Hi Gordon; I don't know of your Trained Bands but, is there any mention of a Sir William Bowles who was Master of his Majesty's Tents, ?. ?. and Pavilions. In his will Sir William mentions that his son Wm Bartholemew Bowles will take over the office after his decease. I have been unable to find out exactly what was required of this position, or the correct title. In his will of 1681 he mentions that King Charles 11 owed him mega money. Thanks for any info and good luck on your Trained Bands. Mary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon Barlow" <barlow@candw.ky> To: <OLD-ENGLISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2004 7:29 PM Subject: [OEL] Trained Bands > A book I'm reading contains references to "the Trained Bands" of the time of > King Charles I. The book does not explain exactly what their functions > were, or how they were distinguishable from the later county militias. "In > time of peace [the armed forces of the realm] consisted only of the Trained > Bands, but in any national emergency it lay with [the King] to raise and > organise an army." The Trained Bands (always capitalised) participated as > soldiery in the Civil War. > > Would some Lister kindly tell me what the terms of employment were for the > Bands' members, and how they were chosen, and how well they were trained and > by whom? > > Elsewhere I have been told that after 1660 the locally controlled (county?) > militias were paid 8 pounds a year for "homeland defence" and law > enforcement. But were they still called "Trained Bands"? 8 pounds seems a > lot of money: is that figure correct? > > Gordon Barlow > > > ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== > To contact the list administrator: > OLD-ENGLISH-admin@rootsweb.com > >