The 1st Royal Lancashire Militia (The Duke of Lancaster's Own) was an auxiliary regiment raised in the county of Lancashire in North West England during the 17th Century. Primarily intended for home defence, it saw active service in Ireland under King William III, as well as against the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745. It spent long periods on defence duties during the wars of the 18th Century and early 19th Century, and was stationed on the Ionian Islands during the Crimean War. It later became part of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) and saw active service in the Second Boer War. After its conversion to the Special Reserve under the Haldane Reforms, it supplied reinforcements to the fighting battalions during World War I. After a shadowy postwar existence the unit was finally disbanded in 1953.
Background
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. This legislation placed selected men, the 'Trained Bands', under the command of a Lord Lieutenant appointed by the monarch; this is seen as the starting date for the organised county militia in England. The trained bands were an important element in the country's defence at the time of the Armada in the 1580s, and control of the bands was an area of dispute between King Charles I and Parliament that led to the English Civil War. Lord Wharton had been appointed Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire by Parliament in 1641, and on the outbreak of hostilities in July 1642 he attempted to seize the trained bands' magazine at Manchester. However, he was forestalled by Lord Strange and William Farington (appointed Commissioner of Array by the King), who had already gained control of the magazines at Liverpool and Preston for the Royalists. The resulting skirmish at Manchester on 15 July, when Strange and his men were driven out by Wharton's Parliamentarians, was among the first battles of the war.
Once Parliament had established full control in 1648 it passed new Militia Acts that replaced lords lieutenant with county commissioners, who were appointed by Parliament or the Council of State, after which the term 'Trained Band' began to disappear in most counties. Under the Commonwealth and Protectorate, the militia received pay when called out and operated alongside the New Model Army to control the country.
Old County Regiment
After the Restoration of the Monarchy, the English Militia was re-established by the Militia Act of 1661 under the control of the king's lords-lieutenant, the men to be selected by ballot. It was popularly seen as the 'Constitutional Force' to counterbalance a 'Standing Army', a concept that was tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported Cromwell's military dictatorship, and almost the whole burden of home defence and internal security was entrusted to the militia.
The Lancashire Militia were called out in 1663 when there were rumours of plots against the new regime, and no sooner had they been sent home in October than they were called out again on receipt of new information. Some counties were slacking in training and equipping their men: in 1674 most of the weapons of the Lancashire Militia were found to be defective, and many had to be replaced again in 1689.
Nine Years' War
Following the Glorious Revolution, in which King William III supplanted James II, the militia were called out in 1689. The Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, William Stanley, 9th Earl of Derby, organised three regiments of foot and three Troops of horse from the County palatine of Lancaster: Colonel the Earl of Derby – 7 companies Colonel Roger Nowell – 7 companies Colonel Alexander Rigby – 8 companies The Earl of Derby's Troop Captain Thomas Greenhalgh's Troop Captain Sir Roger Bradshaigh's Troop.