The Special Reserve "from Militia": and Reservists in General

[Muerrisch]

There is rather a lot of misunderstanding regarding the formation and purpose of the SR.

Here is the Army Order.

The page sequence herein is wrong: scroll down for first page and thereafter use the page numbers on top of each scan

[FROGSMILE]

The concept is similar to subsequent arrangements.  Special Reservists, men who join directly, train annually, and are auxiliaries drawn from the civil population, ready to bolster regular battalions with reinforcements when necessary (embodied).  Then there were Regular Reservists, men who had completed a period of regular (colour) service, but had an additional period to serve out as on-call from civilian life when needed (in extremis).  Finally the Territorial Force, also men who join directly from the civil population, but who train weekly and (on paper) are predominantly intended to be a home defence force (when mobilised). 

Edited 13 October , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Muerrisch]

 

 

1 hour ago, FROGSMILE said:

The concept is similar to subsequent arrangements.  Special Reservists, men who join directly, train annually, and are auxiliaries drawn from the civil population, ready to bolster regular battalions with reinforcements when necessary (embodied).  Then there were Regular Reservists, men who had completed a period of regular (colour) service, but had an additional period to serve out as on-call from civilian life when needed (in extremis).  Finally the Territorial Force, also men who join directly from the civil population, but who train weekly and (on paper) are predominantly intended to be a home defence force (when mobilised). 

SR when enlisted did 6 months solid initial training and were mobilised for war not embodied.

TF were embodied for war not mobilised

Regular Reservists of Section A accepted terms that fell far short of in extremis. They were on full Regular Pay.

[HERITAGE PLUS]

Thanks for posting this Muerrisch, it is very helpful.

 

Dave

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, Muerrisch said:

 

 

SR when enlisted did 6 months solid initial training and were mobilised for war not embodied.

TF were embodied for war not mobilised

Regular Reservists of Section A accepted terms that fell far short of in extremis. They were on full Regular Pay.

I wasn’t trying to dispute anything you said at all. Just musing that the results stayed very similar until quite recently.

Semantics are interesting and I’d like to understand a bit more.  Militia had always completed ‘up to’ 6-months initial training and been ‘embodied’ (The Constitutional Force, Jackson Hay, refers), so I’m puzzled that their direct successors should suddenly not be.  What is the rationale and specific authority for that?  Following on from that, in what way were Territorials now ‘embodied’ (as opposed to mobilised) given that they were initially for home defence, just as their predecessor Volunteer Force had been?  
I was aware of the different, high readiness terms and conditions for the section A regular reserve, I meant only that to call up the regular reserve generally required (I think) the sanction of parliament, didn’t it?  These queries are in a spirit of genuine interest and not in search of a quarrel.

 

P.S.  Thank you for posting the scans above, it’s useful to see the precise wording.

Edited 13 October , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Keith_history_buff]

Thank you for having taken the time to scan this and to share on the forum. I think the late Martin Gillott would have been very interested to have read this.

[Muerrisch]

17 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

I wasn’t trying to dispute anything you said at all. Just musing that the results stayed very similar until quite recently.

Semantics are interesting and I’d like to understand a bit more.  Militia had always completed ‘up to’ 6-months initial training and been ‘embodied’ (The Constitutional Force, Jackson Hay, refers), so I’m puzzled that their direct successors should suddenly not be.  What is the rationale and specific authority for that?  Following on from that, in what way were Territorials now ‘embodied’ (as opposed to mobilised) given that they were initially for home defence, just as their predecessor Volunteer Force had been?  
I was aware of the different, high readiness terms and conditions for the section A regular reserve, I meant only that to call up the regular reserve generally required (I think) the sanction of parliament, didn’t it?  These queries are in a spirit of genuine interest and not in search of a quarrel.

 

P.S.  Thank you for posting the scans above, it’s useful to see the precise wording.

• The whole point of the SR was that the Militia were not readily available to fight in the Boer War and the SR was immediately available either as drafts or formed bodies. On Mobilization they were to deploy from the Depot to vacated Regular Barracks on Declaration.
• ·       The Special Reserve was part of the Army First Class Reserve, which comprised Sections A, B, D and the SR.
•        Infantry reserve battalions will on mobilisation take over the surplus reservists and men left behind by the regular battalion. (Regulations for the Special Reserve 1911 paragraph 2

 

•       Hansard

CALLING OUT OF THE ARMY RESERVE AND EMBODIMENT OF THE TERRITORIAL FORCE.

HL Deb 04 August 1914 vol 17 c321321

§Message from the King: Delivered by the Lord Privy Seal (M. Crewe), and read as follows:

§"The present state of public affairs in "Europe constituting in the opinion "of His Majesty a case of great emergency within the meaning of the Acts of "Parliament in that behalf, His Majesty "deems it proper to provide additional "means for the Military Service, and, "therefore, in pursuance of these Acts, "His Majesty has thought it right to "communicate to the House of Lords "that His Majesty is, by proclamation, "about to order that the Army Reserve "shall be called out on permanent ser "vice; that soldiers who would other "wise be entitled, in pursuance of the "terms of their enlistment to be trans "ferred to the Reserve, shall continue in "Army Service for such period, not "exceeding the period for which they "might be required to serve if they were "transferred to the Reserve and called "out for permanent service, as to His "Majesty may seem expedient; and that "such directions as may seem necessary "may be given for embodying the Terri "torial Force and for making such special "arrangements as may be proper with "regard to units or individuals whose "services may be required in other than "a military capacity."

§

•       Section A men, limited to a total of 6000, with only about 50 from each infantry regiment, of Good character or better, with superior musketry skills, two years liability on full pay and be called out without Royal Proclamation. [I have SR Regs in the collection if precise reference is sought]

17 hours ago, Keith_history_buff said:

Thank you for having taken the time to scan this and to share on the forum. I think the late Martin Gillott would have been very interested to have read this.

 

He did! We collaborated on a three-part series of articles in ST!. I intend to add the articles on this thread.

[Keith_history_buff]

2 minutes ago, Muerrisch said:

• The whole point of the SR was that the Militia were not readily available to fight in the Boer War and the SR was immediately available either as drafts or formed bodies. On Mobilization they were to deploy from the Depot to vacated Regular Barracks on Declaration.
• ·       The Special Reserve was part of the Army First Class Reserve, which comprised Sections A, B, D and the SR.
•        Infantry reserve battalions will on mobilisation take over the surplus reservists and men left behind by the regular battalion. (Regulations for the Special Reserve 1911 paragraph 2

 

 

Thanks, the phrase marked in dark green font by myself is of particular interest.

[Muerrisch]

1 minute ago, Keith_history_buff said:

 

Thanks, the phrase marked in dark green font by myself is of particular interest.

 

You definitely need the articles. I will scan them.

[FROGSMILE]

2 hours ago, Muerrisch said:

• The whole point of the SR was that the Militia were not readily available to fight in the Boer War and the SR was immediately available either as drafts or formed bodies. On Mobilization they were to deploy from the Depot to vacated Regular Barracks on Declaration.
• ·       The Special Reserve was part of the Army First Class Reserve, which comprised Sections A, B, D and the SR.
•        Infantry reserve battalions will on mobilisation take over the surplus reservists and men left behind by the regular battalion. (Regulations for the Special Reserve 1911 paragraph 2

 

•       Hansard

CALLING OUT OF THE ARMY RESERVE AND EMBODIMENT OF THE TERRITORIAL FORCE.

HL Deb 04 August 1914 vol 17 c321321

§Message from the King: Delivered by the Lord Privy Seal (M. Crewe), and read as follows:

§"The present state of public affairs in "Europe constituting in the opinion "of His Majesty a case of great emergency within the meaning of the Acts of "Parliament in that behalf, His Majesty "deems it proper to provide additional "means for the Military Service, and, "therefore, in pursuance of these Acts, "His Majesty has thought it right to "communicate to the House of Lords "that His Majesty is, by proclamation, "about to order that the Army Reserve "shall be called out on permanent ser "vice; that soldiers who would other "wise be entitled, in pursuance of the "terms of their enlistment to be trans "ferred to the Reserve, shall continue in "Army Service for such period, not "exceeding the period for which they "might be required to serve if they were "transferred to the Reserve and called "out for permanent service, as to His "Majesty may seem expedient; and that "such directions as may seem necessary "may be given for embodying the Terri "torial Force and for making such special "arrangements as may be proper with "regard to units or individuals whose "services may be required in other than "a military capacity."

§

•       Section A men, limited to a total of 6000, with only about 50 from each infantry regiment, of Good character or better, with superior musketry skills, two years liability on full pay and be called out without Royal Proclamation. [I have SR Regs in the collection if precise reference is sought]

 

He did! We collaborated on a three-part series of articles in ST!. I intend to add the articles on this thread.

Thank you Muerrisch, it’s especially interesting to me that the TF were to be ‘embodied’ when required after 1908.

I fully understood that the section A of the Regular Reserve did not require an act of Parliament to call them out, that was the whole purpose of their high readiness.

It would be very enlightening to compare these post 1908 measures with those that apply currently under the new arrangements of the Army Reserve, I doubt that there has been huge change but imagine there is some.

Edited 14 October , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Muerrisch]

Erratum: the SR were part of the Army Reserve, but not in the First Class [Sections A B D]. Nevertheless, they did indeed Mobilize.

 

Also, posting the three ST! articles is giving me trouble ......... I will try to crack it.

 

Finally, I have the equivalent Army Order bringing the TF into life from the ashes of the VF. It is a long order but I can scan the more important pages if there is demand.

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, Muerrisch said:

Erratum: the SR were part of the Army Reserve, but not in the First Class [Sections A B D]. Nevertheless, they did indeed Mobilize.

 

Also, posting the three ST! articles is giving me trouble ......... I will try to crack it.

 

Finally, I have the equivalent Army Order bringing the TF into life from the ashes of the VF. It is a long order but I can scan the more important pages if there is demand.

It makes sense to add the VF to TF details for the sense of completeness in a single thread.

 

NB.  With regards to erratum I’m now rather confused by this embodied/mobilised differential.  It seemed a lot clearer pre-1908.

Edited 14 October , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Keith_history_buff]

Quote

 It strikes me that just looking at 6 RWFs records...... What surprises me is why the other 2 young men were signed up for the 6 years Special Reservists when those terms were obviously going to be fairly redundant very quickly. 

Mention of a SR enlistee on another thread does beg the question as to curtailment of SR enlistments so that recruits could join for Short Service under Regular terms.

  

3 hours ago, ss002d6252 said:

#15301 (SR) attested 2 Sep 1914
#15303 (SR) attested 15 Dec 1914
#15306 (SR) attested 14 Dec 1914

 

Craig

 

  

4 hours ago, ss002d6252 said:

The SR was separate to the war time short service of 3 years so in theory a man could attest on a 6 year SR (different periods offered during the war), a 3 year war-time enlistment to the New Army or a 12 year regular army enlistment (And then any TF enlistments). Thinking back, I vaguely recollect that the SR enlistment was halted and re-started at some point in 1914, after the outbreak of war.

 

Several years ago I did some bits with some work that MG was doing and we did come across some men who enlisted on SR terms and were at the front within a matter of a week or so - some of these had Boer War experience but there was no prior military service that could be found for some of them.

 

Craig

 
A quote from the late Martin Gillott

Quote

Where I am definitely confused is what constituted a 'trained man'. The Army Reserve would have men who would be regarded as 'trained'. Ditto the Special Reserve, although the SR would also have recruits undergoing training as it had large annual turnover. The Returns clearly split these two apart. Recruits volunteering as a result of Kitchener's appeal would doubtless have men with prior service who had previous 'training' but whose reserve obligations had expired (the Army Returns up to 1913 will show how many from previous years with a breakdown by age). I wonder how these were split out. I have seen on the other thread that by Dec 1914 the authorities were asking for the numbers of recruits with previous military experience, which suggests they were attuned to this and saw different sub-sections within the pool of volunteers. I wonder if in the months of Sep, Oct, Nov the Regimental depots were effectively filtering the recruits and the Dec directive was essentially formalising and obvious practical response to the challenges of training men fast enough. Is there any evidence that volunteers with prior military experience were separated?

A very interesting response to Martin from Graham Stewart shows that men with prior military service were being identified and prioritised as reinforcements

The quote at the top comes from another old thread, which likewise documents service numbers and enlistment dates to Special Reserve men in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Connaught Rangers

 

[Graham Stewart]

Further to the above please find attached reference to the Special Reserve with regards to "Regulations for Mobilization - 1914".

 

 

 

[Graham Stewart]

With regard to the phrase "Embodiement" and the Territorial Force, please find the attached from Appendix I of T.F. Regulations 1912(amended to the 1st December 1914).

 

 

 

[RussT]

I see that Para 234 of these SR Mobilisation Regs mentions that a reservist might not belong to a unit - anyone know why that might be the case?

 

Regards

 

Russ

 

 

[Muerrisch]

2 hours ago, Graham Stewart said:

With regard to the phrase "Embodiement" and the Territorial Force, please find the attached from Appendix I of T.F. Regulations 1912(amended to the 1st December 1914).

 

 

 

Thank you very much Graham. I note an interesting distinction regarding embodiment of the TF. This appears to have been automatic if the whole Army Reserve was mobilized ...... that is Sections A, B, D and the SR.

However, if only the First Class [which excluded the SR] was mobilized, the embodiment of the TF was not necessarily simultaneous, but could be [with caveats] a month later.

an interesting bit of fine print. [to an anorak ........]

[Graham Stewart]

The word "embodiement" is a curious one when dealing with the UK's Reserve Forces and it was a word that was indeed used by the Militia prior to the formation of the Special Reserve. I have amongst my N.F. book/magazine collection a pamphlet entitled - "A Short Account of the 5th Battn, Northumberland Fusiliers" - during the South African War. This was formerly it's 3rd(Militia)Bn prior to the raising of two more regular battalions(3rd & 4th in 1900), and as its Militia Battalion in 1899, it was one of the first units to be called up. In the account, it goes on the say;-

 

"Eventually the Government decided to call out the Militia, and the 3rd Bn, Northumberland Fusiliers were among the first to be embodied"

"The embodiement was carried out in three portions, the first portion, consisting of 27 officers and 352 Rank & File, were embodied at Newcastle, on December 12th 1899. The Battalion proceeded to Victoria Barracks, Portsmouth, and took over the details left behind by the 2nd Bn on proceeding to South Africa."

 

And it goes on;-

 

"On January 14th 1900, the Battalion was asked on parade whether they would volunteer for service abroad. All volunteered with the exception of seven."

On the 16th(January), a record batch of 148 was embodied, and on February 3rd, the remainder of the Battalion was embodied, and the whole embarked on the 10th(February) in S.S. Pavonia for Malta".

 

The Battalion was "Disembodied" in 1901.

[Muerrisch]

For completion:

 

Territorial Force.

The officers

Applications for temporary commissions from the ranks of the TF were made using Army form MT 423. We have seen above that the TF was seen by some as socially inferior to the Special Reserve.  TF officers were even regarded by some as being social climbers.  Applications for  direct TF commissions from those of pure European descent were to be made to the Secretary of the County Association, candidates could be as young as 17 years, and the various OTC certificates had beneficial effects, fitting a man for advancement [on due seniority] to  lieutenant [A certificate] or captain [B] without further examination.  Commissions were granted by the Sovereign and appeared in the London Gazette ²⁹.

Training for the first year was 40 drills each of one hour, plus attendance at annual camp, and successful shooting of the recruits’ musketry course.  In subsequent years 10 drills had to be completed before annual camp, and an annual musketry course shot.  For advancement to captain, a School of Musketry course was mandatory.  Pre-war an outfit allowance of £20 was paid, raised to £40 by AO 158 of 1913.  Service dress was the only dress necessary, although many purchased extra kit, and, in addition to the usual rate of 2Lt pay, a Field Allowance of 2/6- per day was payable.

[Graham Stewart]

On 26/10/2020 at 19:33, RussT said:

I see that Para 234 of these SR Mobilisation Regs mentions that a reservist might not belong to a unit - anyone know why that might be the case?

 

Regards

 

Russ

 

 

I believe that this actually refers to Special Reservists, who belong to "Corps" units, such as the A.S.C., which were not to be found within Counties, which primarily consisted of Infantry and Artillery units.

 

I have in my collection a list entitled "Stations of Units of the Regular Forces, Special Reserve, Militia, and Territorial Force" which was published on the 1st July 1913, which runs to 72 pages, and in the Cavalry section, the "Special Reserve" units of the Cavalry were the North Irish Horse, South Irish Horse and King Edwards Horse. The remainder of Reserve units within the Cavalry were Yeomanry units who were part of the Territorial Force. Whereas in the Royal Engineers the "Special Reserve" units were the Royal Anglesey and Royal Monmouthshire.

 

The Militia(which ceased to exist in the UK) within this publication refers to Empire units, such as the Malta Division, R.E. and so on.

[Keith_history_buff]

17 hours ago, Muerrisch said:

For completion:

 

Territorial Force.

The officers

We have seen above that the TF was seen by some as socially inferior to the Special Reserve.  TF officers were even regarded by some as being social climbers. 

I had got the impression that in the 19th Century, the other ranks of the predecessor to the TF were composed of "gentlemen volunteers" whereas those of the Militia were lower in society, so interesting to see the above.

[Muerrisch]

3 hours ago, Keith_history_buff said:

I had got the impression that in the 19th Century, the other ranks of the predecessor to the TF were composed of "gentlemen volunteers" whereas those of the Militia were lower in society, so interesting to see the above.

The judgement was by Lord Reith's father, quoted by Reith [of BBC fame]

[FROGSMILE]

On 27/10/2020 at 13:58, Graham Stewart said:

The word "embodiement" is a curious one when dealing with the UK's Reserve Forces and it was a word that was indeed used by the Militia prior to the formation of the Special Reserve. I have amongst my N.F. book/magazine collection a pamphlet entitled - "A Short Account of the 5th Battn, Northumberland Fusiliers" - during the South African War. This was formerly it's 3rd(Militia)Bn prior to the raising of two more regular battalions(3rd & 4th in 1900), and as its Militia Battalion in 1899, it was one of the first units to be called up. In the account, it goes on the say;-

 

"Eventually the Government decided to call out the Militia, and the 3rd Bn, Northumberland Fusiliers were among the first to be embodied"

"The embodiement was carried out in three portions, the first portion, consisting of 27 officers and 352 Rank & File, were embodied at Newcastle, on December 12th 1899. The Battalion proceeded to Victoria Barracks, Portsmouth, and took over the details left behind by the 2nd Bn on proceeding to South Africa."

 

And it goes on;-

 

"On January 14th 1900, the Battalion was asked on parade whether they would volunteer for service abroad. All volunteered with the exception of seven."

On the 16th(January), a record batch of 148 was embodied, and on February 3rd, the remainder of the Battalion was embodied, and the whole embarked on the 10th(February) in S.S. Pavonia for Malta".

 

The Battalion was "Disembodied" in 1901.

Thanks for the explanation Graham, much clearer now.

[RussT]

4 hours ago, Graham Stewart said:

I believe that this actually refers to Special Reservists, who belong to "Corps" units, such as the A.S.C., which were not to be found within Counties, which primarily consisted of Infantry and Artillery units.

 

I have in my collection a list entitled "Stations of Units of the Regular Forces, Special Reserve, Militia, and Territorial Force" which was published on the 1st July 1913, which runs to 72 pages, and in the Cavalry section, the "Special Reserve" units of the Cavalry were the North Irish Horse, South Irish Horse and King Edwards Horse. The remainder of Reserve units within the Cavalry were Yeomanry units who were part of the Territorial Force. Whereas in the Royal Engineers the "Special Reserve" units were the Royal Anglesey and Royal Monmouthshire.

 

The Militia(which ceased to exist in the UK) within this publication refers to Empire units, such as the Malta Division, R.E. and so on.

 

Thanks - that makes sense.

 

I wonder - were there SR for the other Corps e.g. RAMC besides ASC & RE?

 

Regards

 

Russ

 

Edit: I now see that the Order (page 11) specifically states the the RAMC Militia will not be carried over into an SR equivalent.

 

[Muerrisch]

the poster