in 1661 after the restoration of the monarchy, and was popularly seen as the 'Constitutional Force' in contrast to the 'Standing Army' that was tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported the military dictatorship of the Protectorate. However, the Militia declined in the years after the Peace of Utrecht in 1713.Davis, pp. 43–61.Fortescue, Vol I, pp. 195–6.Hay, pp. 334–6.Hay, pp. 89, 99–104.Surrey Trained Bands at BCW Project Regimental Wiki.Brentford and Turnham Green at BCW Project.Militia of the Worcester Campaign 1651 at BCW Project.The Surrey Militia Regiments at Queen's Royal Surreys.

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. Surrey was given a quota of 800 men to raise and the regiment was formed at Richmond-upon-Thames on 18 April 1759.Davis, pp. 26–9, 75–7.Fortescue, Vol II, pp. 288, 299, 301–2, 521.Hay, pp. 136–44.Holmes, pp. 94–100.Parkyn.Western, Appendices A & B.Western, p. 251. On 3 November the regiment was split into two battalions of five companies each, the 1st or Eastern and the 2nd or Western.Davis, p. 87. (Some sources trace the later 2nd Royal Surrey Militia back to this battalion.Frederick, pp. 197–9.) The Peace of Fontainebleau was signed on 3 November 1762, ending the war, and the regiment was disembodied. The following year the two battalions were merged into a single regiment again.Hay, pp. 236–9.Davis, pp. 86–101; Appendix E.2nd Royal Surrey Militia at Regiments.org.

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 Surrey Militia was embodied on 26 March 1778, and served throughout as a single regiment.Davis, p. 105.Fortescue, Vol III, pp. 173–4, 295. In June 1780 the regiment was deployed on the streets of London against the Gordon Riots, clearing the streets and bridges with the bayonet when parties of rioters refused to disperse.Davis, pp. 109–12. It was disembodied on 28 February 1783 after the signing of the Peace of Paris.

In view of the worsening international situation in late 1792 the militia was called out, even though Revolutionary France did not declare war on Britain until 1 February 1793. The Surrey Militia was embodied on 1 December 1792.Davis, p. 112. The French Revolutionary Wars saw a new phase for the English militia: they were embodied for a whole generation, and became regiments of full-time professional soldiers (though restricted to service within the British Isles), which the regular army increasingly saw as a prime source of recruits. They served in coast defences, manning garrisons, guarding prisoners of war, and for internal security, while their traditional local defence duties were taken over by the Volunteers.Knight, pp. 78–80, 111, 255, 411.

2nd Royal Surrey Militia French Revolutionary War In 1797, to release regulars for overseas service, the strength of the Militia was increased by the creation of the Supplementary Militia, also raised by means of the ballot.Davis, p. 120.Fortescue, Vol IV, pp. 639–41, 888.Fortescue, Vol VII, pp. 34–5, 334.Hay, pp. 148–52. A third of Surrey's Supplementary Militia quota (820 men) was assigned as reinforcements to the 'Old Surrey Militia', as the original regiment became known.Davis, pp. 121–9. The remainder were to form two supplementary regiments. Surrey has been described as one of the 'black spots' in recruitment for the Supplementary Militia (especially compared to the Volunteers), so although the 1st Surrey Supplementary Militia was successfully raised, the 2nd regiment never reached its establishment and was disbanded in 1799.Western, pp. 281–3.

The first officers appointed to the 1st Surrey Supplementary Militia on 2 January 1797 included Colonel the Hon Thomas Onslow, Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford and eldest son of the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Lord Onslow, and his Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir John Frederick, 5th Baronet, MP for Surrey.The Onslows at Queen's Royal Surreys.Burke's: 'Onslow'.

The regiment was embodied for full-time service on 20 February 1798 at Kingston upon Thames and it became the permanent 2nd Surrey Militia the same year. Prior to the French Revolutionary War, the order of precedence for militia regiments had been decided by lot at the start of each camping season. However, the order balloted for in 1793 remained in force throughout the French Revolutionary War. Surrey's precedence of 18th applied to both regiments.Baldry.Davis, p. 113.

After assembling at Kingston the new regiment was sent to the Isle of Wight on anti-invasion duty. At first the regiment was quartered at Eling Barracks at West Cowes. While there, the Regimental Colours were presented: the ensigns who received the colours were Lieutenants Arthur George Onslow and Richard Frederick, the eldest sons of the colonel and lieutenant-colonel respectively. The regiment spent the summer of 1798 in camp in Parkhurst Forest, then went into winter quarters in Newport until May 1799 when it returned to Parkhurst. In July it returned to the mainland and was stationed at Plymouth Dock. During the year over 160 men of the regiment volunteered to transfer to the regular army, principally to the 9th Foot and the Brigade of Guards, and almost 300 had transferred by October 1800. With the lowered level of invasion alert in 1799, the militia quotas were reduced and many men of the supplementary militia were sent to their homes. Colonel Onslow argued strongly for the retention of the 2nd Surreys, even at a reduced establishment (Col Thomas Onslow was styled Viscount Cranley from 1801 when his father was advanced to an earldom). The regiment remained at Plymouth until November 1801 when it was marched to Winchester Barracks. However, preliminaries of peace had been signed, so in December the regiment was marched back to Surrey, where its companies were billeted in several villages until it was concentrated at Guildford to be disembodied on 25 April 1801.Davis, pp. 130–9.

Napoleonic Wars However, the Peace of Amiens soon broke down and the 2nd Surreys were re-embodied on 11 March 1803. Once more Surrey was a black spot for militia recruitment, and of the quota of 288 men that should have been balloted for in Southwark only 22 arrived, many substitutes deserting as soon as they had pocketed their bounty. On 18 May, the day was war was declared, the 2nd Surreys marched from Guildford via Reigate, Sevenoaks and Maidstone to barracks at Ashford, Kent, arriving on 21 May. They were quartered in surrounding villages until the barracks were ready for occupation. On 30 December the regiment moved to Reading Street Barracks, Tenterden, where it stayed until the end of June 1804.Davis, pp. 143–8.

Another ballot for precedence took place at the start of the Napoleonic War: Surrey was 41st. On 23 April 1804 both the Surrey militia regiments were granted the title 'Royal', the 2nd becoming the 2nd Royal Surrey Militia (2nd RSM).Davis, pp. 148–50. These 'regular', 'ordinary' or 'permanent' regiments of embodied militia should not be confused with the Local Militia, part-time units formed in 1809 to replace the various Volunteer units in the county; eventually there were five Local Militia regiments in Surrey.Davis, pp. 173–4.Fortescue, Vol VI, pp. 180–1.King.

Militia duties during the Napoleonic War were much as before: home defence and garrisons, guarding prisoners of war, and increasingly internal security in the industrial areas where there was unrest.Fortescue, Vol V, pp. 167–8, 198–203, 210–1, 229.Knight, pp. 238, 437–47. In June 1804 the 2nd RSM moved to Billericay in Essex, then in August to Danbury, with a detachment at Maldon. After a short spell at Chelmsford, the regiment returned to Danbury until March 1805, when it marched to Norman Cross Prison, which was a large Prisoner-of-war camp. In July it moved to Hull, with company detachments to Bridlington and Whitby on the coast. During the summer of 1805, when Napoleon was massing his 'Army of England' at Boulogne for a projected invasion, the 2nd RSM was part of a militia brigade under Maj-Gen Alexander McKenzie defending Hull. On 1 September 1805, the regiment had 561 men in eight companies under the command of Lt-Col Thomas Sutton.Brown. It remained at Hull throughout 1806. In April 1807 the 2nd RLM began a march to the Medway towns in Kent, but en route it was diverted to Barnet and Whetstone, north of London.

The threat of invasion had heightened after the Treaty of Tilsit between France and Russia, all leave was cancelled, and a ballot was held in Surrey to bring the militia up to full strength. In August the regiment moved to Hythe on the Kent coast with detachments guarding Twiss Fort and Sutherland Fort. In the crisis there was another drive to induce militiamen to volunteer for the regulars: the 2nd RLM was given a quota of 68, but over 100 men elected to join the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot, including many of the sergeants and drummers. The regiment had a strength of just over 700 rank and file when it marched the Brabourne Lees camp on 1 February 1808, with very few non-commissioned officers (NCOs). From 1 March to 28 September it was at Reading Street Barracks, then spent the winter quartered at Ramsgate with a detachment at Margate before returning to the barracks on 1 February 1809. In April the regiment was moved out to quarters in coastal villages, then to Littlehampton by the end of the month. In June it moved to Pevensey and in July to Eastbourne, where it stayed for the next year. From July 1810 to May 1811 it was at Playden Barracks, then moved to join the Portsmouth area garrison, being quartered at Fareham, Titchfield, Havant, Emsworth and Westbourne.Davis, pp. 148, 151–73.

Ireland and Bordeaux The Interchange Act 1811 allowed English militia regiments to serve in Ireland (and vice versa) for two years. Lord Cranley informed the government that all of the 2nd RLM had volunteered to serve there except one sergeant, one corporal and 80 privates, who were sent to Bristol. The regiment 485 strong embarked from Portsmouth on 1 August under the command of Lt-Col Robert Frederick (eldest son of the original second-in-command) and after arrival in Dublin marched to Mullingar. The arrival of the militia relieved regiments of the King's German Legion for service in the Peninsular War.