THE BRITISH MILITIA FORCE

Following the Restoration in 1660, legislation was passed empowering the Lord Lieutenant of each county to appoint officers and raise men for the militia. The cost of supplying men and equipment wasundertaken by local property owners based upon the value of their land and property. The early militia played a role in coastal defence between 1665 and 1674 during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The militia were posted at several strategic locations, in particular, the south coast of England, Wales and Ireland.

The militia thereafter declined until there was a major overhaul of the system in the mid-eighteenth century. At this point the responsibility for raising and organising the force remained at county level, but funding was no longer a local concern as it was provided by the government. Officers were appointed from the property owners and men were to be chosen from among the able-bodied men of the parish; they were required to serve for three to five years. Those who did not want to serve could provide a substitute or pay a fine.

The introduction of the Milita Act was not without opposition and in some areas of the country there was unrest, even rioting. The thought among many of the objectors was that the reform would introduce covert conscription and service overseas. The Act,  however, clearly restricted service to Great Britain only. Some militia regiments served in Ireland during the 1798 Rebellion. However, some counties were tardy in implementing the terms of the Act including Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire. It was not until 1778 that all the English and Welsh counties had a militia.

Training for militia men took place annually over a period of a few weeks. During training, regiments would normally be housed in local inns or regular army barracks if there was space. Others were housed in temporary training camps. Although overseas service was not an option, the militia regiments served all over the country. For the men of the militia, their pay and conditions were similar to those of regular army personnel, but additional financial benefits existed for their families. 

The militia was always constitutionally separate from the army although after 1790 there was the option for militiamen to volunteer for the regular army - and many did so. In 1802 eventual peace with France led to a short-lived disbanding of the militia, which was began again in 1803, when hostilities resumed.

Britain's increasing overseas troop commitments during the Napoleonic Wars resulted in growing pressure on recruitment for the militia, both for home defence and as a feeder for the army. During the period to 1815, 110,000 men transferred to line regiments as against 36,000 prior to 1802.[4] The militia continued to serve as a coastal defence force, as well as guarding dockyards and prisoners of war, and performing other duties including riot control during the Luddite unrest of 1811–1813. It was disembodied in 1815, but balloting continued until 1831.

The Militia Ballot Lists are lists of able-bodied men within the age range who could be chosen to join a county militia by ballot. Most men will have served over the years between 1758 to 1786, and occasionally up to the start of the 1800s. The men became known as “Drawn Men”. They were compiled by the parish constables of each parish. These lists are an invaluable resource because they show those who lived in a particular parish with their occupation, the number of children each had and any disabilities from which they suffered. For the male population, the lists are the closest record to an early, but incomplete population list.

Under the Militia Acts and alongside various disabilities, several classes of men were exempt from the ballot, some limited, including:

• apprentices
• certain articled clerks
• serving members of the Regular Army and Navy
• militia officers
• merchant seamen
• member of universities
• ministers of religion
• parish officers.
• Lords of the realm
• Knights
• some landed gentry.

Various changes were made to eligibility to serve after the 1757 Militia Act. The first was only one year later when parish officers, other than the constables were no longer exempt.

In 1762 the maximum age for service was reduced to forty-five years of age and strangely poor men with three legitimate children were exempt service. Also in 1762, Militia Relief Orders were formalised meaning that rules for parish assistance for poor militiamen’s families were brought in. Restrictions were also in place relating to the enlistment of militiamen into the regular forces.

Legislation introduced in 1786 exempted men with two or more legitimate children. At the same time, length of service commitment was increased to five years as opposed to three years in the earlier period. In 1798 again because of the war with France, volunteer infantry and yeomanry units were formed and their ranks were exempt from the ballot. In 1801 after peace with France militia quotas were reduced and by 1805 the militia was a pool of trained men who were then encouraged to enlist in the regular army.

The main collection of militia pay books is held at The National Archives in series WO13. The Militia Muster Rolls and Pay Lists from 1780 can be located in series WO10.

Records for the establishment of half pay officers between 1713 and 1824 are in series WO24.

There are other series of documents which may be relevant.

Service records of officers of the militia can be found in a published book Officers of the Several Regiments and Corps of Militia which was published from 1794 onwards. Officer’s information is also found in the Army Lists.

Until the mid-nineteenth century the militia was the responsibility of the Home Office and reference can be found in the military entry book of the Home Office in series HO51. Some commission information can also be found in series WO43.

You may be lucky enough to find a service record amongst the records of regular army offices in series WO76.

The prime source of information for other ranks militiamen is series WO96 but these only run from 1806 onwards. Local militiamen service attestation papers 1769-1854 are within series WO97/1091 -1112 but only relate to those who received a pension.

Enrolment books, where they survive, are found in series WO68.

It is important to realise that many of the nationally held records are incorporated within the general army papers and a close examination of The National Archives Discovery catalogue is needed before embarking on your research.

Many militia lists and musters for local militia regiments are held in local archives so check with them first. Not all the lists survive so you may only find records for selected dates. Some counties have a much better coverage than others.

Constables were not always concerned with accurately recording occupations so any variation in the description may reflect social standing of either the person or the constable, the latter being annually appointed.

You may find that names have been deleted from the list, usually because a substitute was found to serve in place of the listed person.

Where someone is referred to as a servant, it cannot be assumed that they were domestic servants which, in the case of males, was usually indicated by more detailed description such a coachman, valet etc. Servant could mean the person was an agricultural labourer/farm servant. The occupation of servant is not necessarily a domestic.

It should not be assumed that persons listed with the same name were the same person. Think about naming patterns in families where father and son have the same name. Again, it is not always possible to determine which person is which from the list. Check against death burial records for complete confirmation.

Because of compilation inconsistencies, the absence of a name in the occasional year does not mean the person left the parish and returned. It could be a clerical omission.