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THE MERIONETHSHIRE LOCAL MILITIA.(1808—1816).  

TOWARDS the end of 1805 the apprehension of a Napoleonic invasion having become less acute, the government considered the question of formulating a scheme of national defence which would be less costly .than that of the Volunteers.1 The outcome was the passing of an Act2 on the 30th June, 1808, for enabling His Majesty to establish a permanent local militia force. The total number, together with the volunteers, was not to exceed six times the quota of the militia under the Militia Act of 1802.3 The quota for Merionethshire was 726.

Only men between 18 and 30 were to be balloted. The ballot, however, was not resorted to if there was a sufficiency of volunteers.

Voluntary recruits were to receive a bounty of Two Guineas4. By a later Act5 passed in 1809, powers were given to the parochial authorities to offer any bounty up to that sum.

Transferred Volunteers were also entitled to the bounty of Two Guineas. but this ceased to apply except in those cases where the Volunteers were serving before the 1809 Act.

Corps of Volunteer Infantry might transfer themselves bodily to the local militia with the King’s approval. Advantage was taken of this provision by most Volunteer Corps throughout the County with the result that although volunteer corps were not officially disbanded till 1814, they became fewer in number every year subsequent to the passing of the 1808 Act. It must not however be deduced from this that every individual transferred his services. Should. any vacancies remain after the transfer of the Corps they were to be supplied by ballot if not filled voluntarily within three months.

All the Volunteer Corps in Merionethshire: — The Cader Idris Corps, The Penllyn Corps, The Edeyrnion Corps, and the Barmouth Volunteer Company, transferred themselves to the local militia. In the correspondence6 between Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, the Lord Lieutenant, and the Government, with regard to the proposed transfer of the Barmouth Volunteer Company to the local militia, there is an echo of the part played by that Company in preventing the plundering of the vessel that ran ashore and. which is referred to in the previous chapter. The Lord Lieutenant submitted to the Government the propriety of allowing the Company (then part of the Local Militia) to retain their arms in their depôt at Barmouth on the ground that. they were nearly 40 miles distant from Bala7 and were liable to be assembled upon short notice in the event of there being any wreck upon that very dangerous coast. The Lord Lieutenant added that he was the more anxious upon this subject as a great benefit had already been derived from their being called upon for several occasions, particularly in the year 1805, when by their exertions, property to the amount of £6,000 was preserved to the owners of a vessel, which would otherwise in all probability have been plundered.

In dealing with the transfer of the Cader Idris Corps to the local militia, the Lord Lieutenant in a letter8 to the authorities dated 18th December, 1809, hinted at the defective state of discipline in that Corps. This lie attributed to the necessary evil of the volunteer system, as it was natural to expect that, as the immediate danger of invasion passed away, the attention both of officers and men would relax. From the best observations he could obtain, the Lord Lieutenant was of the opinion that what neglect there had been, proceeded rather from the field officers than from the Adjutant or the men.

He concluded by saying that as the law required that upon the disbandment of the Volunteers the local militia should be completed to its full establishment, he was anxious that it should preferably be filled up with men who had already been drilled and had “acquired English sufficient to understand word of command.” The local militia could be called out for annual training for not more than 28 days and to no greater distance than an adjoining County. In case of invasion, however, they could be embodied and marched to any part of Great Britain. They could also be called out by the Lord Lieutenant to suppress riots when their assembly was limited to 14 days only and was to be counted as part of their training.

In both the above cases, they were entitled to .the same pay as the regular Militia, and the wives and families of the men were likewise entitled to parish relief.

The Merioneth Local Militia were raised. in 1808

The following is a list of the Officers9 :

The following is a list of additional Commissions compiled from the "London Gazette"

There were serious riots amongst the Local Militia throughout the Country in 1809. Fortescue attributes these to the pretended right of the men to the guinea allowed under Section 31 of the Act 48 George 111. c. 111, to provide them with necessaries. There were also indications of trouble in Merioneth because the men were discontented as the result of the money being spent on knapsacks instead of being placed in their hands.
In a letter dated 1st July, 180912, to the Earl of Liverpool13 the Lord Lieutenant stated that considerable dissatisfaction had arisen in consequence of the Governments decision that knapsacks should be provided out of the allowance for the provision of necessaries, inasmuch as it was appreciated. that the Government had uniformly defrayed that expense in the first instance for the regular Militia without any charge upon the men, and pointed out that the Act expressly directed that the Local Militia should receive the same allowance as the Regular Militia.

Notwithstanding the dissatisfaction, the men were evidently a well disciplined body. This is to be gathered from resolutions passed at a Court of Quarter Sessions held at Bala14 on 14th July, 1809, before Richard Watkin Price, Esquire, Rice Anwyl, John Lloyd and Thomas. Davies, Clerks, Justices. The resolutions were:

That the thanks of the Magistrates and Grand Jury assembled at this Quarter Sessions, be given to Colonel Price of Rhiwlas, and the rest of the Officers of the Local Militia of the said County, for their highly meritorious conduct during the period of their permanent duty in the said town of Bala, by whose strict attention to discipline, the most orderly behaviour was observed in the Regiment, and that whilst the Court and Jury viewed with pride, the assemblage of so great a body of their neighbours embarked in the Common Cause against the machinations of a sanguinary tyrant, they entertain not a doubt, that if their services should be necessary, they will emulate the noble deeds of their brother Welshmen upon the plains of Maida.
That these resolutions be signed by the Clerk of the Peace in the name of the Court, and presented to Colonel Price and that the same be inserted in the Courier, Chester and Shrewsbury Papers.
By the Court.

At another Court of Quarter Sessions held at Bala on the 13th of July, 1810, the Court thanked the Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and the Privates for their orderly conduct and behaviour while on permanent duty at Bala.

There is nothing of interest in the records as to the activities of the Merionethshire Local Militia from the time of their establishment in 1808 to the time of their disbandment in 1816, except their embodiment in 1815 on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo. Particulars of their mobilisation and of the commencement of their march towards the coast were given in a sermon preached by tbe Rev. E. Roberts, B.A., Rector of Llanfor, when the colours of the Regiment were deposited at the Llanfor Parisb Church on the 18th June, 1914.

The following is an extract from the sermon taken from a local Newspaper15

Then again on a June day 99 years ago at early dawn there was stir and excitement in Bala when hundreds of people had assembled to bid good-bye to the Militia which had been called out to defend their country against a threatened invasion of Napoleon. From the Town Hall to the old shop of Morris the cobbler-now Henblas -a long row of rifles in martial array was to be seen, when all of a sadden the command Fall in brought order out of chaos. The Band filled the air with the minor strains of Boyne Water and Toriad y Dydd, or Taliesin's Prophecy. Eyes became moist, tears were trickling down the cheeks of many who had come to bid farewell to those near and dear to them. On Treweryn Bridge the music ceased, giving way to the tramping sound of well-disciplined marching soldiers. Having reached Tynypren the Band struck up bright, jubilant and inspiring music which continued up and through this village until the faint echoes died in the far distance. The gallant men of Merioneth had gone to defend their country and it is reported they were healthy, tall, strong fellows, who would have rendered a good account of themselves, had the necessity arisen to cross bayonets with the French; and in that time of stress and strain Great Britain could boast of no manlier or braver men than those under the Command of Col. R. W. Price of this Parish. When these gallant sons of Meirion reached Oswestry, they were accorded a rousing reception from the thousands who had assembled to greet them, and while waiting for their final orders, the news came of the victory of Waterloo 99 years to this very day. On that memorable march of many hundreds valiant Welshmen, the colours lying against this Altar today, were proudly borne aloft, to rouse their love of country, to stimulate their sense of duty, and to inspire them to heroic deeds on behalf of the motherland.

The colours of the Regiment were discovered by accident in the Tower of London when it was arranged to hand them over to the County. This ceremony took place in front of the Shire Hall at Bala on the 18th June, 1914. The colours, two in number, were handed over by Mr. Charles Ffoulkes, Curator of the Tower Armouries, to Sir Osmond Williams, Bart16 the Lord Lieutenant.

Sir Osmond Williams, in accepting the colours on behalf of the County, said that when his Majesty's First Commissioner of Works had informed him that the County might receive the Colours, he had made two stipulations.

First - That they should be repaired.
Secondly -That they should be deposited either in a Municipal Building or in a Church.

The Lord Lieutenant added that he had fixed on a Church and had selected LLANFOR PARISH CHURCH17, as the Militia had been raised. by the late Richard Watkin Price who had commanded them and that he had allowed the Regiment to have the use of his park at Rhiwlas entirely free of charge for the purpose of training.

A procession was then formed, headed by a band of one of the battalions of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and members of the Territorial Corps in the County.

The Colours were received at the Church by the Rector, the Rev. E. Roberts, B.A., and the Churchwardens, R. J. Lloyd Price of Rhiwlas18 and Phillip D. Lee of Brynbannon.

The Act creating the Local Militia was repealed on 21st May, 1816

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1 Fortescue: "The County Lieutenancies."
2 48 Geo. III. c. III
3 42 Geo.III. c.90.
4 48 Geo.III c III
5 49 Geo.III. c 40
6 HO/50/215 PRO
7 The Local Militia had their headquarters at Bala, for which the County paid an annual rental of £21. Thee men transferred from the Old Cader Idris Corps were also allowed to store their arms at the headquarters of the Old Corps at Dolgelley MQSR (Easter), 1810
8 HO50/215 PRP
9 W.O. List of the Local Militia of Great Britain, 31 July, 1810. The last column is the date of the Commission. In some instances the year is not given in the W.O. List
10 See page 59
11 Captain, 25 May, 1813
12 HO 50/215 PRO
13 Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1770-1828. Secretary of State for Home Department.
14 M.Q.S.M.B. 1787-1817.
15 Y Seren a'r Cronicl, 20th June, 1914, published by Messrs R. Evans and Son. I have to thank Mr. Stanley Evans, of the Seren Office, Bala, for having furnished me with this copy of the same
16 Born, 1849. M.P. for the County, 1900 to 1909. In 1909 succeeded Mr. Wynne of Peniarth as Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire. Chairman of Quarter Sessions and Constable of Harlech Castle.
Died 28th January, 1927, at Hamilton, Australia, whilst on a visit to his son-in-law and daughter, Maj. Gen. Sir Neville Maskelyne Smyth, V.C. and Lady Smyth.
He was the son of Mr. David Williams, of Deudraeth Castle, Sheriff of Merioneth, 1861-62, and member for the County, 1868-69, and at one time Clerk of the Peace for the County. David. Williams died in 1869.
17 A mile from Bala.
18 Grandson of Lt. Col. R. W. Price. Died, 9th January, 1923. Previous to his death he had caused to be engraved on the Rhiwlas tomb, in the churchyard at Llanfor the following inscription : -
As to my latter end I go
To meet my Jubilee,
I bless the good horse Bendigo,
Who built this tomb for me.