Formed in 1337, the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey can claim to be the oldest sub-unit of the British Army,[1] although, because it is not a regiment, and was disbanded for decades in the late 20th century, it is not the most senior.
A militia force was organised in accordance with the order on 24 July 1203 of King John to provide a "sufficiency of men and money to defend the Island from the enemy".[2] In 1214 Eustace the Monk, a pirate, based in Sark arrived under orders from the King of France to harry the Channel Islands. In Guernsey Eustace met a newly raised and locally armed defence force comprising the whole manhood of the Island. This could be considered to be a militia. Jersey would almost certainly have made the same preparations.[3]
In 1336, the exiled King David II of Scotland, from his base in France, raided the island of Jersey.[4] The following year, in response to the threat of a repeat of this incursion, King Edward III ordered Thomas de Ferrers, Warden of the Isles, to levy and equip a militia of "all men capable of bearing arms, and to form them into companies of thousands, hundreds and twenties, and to lead them well-armed and arrayed for the defence of the islands".[5][6][7][8] This created an organised, compulsory, and unpaid Island militia.
Jersey was invaded by French troops in 1461. They were supporters of the Lancastrian force during the Wars of the Roses, as was the Governor of Mont Orgueil, who had surrendered the castle to the French. The militia was not strong enough to retake the castle and instead controlled half of the Island with their base in Grosnez Castle[9]:55–6 where they stayed until 1468 when the invaders were expelled by a Yorkist English army led by Richard Harliston, supported by the militia commanded by the Seigneur of Saint Ouen and after a siege of Mont Orgueil that lasted 19 weeks.[10] The help given by the St Ouen militia earned them the honour to parade on the right flank of future militia parades.[3]
In 1545, the Jersey Militia consisted of 12 parochial bands, many of which were called into action in 1549 when a force of French pirates, who had captured Sark as a base for their activities landed at Bouley Bay, advancing inland they met the militia who defeated them and driving them back down to the beach, killing up to a thousand in pursuit.[9]:61–2 In 1555 Parish Companies were ordered to practice every Sunday, weather permitting, firing Arquebus, Bow and arrow and Crossbow.[3]
17th Century
A review undertaken in 1617 showed over 3,000 men, although their arms were defective, with only 12 pikes between them, few muskets, and many were armed with just staves.[9]:407 In 1622 they were organized into three regiments, the North, West and East. The use of the title Colonel for the officer in charge of a regiment appears around 1620, prior to this the commander was called a Captain.[9]:405
During the English Civil War, the Militia had divided loyalties, initially in March 1643 marching on St. Helier to support the arrest of Philippe de Carteret (the Royalist Governor and Bailiff). However, by the end of the year, they rallied to the Royalist cause with the arrival of George Carteret on the Island. The parliamentary supporters were imprisoned or forced to leave the Island and having their property confiscated.[11] In 1646 The future Charles II visited the island and when he returned in 1649, following the execution of his father in London, a ceremony was held in the Royal Square in St. Helier on 17 February 1649 where Charles was publicly proclaimed King (following the first public proclamation in Edinburgh on 5 February 1649).[12]
In October 1651 Cromwell sent a fleet of over 80 ships and military force to capture the Island. The parliamentary ships delayed landing for several days, moving from bay to bay, being followed by the 2,000 militia, until after three nights they started landing at St Ouen's Bay. Opposed by a troop of militia cavalry, the invaders suffered casualties, but the militia infantry were dispersed and tired after three days of marching and could not reinforce the landing point faster than the parliamentarian troops were being landed from the ships.[9]:76–80 Outnumbered, the militia fell back, 340 retiring into Elizabeth Castle, where they had provisions for 8 months, others to Mont Orgueil which was besieged first and following negotiations surrendered with 40 Royalists supporters, who wanted to continue the fight, being allowed to go to Elizabeth Castle,[11] which was then put under siege and after a week, a lucky shot hit a powder store which exploded, killing 6 and burying 40 under rubble. Charles wrote to the garrison to give them permission to surrender, although they held out until 12 December when, following negotiations, the defenders were permitted to travel to France with their money and possessions and the castle surrendered.[11]
The militia was reorganized and uniformed in scarlet by the Governor of Jersey, Sir Thomas Morgan, in 1678, and in 1685 a Troop of Horse was raised (which later became Dragoons).
Members of the JFS RE(M) wearing traditional full dress uniform
18th Century
Around 1730, the militia was divided into five regiments, based on the Parishes of the island, the 4th Regiment (that of the parishes of Saint Lawrence and Saint Helier) consisting of two battalions. Compulsory military service was introduced in 1771 and the militia was increased to a Regiment of Cavalry, a Regiment of Artillery and five Regiments of Infantry.
On 1 May 1779, a Franco-Dutch force attempted a landing at St Ouen's Bay.[9]:469 Early that morning lookouts sighted five large vessels and a great number of boats some three leagues off the coast, proceeding towards the coast in order by a coup de main to effect a landing. Guns on the cutters and small craft supporting the landing fired grapeshot at the defenders on the coast. The defenders, the 78th Regiment of Foot and the Jersey Militia, together with some field artillery force marched to St Ouens bay, the proposed landing beach, the artillery was dragged through the sand of the beaches, arriving in time to oppose the landing. The defenders were able to prevent the landing, suffering only a few men wounded when a cannon burst.[13] The enemy fleet moved to St. Brelade's bay, only to see more defenders ready for them. The proposed invasion was abandoned.[9]:469
The invasion was attempted again but the protecting fleet was intercepted and nearly annihilated. A third attempt managed to get most men ashore undetected on the night of 5 January 1781. Several ships were wrecked losing around 200 men. Marching to St. Helier, the French arrived before dawn, taking the Governor prisoner. Messages were sent to alert the Island Regiments and the Militia who mustered outside the town.[9]:469–72 The Militia, displaying enthusiastic loyalty, fought alongside Regiments of the regular British Army at the Battle of Jersey, when together they defeated an attempted French invasion (intended to remove the threat the island posed to American shipping in the American Revolutionary War).[14] 50 regulars and 30 militia were casualties, very few of the French force escaped.[9]:473
On 28 May 1778 the Governor of Jersey, Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway, submitted plans to Lord Weymouth for the construction of 30 coastal towers to forestall, or at least impede French incursions on the island. King George III granted approval and funding on 5 July 1778.[15] To be manned by the militia and known as Conway's towers, 23 were eventually built.
Discontent amongst Methodist militia troopers during the 1780s and 1790s about having to parade on a Sunday was eventually listened to, with the Privy Council agreeing to allow Methodists to drill on weekdays.[3]
19th Century
Three Martello towers were built, 1808 Portlet, 1811 Icho, La Tour de Vinde was completed in 1814 they were built to aid defence of possible landing places.
In 1831, the Militia was designated the Royal Jersey Militia on the 50th anniversary of this battle.[9]:407 The facings on uniforms were changed from buff to blue.[3] In 1837 there were five regiments, formed into six battalions, each with a company of artillery. Every resident from 19 to 65 bears arms with 16- to 18-year-olds being trained weekly. The whole militia is unpaid.[9]:407 The regiments were re-organized on several occasions between 1870, when the Troop of Dragoons was disbanded, and the end of the century.
In 1844 Arsenals were built in each parish, which enabled the artillery to be relocated from the Parish Churches.[3]
In 1881 under General Order No 130, the 1st (West), 2nd (East) and 3rd (South) Regiments were permitted the honour of ‘Jersey 1781' [3]
A minor mutiny occurred in 1891 at a parade when men in the West Regiment objected to where they were to stand, calling out "N'Bouogi Pas!". A small number of the ringleaders were found guilty, spent a few days in the prison and were then treated to a meal out in the town by their comrades.[16]
20th Century
In 1905 the militia came under the Army Act and was reorganised to create a regiment of artillery comprising two field and two garrison companies. An engineer company, a medical company and three battalions of infantry.[3]
In 1915, one company was detached to the 7th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Irish Rifles.[17] The militia remained in Jersey throughout the war although many of the men went to serve in British Regiments, 6,292 Jerseymen serving in total, with 862 being killed.[18] In 1917, the 7th Battalion was disbanded and its personnel transferred to 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment. Other members of the Regiment served as guards at the Blanches Banques Prisoner of War Camp located at St Brélade.[19]
The Militia was reconstituted in 1921 as one infantry battalion, the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey.
In World War II, the Island was demilitarised, 11 officers and 193 men of the militia left on the SS Hodder to England, where they formed the nucleus of the 11th (Royal Militia Island of Jersey) Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment.[3] It was a training battalion, based in the United Kingdom throughout the war until it was disbanded in 1946. Because the National Service Act did not apply in the Channel Islands, the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey went into suspended animation (sc. it existed on paper, but had no personnel) until it was formally disbanded, along with the other British Militia regiments, in 1953.
Jersey – the largest of the Channel Islands – has been an island for around 6,000 years. Early inhabitation is evidenced by various neolithic monuments and hoards. In the 10th century, Jersey became part of Normandy. When the Normans conquered England in the 11th century, Jersey remained a part of the Duchy of Normandy, but when Normandy and England were finally split in the 13th century, the Channel Islands remained loyal to the English Crown, splitting Jersey politically from mainland Normandy.
Vice-Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy. He was also one of the original lords proprietor of the former British colony of Carolina and New Jersey. Carteret, New Jersey, as well as Carteret County, North Carolina, both in the United States, are named after him. He acquired the manor of Haynes, Bedfordshire, in about 1667.
The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) is the most senior regiment of the British Army Reserve. The regiment was formed in 1539 during the reign of by King Henry VIII, making it the second oldest regiment of the British Army (The Honourable Artillery Company was formed in 1537). The R Mon RE (M) became a militia unit in 1660 and then became a part of the Royal Engineers in 1877.
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers – to form the current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey; a port on the east coast of the Island. It is known as Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and lé Vièr Châté by Jèrriais-speakers. The castle was first referred to as 'Mont Orgeuil' in an ordnance survey made in 1462, when the castle was under French occupation in the late Middle Ages. The castle was the seat of royal authority on Jersey throughout the medieval period and served as the main fortress on the Island until the construction of Elizabeth Castle in 1594. It is classified as a Grade I listed building.
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army that was formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916 to serve in World War I. They fought as part of the British 29th Division. Of the 2,280 men, most of whom came from Guernsey, who fought on the Western Front with the RGLI, 327 were killed and 667 were wounded.
Elizabeth Castle is a castle and tourist attraction, on a tidal island within the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey. Construction was started in the 16th century when the power of the cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships armed with cannons.
Fort George is situated in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, and was built to become the main island military headquarters and to protect barracks to house the island garrison for the British Army, in place of Castle Cornet.
The Battle of Jersey took place on 6 January 1781 when French forces during the Anglo-French War (1778–1783) and the American Revolutionary War unsuccessfully invaded the British-ruled island of Jersey to remove the threat it posed to French and American shipping. Jersey provided a base for British privateers.
The British Militia was the principal military reserve force of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Militia units were repeatedly raised in Great Britain during the Victorian and Edwardian eras for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions. The British Militia was transformed into the Special Reserve under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, which integrated all militia formations into the British Army.
The British Colonial Auxiliary Forces were the various military forces of Britain's colonial empire which were not considered part of the British military proper.
The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison evolved from an independent company, to a company of Royal Garrison Battalion during the American War of Independence, and a steadily growing and diversifying force of artillery and infantry with various supporting corps from the French Revolution onwards. During the American War of Independence, the garrison in Bermuda fell under the military Commander-in-Chief of America. Subsequently, it was part of the Nova Scotia Command until 1868, and was an independent Bermuda Command from then until its closure in 1957.
The Invasion of Jersey was a failed French attack on British-held Jersey in 1779, during the American Revolutionary War.
The British built 15 Guernsey loophole towers at various points along the coast of Guernsey between August 1778 and March 1779 to deter possible French attacks after France had declared itself an ally of the Americans in the American Revolutionary War. Towards the start of the Napoleonic Wars several towers received additional reinforcement in the form of batteries at their bases. Today, 12 towers still survive, three having been destroyed at different times. Two of the survivors, Petit Bôt and Rousse, contain interpretive exhibits that the public may examine.
The Royal Guernsey Militia has a history dating back 800 years. Always loyal to the British Crown, the men were unpaid volunteers whose wish was to defend the Island of Guernsey from foreign invaders.
Between 1642 and 1651 the Channel Islands were involved in an eleven-year-long, wide-scale armed conflict known as the English Civil War, between the Parliamentarians and Royalists over, principally, the manner of England's government and the amount of power the monarch should be able to wield.
Apart from a Roman Fort, there were very few fortifications in Alderney until the mid 19th century. These were then modified and updated in the mid 20th Century by Germans during the occupation period. Alderney at 8 km2 is now one of the most fortified places in the world.
The Channel Islands, Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom, were occupied during the Second World War by Nazi Germany, from 30 June 1940 until May 1945. They were liberated by British forces following the general German surrender.
The island of Guernsey has been fortified for several thousand years, the number of defence locations and complexity of the defence increasing with time, manpower and the improvements in weapons and tactics.
↑ Jansso, Maija. Art and Diplomacy: Seventeenth-Century English Decorated Royal Letters to Russia and the Far East. BRILL, 2015. p.204. ISBN9789004300453.
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