It is worth reading the following about the different types of militia and the history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(Great_Britain) 1757-1797 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(United_Kingdom) 1797- to date https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeomanry Yeomanry Note the practice of stationing troops from other parts was used by the Romans to ensure the troops had no local loyalties. Ireland was always garrisoned by mainland troops and Irish Regiments had a reserve battalion. Cheers Paul -----Original Message----- From: DEVON [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Mallett Sent: 16 January 2017 16:11 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DEV] North Devon Militia C1811 For comparison, the South Devon Militia were in Waterford in Ireland in 1799 as there is a memorial in the local church. I understand that militia would serve in their own county unless there was an emergency. The other ranks of the militia were drawn from the working class so couldn't always be relied to police fellow workers whereas the yeomanry cavalry came from a more middle class background. Recruitment to the militia was by conscription but there were many exemptions and would have only taken in a small percentage of the adult male population. -----Original Message----- From: DEVON [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Diana Trenchard Sent: 15 January 2017 21:57 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DEV] North Devon Militia C1811 I should have added that Militia men did not serve abroad, only within the UK, which at that time included the whole of Ireland plus the Channel Islands. They were raised as independent county Militia, and did not normally serve within their own county. This latter was because they also served as the policemen of the time, being called out to quell riots or to aid the Revenue men in catching smugglers. If they were serving locally they might encounter relatives or friends among the 'baddies'. Hence their posting far away from their home county. I've followed the Dorset Militia in places as far apart as Ireland, Scotland and Kent amongst other places. The fact that Bev has found them in Plymouth suggests to me (but I may well be wrong) that they were en route to or from the Channel Islands or Ireland for example. Diana ------------------------------------------ The DEVON-L mailing list is co-sponsored by GENUKI/Devon http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/ and the Devon FHS (http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/ ) List archive for Devon can be found at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=devon ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------------------ The DEVON-L mailing list is co-sponsored by GENUKI/Devon http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/ and the Devon FHS (http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/ ) List archive for Devon can be found at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=devon ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message