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, 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.
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.
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. The 1st Somerset Militia was formed at Taunton, the 2nd at Bath, and both received their arms on 22 March 1759.
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.