The 1st Somerset Militia was an auxiliary military unit in the county of Somerset in South West England. First organised during the Seven Years' War it served on internal security and home defence duties in all of Britain's major wars. It later became a battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry and supplied thousands of recruits to the fighting battalions during World War I. After 1921 the militia had only a shadowy existence until its final abolition 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. It was an important element in the country's defence at the time of the Spanish Armada in the 1580s, and control of the militia was one of the areas of dispute between King Charles I and Parliament that led to the English Civil War. The Somerset Trained Bands were active in local skirmishes and sieges during the early part of the civil war, and later in controlling the country under the Commonwealth and Protectorate. The English militia was re-established under local control in 1662 after the Restoration of the monarchy, and the Somerset Militia played a prominent part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. However, after the Peace of Utrecht in 1715 the militia was allowed to decline.Fortescue, Vol I, pp. 12, 16, 125, 294–5.Hay, pp. 11–17, 25–6, 60–1, 88, 99–104.Hay, pp. 275–8.Holmes, pp. 90–4.Kerr, pp. 1–5, 106–7.
Seven Years' War
Under threat of French invasion during the Seven Years' War a series of Militia Acts from 1757 reorganised the county militia regiments, the men being conscripted by means of parish ballots (paid substitutes were permitted) to serve for three years. In peacetime they assembled for 28 days' annual training. There was a property qualification for officers, who were commissioned by the lord lieutenant. An adjutant and drill sergeants were to be provided to each regiment from the Regular Army, and arms and accoutrements would be supplied when the county had secured 60 per cent of its quota of recruits.Fortescue, Vol II, pp. 288, 299–302.Hay, pp. 136–44.Holmes, pp. 94–100.Western, pp. 124–57, 251.
Somerset's quota was set at 840 men in two regiments, each of seven companies. The Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, Earl Poulett, was an enthusiast for the militia, but even he was slow to act, finding the Somerset gentry averse, and the 'common people outrageously against it' for fear of being 'Digby'd abroad' (Lord Digby had recently raised a regular regiment in Somerset and Dorset for home service but the men had been forcibly sent overseas). In 1758 Poulett tried to recruit officers, but the first lieutenancy meeting was a failure with only eight persons putting themselves forward out of 40 required. Poulett then began a publicity campaign, giving a rousing speech and having copies of its circulated. He proposed taking the colonelcy of both regiments himself, and appointed senior officers from across the political spectrum. By January 1759 he had obtained almost all the officers and the balloting and enrolment of the other ranks began.Western, pp. 121–2, 150–2.Western, Appendices A & B. The 1st Somerset Militia was formed at Taunton, the 2nd at Bath, and both received their arms on 22 March 1759.Frederick, pp. 135–6.Kerr, pp. 8–10, 16.Kerr, pp. 100–1.Maj H.G. Parkyn, 'English Militia Regiments 1757–1935: Their Badges and Buttons', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 15, No 60 (Winter 1936), pp. 216–248.
The 1st and 2nd Somerset Militia were both embodied for fulltime service on 3 July 1759. Despite the delays, Somerset was still one of the earliest counties to complete its militia, but the lack of experience in any county at this date led to problems over pay and administration. The counties were offered the help of a regular officer, but Poulett refused this, to reassure his men that they were not being conscripted into the regulars. The Somerset Militia also produced its own simplified drill book.Western, pp. 372–3, 405.
The 1st Somerset Militia was embodied under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Lord North. The day after embodiment it was ordered to march to Plymouth in Devon to come under Major-General Duroure. The regimental adjutant, Captain Slocombe, having died, Poulett successfully lobbied the Secretary of State to allow Lieutenant William Corfield of the 33rd Foot to take up the post. Corfield had recently married an heiress, and his friends persuaded him to leave the regular army with its likelihood of overseas service and stay in England to manage the estate. Poulett continued to have difficulties over his officers: after the death of King George II and the accession of George III in 1760 their commissions were continued by royal proclamation. But some officers chose to regard them as new commissions outside the Militia Act and retired, while Lord North was a government minister and resigned in November 1761. While balloting was held in Somerset in November 1761 to replace the time-expired men in the ranks, the lieutenancy published advertisements in December seeking candidates for junior officers. Poulett also tried to break up party political factions amongst the officers.Kerr, pp. 10–12.Kerr, pp. 67–87.Western, pp. 304, 323, 336–7.
The regiment remained in the Plymouth garrison until 23 June 1760, when it was ordered to Exeter to assist the Dorset Militia in guarding French prisoners-of-war. On 18 December it was ordered back to winter quarters in Taunton. The following February the regiment was scattered across Somerset, each company being quartered in a different town. In July 1761 it was sent to Milford, Surrey. In October it returned via Salisbury and Shaftesbury to quarters in Taunton and Bridgwater. In November it concentrated at Taunton, where it remained until 3 June 1762, when the regiment was sent to relieve the 1st Devon Militia guarding French prisoners at Exeter. On being relieved by the 3rd Devon Militia, the 1st Somersets went to relieve the 4th Devon Militia in the same duties at Plymouth. The 1st Somerset were then relieved by the 74th Foot and on 29 August ordered to Bristol to guard the prisoners there. On 23 December the regiment was sent orders to return to Taunton and disembody. This was carried out on 31 December 1762, shortly before hostilities were ended by the Treaty of Paris. The officers and men of the Somersets left so quickly that it was difficult to settle up the regimental accounts.Kerr, pp. 12–5.Western, p. 376.
In 1763 the disembodied Somerset militia regiments were reorganised into a single regiment of 12 companies, and the 2nd Somerset Militia was disbanded. The combined regiment was trained in each of the following years, with the companies assembled at various towns in the county. Earl Poulett died in 1764 and Lieutenant-Colonel John Helliar remained in command of the 1st Somerset until his retirement in 1767, when Lt-Col Coplestone Warre Bampfylde was promoted to colonel. By 1770 almost all the arms and accoutrements of the regiment were unserviceable and the arms were replacedKerr, pp. 16–20.
American War of Independence The American War of Independence broke out in 1775, and by 1778 Britain was threatened with invasion by the Americans' allies, France and Spain. The militia were called out, and the Somerset regiment assembled on 13 April. On 15 May it marched to Wells, where it was inspected: although the weapons were well-kept, the old accoutrements were now 'totally unfit for service', and they were replaced at the expense of the regiment rather than waiting for the Board of Ordnance to supply new ones. On 11 June the regiment left for duty at Plymouth, where it camped at Buckland Down until October when it went into winter quarters at Plymouth Dock. On 29 December over 100 of the American prisoners-of-war held in Mill Prison escaped through a tunnel and had to be rounded up by the garrison. The guards were then doubled, with patrols outside the walls as well as inside. Many of the Somerset officers were dissenters who were reluctant to do guard duty on the Americans, and the commanding officer requested that the regiment should be deployed elsewhere.Kerr, pp. 21–3.Western, pp. 430–1.
In May 1779 orders arrived for the regiment to march to Hungerford in Berkshire, but during the march its destination was changed to Coxheath Camp near Maidstone in Kent, where it arrived on 23 June. Coxheath was the army's largest training camp, where the militia were exercised as part of a division alongside regular troops while providing a reserve in case of French invasion of South East England. The Somersets formed part of the Left Wing under Maj-Gen Hall. The Grenadier and Light Companies of each regiment were detached and trained as composite battalions, and each regiment had two small field guns attached to it, manned by its own men under artillery non-commissioned officers. The camp was broken up in November and the Somersets marched to winter quarters in Hungerford and Newbury.Brig Charles Herbert, 'Coxheath Camp, 1778–1779', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 45, No 183 (Autumn 1967), pp. 129–48.Kerr, pp. 24–6.Walrond, p. 71.
On 5 May 1780 the Somerset Militia was ordered back into Devonshire, being quartered in various towns until accommodation was available in Plymouth at the end of the month, when it camped in Plymouth Dock Lines. On 12 August there was a serious riot brought on by a quarrel at a 'disorderly house' in the Dock area between some of the Brecknockshire Militia and the two black musicians of the Somerset Militia band. A large mob formed and the Somersets armed with bayonets and assisted by the Herefordshire Militia attempted to storm the Brecknocks' lines, despite the efforts of the officers. The mob surged towards Stoke Church, where the picquet guard of the 97th Foot was ordered to fire, killing two and wounding nine. This and the persuasion of the officers quelled the trouble. In the autumn many of the militia exercised their right to go home to vote in the General Election. A large number of the Somersets did not have the vote at home but took advantage of the lax franchise rules of Potwalloper boroughs to take some leave. In October the regiment left Plymouth for winter quarters, with five companies each at Bristol and Bridgwater, and one each at Axbridge and Huntspill.Kerr, p. 26.Western, pp. 257, 426.
On 13 March 1781 the regiment was ordered to Taunton (six companies), Wellington (two) and Bridgwater (four), but stayed only a short time in these quarters. With fears of an imminent French landing, the Somersets were among a troop concentration called for Plymouth, and marched off on 5 April. The regiment (840 strong) under Lt-Col the Earl of Cork spent the summer as part of the 4th Brigade of the Plymouth Garrison, accommodated in camp on Maker Heights. The camp broke up in October and the Somersets were sent to winter quarters at Warminster in Wiltshire.Kerr, pp. 27–9.