Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia
10th North British Militia Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia 3rd Battalion, Royal Scots | |
---|---|
Active | 10 March 1798–1 April 1953 |
Country | Kingdom of Great Britain (1798–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1953) |
Branch | Militia/Special Reserve |
Role | Infantry |
Garrison/HQ | Dalkeith (1798–1878) Glencorse Barracks (1878–1953) |
Nickname(s) | The Duke's Canaries |
Engagements | Second Boer War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch Lt-Col Edward Lisle Strutt |
The Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia was an auxiliary[a] regiment raised in and around the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. It was formed in 1798 and reformed in 1802, but had links with earlier Fencible and Volunteer units from the area. It served in home defence during the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War. Later it became a battalion of the Royal Scots and saw active service in South Africa during the Second Boer War. It served as a Special Reserve training unit in World War I, but after 1921 the militia had only a shadowy existence until its final abolition in 1953.
Scottish militia
The universal obligation to military service in the
After the
South Fencibles
The
10th North British Militia
In view of the worsening international situation in late 1792 the English militia was embodied for service, even though Revolutionary France did not declare war on Britain until 1 February 1793. Fencibles were again raised in Scotland. Both England and Scotland also raised part-time bodies of Volunteers for purely local defence, including the 2nd Regiment of Royal Edinburgh Volunteers under the Duke of Buccleuch, formed in February 1797.[12][13]
Finally, in 1797 Parliament passed an Act introducing the militia ballot in Scotland. This measure was unpopular and there were anti-militia riots in the west of the country, but Buccleuch ensured that paid substitutes would be available.[14][15] Ten regiments of Scottish militia were raised in 1798 under the 1797 Act, including the 10th North British Militia.[b] Once more it was raised by the Duke of Buccleuch (appointed 10 March 1798) at his Dalkeith estate. A number of officers and men were drawn from the 2nd Edinburgh Volunteers. The regiment's recruiting areas and quotas were defined as:[3][4][18][17][16]
- Edinburgh (county): 230 men
- Edinburgh (city): 83 men
- Linlithgowshire: 74 men
- Haddingtonshire: 144 men
- Berwickshire: 153 men
The regiment of eight companies was ready for its first inspection on 18 September, and in early October it marched to Dumfries for its winter quarters, with detachments at Wigtown and Port William. In March 1799 the regiment supplied a detachment to assist the civil authorities to preserve the peace in Portpatrick. The regiment trained detachments to man the two field guns attached to each militia regiment. The men were permitted to help local farmers with the harvest. In March 1800 the regiment was moved to Ayr, with detachments at Newtown, Wallacetown and Stranraer; in June two companies went to Greenock with a detachment at Port Glasgow. Then in July the companies at Ayr moved into the barracks at Glasgow and took over guard mounting in the city.[19]
The preliminaries of peace having been agreed in late 1801, the militia was prepared for disbandment. The 10th North British was marched in January 1802 from Glasgow to quarters in Musselburgh, Fisherrow and Inveresk, and sent its battalion guns to Leith Fort. From these quarters the regiment could assemble at Dalkeith Park for exercises. The Treaty of Amiens was signed on 25 March 1802 and orders were issued to disband the regiment. The men were paid off on 26 April except a cadre of sergeants and drummers under the adjutant (Captain James Fraser, formerly of the 78th Highlanders) and sergeant-major.[3][20][c]
Edinburgh Militia
In 1802 a new Act was passed, placing the Scottish militia on a permanent basis, to be manned by ballot from men aged 18–45 (paid substitutes were permitted), to serve for five years in Great Britain; peacetime training would be for 21 days. As Lord Lieutenant of Midlothian (Edinburghshire) the Duke of Buccleuch was required to raise the Edinburgh County Militia, and he took command of the regiment himself, many of the officers coming from the previous 10th North British, including the adjutant (and presumably his permanent staff). The armoury and depot would be at Dalkeith town because of the suitability of the area for training and exercises.[3][21][22]
Napoleonic Wars
The Peace of Amiens soon broke down, and the new regiment was embodied for fulltime service on 11 April 1803, the men from the county assembling at Dalkeith, and those from the city of Edinburgh at Musselburgh.[17][23] When they were embodied in 1803 the English and Scottish militia regiments were allocated places in a single order of precedence by drawing lots. The Edinburgh regiment received the number 51; formally, it became the '51st, or Edinburgh Regiment of Militia'. Although most regiments ignored the number, the Edinburgh unit did sometimes use it. These positions remained unchanged until 1833.[16][22][24][25]
Militia duties during the Napoleonic War were home defence and garrisons, guarding prisoners of war and, increasingly, internal security in the industrial areas where there was unrest. The regular forces also saw the militia as a prime source of recruits, and between 1803 and 1815 the Edinburgh Militia supplied 833 men, particularly to the
From 29 June 1803 the regiment was in camp at Musselburgh as part of a Scottish Brigade temporarily commanded by the Duke of Buccleuch. In November the regiment returned to Dalkeith, where temporary barracks were erected at nearby Lugton, with one company detached to
In March 1811 the Duke of Buccleuch resigned command of the regiment and was succeeded by the Earl of Ancrum (later 6th Marquess of Lothian). On July that year the regiment left Scotland for the first time, sailing from Leith to Harwich where it went into barracks before being stationed at Colchester for nine months. In April 1812 the regiment moved to the large prisoner of war camp at Norman Cross Prison. There was an outbreak of Luddite machine-breaking in the English industrial districts, and in May the regiment was marched to Nottinghamshire, being quartered at Mansfield. In October it was quartered at Manchester with detachments at Bolton, Bury and Rochdale. After short stays in Birmingham and Somerset in February and March 1813, the regiment marched to Plymouth, being quartered in Frankfort Barracks from 31 March.[31]
British militia units were now permitted to serve in Ireland, and most of the Edinburgh Militia volunteered to do so. It sailed from Plymouth on 26 June 1813 and disembarked at Monkstown on 12 July. It was then marched towards Armagh, but diverted to Derry where it arrived on 31 July. Most of the duty was to assist revenue officers in seizing illicit whiskey, which occasionally led to exchanges of gunfire – the militiamen involved in successful seizures received sizeable rewards.[4][32]
The war having ended with the deposition and exile of
Long peace
The permanent staff of sergeants and drummers remained at the depot at Dalkeith, where they formed a reserve for the civil authorities in cases of disorder. However, after Waterloo the militia were rarely assembled for training: in 1820, 1821, 1825 and 1831, but not thereafter. Although officers continued to be commissioned into the militia (the 7th Marquess of Lothian was promoted to the command of the Edinburgh Militia on his father's death in 1824, and when he died in 1841 he was succeeded by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch), the ballot was eventually suspended and the permanent staff progressively reduced.[34][35]
The militia order of precedence balloted for in the Napoleonic War remained in force until 1833. In that year the King drew the lots for individual regiments and the resulting list remained in force with minor amendments until the end of the militia. The regiments raised before the peace of 1783 took the first 69 places: the Edinburgh regiment was drawn as 126th out of 129.[16][24][36] It continued to appear in the Army Lists as the Edinburgh (County and City of) Militia, with HQ at Dalkeith.
1852 reform
The Militia of the United Kingdom was revived by the
- 'Whenever a state of war exists between Her Majesty and any foreign power'.
- 'In all cases of invasion or upon imminent danger thereof'.
- 'In all cases of rebellion or insurrection'.
The 1852 Act introduced Artillery Militia units in addition to the traditional infantry regiments. Their role was to man coastal defences and fortifications, relieving the Royal Artillery (RA) for active service. The Edinburgh City Artillery (later the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Edinburgh Artillery) was established as a separate regiment in 1854. [16][37][39][41][42][43]
Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry
The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 gave impetus to organising the reformed militia regiments. In September the establishment of the Edinburgh Militia was set at 72 officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and 657 privates in six companies. It was still commanded by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, who was also Lord-Lieutenant of Midlothian. The regiment was embodied for service on 12 February 1852 and the men were billeted throughout Dalkeith, with the officers at the Cross Keys Hotel. The regiment lined the streets from Edinburgh railway station to Holyrood Palace on 6 September when Queen Victoria visited Edinburgh on her way to Balmoral Castle, and again on her return. As a result the regiment was given the title 'Queen's Regiment of Edinburgh County Militia', quickly changed to 'The Edinburgh, or Queen's Regiment of Light Infantry Militia'.[3][17][16][44][45] This cumbersome title was usually rendered as the Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry (QELI).[46]
The Crimean War having ended early in 1856, the regiment was disembodied on 28 May.[4][17][47] Militia units that had been embodied were not called up for annual training again until 1859, after which it was held every year, the year's recruits attending 14 or 21 days' preliminary drill. From 1869 the regiment sometimes participated in brigade field days with the regulars and Volunteers in the area.[48]
Cardwell reforms
From the late 1860s a number of army reforms affected the militia. A Militia Reserve was created in 1867, consisting of present and former militiamen who undertook to serve overseas in case of war.
Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the
Although often referred to as brigades, the sub-districts were purely administrative organisations, but in a continuation of the Cardwell Reforms a mobilisation scheme began to appear in the Army List from December 1875. This assigned regular and militia units to places in an order of battle of corps, divisions and brigades for the 'Active Army', even though these formations were entirely theoretical, with no staff or services assigned. The QELI was assigned to 2nd Brigade of 1st Division, IV Corps in Ireland.[44]
The Militia Reserve of the QELI was called out in April 1878 during the period of international tension over the Russo-Turkish War that led to the Congress of Berlin. They served at the 62nd Brigade Depot until the end of July. In 1881 a fire destroyed the old wooden barracks at Glencorse that was occupied by the permanent staff and their families, but the involvement of the Fenians was ruled out.[3][55]
3rd Battalion, Royal Scots
The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, with militia regiments formally joining their linked regular regiments as numbered battalions. The QELI therefore became the 3rd (Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia) Battalion, Royal Scots.[3][4][17][16][44]
Second Boer War
On the outbreak of the Second Boer War in December 1899, most of the regular army was sent to South Africa, and many militia units were embodied to replace them for home defence and to garrison certain overseas stations, while other volunteered for active service. The 3rd Royal Scots was embodied on 5 December 1899 and volunteered for overseas service.[4][17][44][56]
The battalion embarked with a strength of 21 officers and 570 other ranks under the command of
On 1 August Maj-Gen Charles Knox, was ordered from Kroonstad with a 2000-strong column including the 3rd Royal Scots to operate south of the Vaal River with other columns to block de Wet's access to the OFS. This was part of the 'First de Wet Hunt'. There were some exchanges of fire, in one of which a sergeant of the 3rd Royal Scots was killed, and on 9 August the column was engaged at Venterskroon. A British cavalry brigade contacted the Boers on 17 August and 3rd Royal Scots formed the advanced guard as Knox's column came up to join the engagement. However, the infantry columns were generally unable to keep up with the mounted Boers, and de Wet got away. In October Knox's column left Heilbron to relieve a force besieged by de Wet at Frederikstad. Knox continued harrying the Boers with his mounted troops while Col Grant was left to command the infantry, which was mainly employed in escorting the baggage train. Between1 October and 7 November the 3rd Royal Scots had marched 672 miles (1,081 km), often on quarter rations.[4][58][59]
On 10 November 1900 the battalion took over a number of defence posts on the railway south of Kroonstad while its
Meanwhile the rest of the battalion along the railway had seen some action,
The 3rd Royal Scots embarked at Cape Town for home on 7 May 1902, shortly before the end of the war. It was disembodied on 28 May 1902, having lost 4 officers and 31 other ranks killed or died of wounds or accidents. The participants received the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps for 'Transvaal', 'Orange River Colony' and 'Cape Colony, and the King's South Africa Medal with the 'South Africa 1901' and 'South Africa 1902' clasps.[4][17]
Special Reserve
After the Boer War, the future of the Militia was called into question. There were moves to reform the Auxiliary Forces (Militia,
Under the sweeping Haldane Reforms of 1908, the militia was replaced by the Special Reserve, a semi-professional force whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for regular units serving overseas in wartime.[39][63][64][65] The battalion became the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Scots, on 9 August 1908.[17][16]
World War I
3rd (Reserve) Battalion
The battalion was embodied at Glencorse Barracks on the outbreak of World War I under the command of the Earl of Ellesmere and went to its war station at Weymouth, Dorset. As well as its coast defence duties, the battalion's role was to train and form drafts of reservists, special reservists, recruits and returning wounded for the regular battalions of the Royal Scots. In May 1915 the 3rd Bn returned to Edinburgh until the end of 1917 when it was sent to Ireland. There it was stationed at Mullingar until the end of the war.[66][67] The battalion was disembodied on 5 July 1919 when the remaining personnel were drafted to the 2nd Bn.[17]
The battalion's honorary colonel,
14th (Reserve) Battalion
After
Postwar
The SR resumed its old title of Militia in 1921 but like most militia battalions the 3rd Royal Scots remained in abeyance after World War I. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the only officer remaining listed for the battalion was its Honorary Colonel, Lord Henry Scott]] (though the Royal Scots had a number of Supplementary Reserve Category B officers attached to it). The Militia was formally disbanded in April 1953.[17][44][64]
Uniforms and insignia
From its formation in 1798 the regiment wore red uniforms with yellow facings, giving rise to its nickname 'The Duke's Canaries'. When it became The Queen's in 1855 the facings were changed to the blue appropriate to a Royal regiment.[3][16][44][47]
The officers' oval shoulderbelt plates ca 1800 carried the star of the Order of the Thistle surmounted by a crown. Round the top of the plate was the title 'Edinburgh' and at the bottom 'Militia'. The officers' waistbelt plates 1855–81 carried the star of the Thistle in silver with a green enamel backing to the centre and the regimental title on the circle. The officers' Coatee button 1820–30 carried the crowned Thistle star with the title 'Edinburgh' below.[16] The regiment adopted the light infantry bugle-horn as a badge after 1855, but when it became a battalion of the Royal Scots it adopted that regiment's insignia based on the Order of the Thistle and its uniform, including the doublet and tartan trews.[44][77]
New drums were issued to the regiment while it was stationed at Derry in 1813–15. When it returned to Scotland the colonel ordered that they should be painted, including the Coat of arms of Derry among other insignia.[25]
Commanders
The following were among the commanders of the regiment:[22][44][34][78][79]
- Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, former Colonel, appointed 21 May 1879
- George Grant Gordon, former Lt-Col, appointed 7 March 1900
- Lord Henry Montagu-Douglas Scott, former commanding officer, appointed 21 December 1912
- Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, appointed 10 March 1798
- William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, appointed 25 March 1811, died 24 April 1824
- John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian, promoted 33 June 1824, died 14 November 1841
- Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, appointed 6 January 1842, resigned 20 May 1879
Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant:
- Lt-Col Sir Archibald Hope, 12th Baronet, of Craighall, appointed 28 February 1856, resigned 28 December 1877
- Lt-Col Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, promoted 23 January 1878
- Lt-Col Edward J. Grant, CB, appointed 7 December 1898
- Lt-Col Lord Henry Montagu-Douglas Scott, promoted 11 November 1905
- Lt-Col John Egerton, 4th Earl of Ellesmere, promoted 11 November 1912
- Lt-Col Edward Lisle Strutt, CBE, DSO, promoted 6 January 1919
See also
- Militia (Great Britain)
- Militia (United Kingdom)
- Duke of Edinburgh's Own Edinburgh Artillery
- Royal Scots
Footnotes
- ^ It is incorrect to describe the British Militia as 'irregular': throughout their history they were equipped and trained exactly like the line regiments of the regular army, and once embodied in time of war they were fulltime professional soldiers for the duration of their enlistment.
- ^ Some sources state that it was designated the Edinburghshire Regiment of Militia, or simply the Edinburgh Militia,[16] or the Edinburghshire North British Regiment of Militia.[17]
- ^ The cadre equated to the permanent staff of the established English militia regiments.
Notes
- ^ Phillips, pp. 46–54.
- ^ Dudgeon, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Weaver Chapter 18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hay, pp. 232–5.
- ^ Dudgeon, p. 5.
- ^ Hay, pp. 107–9.
- ^ Scobie.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 16–20.
- ^ Fortescue, Vol III, p. 294.
- ^ Money Barnes, p. 86.
- ^ Western, pp. 162–7, 208–9.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 21–2.
- ^ Western, p. 219.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 6, 22–3.
- ^ Western, pp. 223, 252.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Parkyn.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Frederick, pp. 299–301.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 23–4.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 24–9.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 29–33.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 34–5.
- ^ a b c Dudgeon, Table B.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 35–6.
- ^ a b Baldry.
- ^ a b Dudgeon, p. 76.
- ^ Fortescue, Vol V, pp. 167–8, 198–203, 210–1, 229.
- ^ Knight, pp. 238, 437–47.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 45, 51, 59, 76–7.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 36–58; Appendices V & VI.
- ^ Brown.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 58–67.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 67–71.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 71–76.
- ^ a b Dudgeon, pp. 77–81.
- ^ Hay, p. 154.
- ^ Hay, pp. 154–5.
- ^ a b c Dunlop, pp. 42–52.
- ^ Grierson, pp. 27–8.
- ^ a b c Litchfield, pp. 1–7.
- ^ Spiers, Army & Society, pp. 91–2.
- ^ Frederick, p. 982.
- ^ Hay, pp. 205–6.
- ^ Litchfield, pp. 78–83.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Army List, various dates.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 82–86.
- ^ a b Cardwell reply to Parliamentary Question 23 March 1869.
- ^ a b Dudgeon, pp. 87–9.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 89–98.
- ^ Grierson, 84–5, 113, 120.
- ^ Spiers, Late Victorian Army, pp. 97, 102.
- ^ a b Spiers, Late Victorian Army, pp. 126–7.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 8–9, 100–6.
- ^ Spiers, Army & Society, pp. 195–6.
- ^ Spiers, Late Victorian Army, pp. 4, 15, 19.
- ^ Dudgeon, pp. 107–19.
- ^ Spiers, Army and Society, p. 239.
- ^ Amery, Vol IV, Appendix to Chapters I–XIV.
- ^ Amery, Vol IV, pp. 421–8.
- ^ Amery, Vol V, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Amery, Vol V, pp. 303–9, 323–4.
- ^ Dunlop, pp. 131–40, 158-62.
- ^ Spiers, Army & Society, pp. 243–2, 254.
- ^ Dunlop, pp. 270–2.
- ^ a b Frederick, pp. vi–vii.
- ^ Spiers, Army & Society, pp. 275–7.
- ^ a b James, pp. 42–3.
- ^ a b Royal Scots at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ "No. 28937". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 October 1914. p. 8222.
- ^ "No. 30128". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1917. p. 5837.
- ^ "History of the Private Members Club, Edinburgh". The Royal Scots Club. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Becke, Pt 3b, Appendix I.
- ^ James, Appendices II & III.
- ^ Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 55–9.
- ^ Frederick, p. 258.
- ^ James, p. 103.
- ^ Training Reserve at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ Dudgeon, p. 120.
- ^ Dudgeon, Table C.
- ^ Hart's.
References
- L.S. Amery (ed), The Times History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902, London: Sampson Low, Marston, 6 Vols 1900–09.
- W.Y. Baldry, 'Order of Precedence of Militia Regiments', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 15, No 57 (Spring 1936), pp. 5–16.
- Maj R. Money Barnes, The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments, London: Seeley Service, 1956/Sphere 1972.
- Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
- Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division, London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-41-X.
- Steve Brown, 'Home Guard: The Forces to Meet the Expected French Invasion/1 September 1805' at The Napoleon Series (archived at the Wayback Machine).
- Maj R.C. Dudgeon, History of the Edinburgh, or Queen's Regiment Light Infantry Militia (now) Third Battalion The Royal Scots, Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1882/Bibliolife, nd, ISBN 978-1-10368643-8.
- Col John K. Dunlop, The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938.
- Sir John Fortescue, A History of the British Army, Vol III, 2nd Edn, London: Macmillan, 1911.
- Sir John Fortescue, A History of the British Army, Vol V, 1803–1807, London: Macmillan, 1910.
- J.B.M. Frederick, Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978, Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3.
- Lt-Col ISBN 0-947898-81-6.
- Lt-Col H.G. Hart, The New Annual Army List, and Militia List (various dates from 1840).
- Col George Jackson Hay, An Epitomized History of the Militia (The Constitutional Force), London:United Service Gazette, 1905/Ray Westlake Military Books, 1987 ISBN 0-9508530-7-0.
- Brig E.A. James, British Regiments 1914–18, London: Samson Books, 1978/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9.
- Roger Knight, Britain Against Napoleon: The Organization of Victory 1793–1815', London: Allen Lane, 2013/Penguin, 2014, ISBN 978-0-141-03894-0.
- Norman E.H. Litchfield, The Militia Artillery 1852–1909 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges), Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1987, ISBN 0-9508205-1-2.
- H.G. Paryn, 'Scottish Militia Regiments 1798–1881: Their Badges and Buttons', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 26, No 106 (Summer 1948), pp. 49–56.
- Gervase Phillips, The Anglo-Scots Wars 1513–1550, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1999, ISBN 0-85115-746-7.
- Maj I.H. Mackay Scobie, 'The Argyll or Campbell Militia, 1745–6', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 1946, Vol 24, No 97 (Spring 1946), pp. 12–29.
- Edward M. Spiers, The Army and Society 1815–1914, London: Longmans, 1980, ISBN 0-582-48565-7.
- Edward M. Spiers, The Late Victorian Army 1868–1902, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992/Sandpiper Books, 1999, ISBN 0-7190-2659-8.
- J.R. Western, The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660–1802, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965.