Devon Militia

[devonblue]

Seeing as the people here are so helpful I thought I 'd ask about another of my strange lot.

Cornelius Palk who seemingly lived all his life  in Halberton, Devon married Sarah Morrish of Exeter in St Woolos Parish Church, Monmouthshire in 1855. His occupation was Private in Devon Militia.

Where would I look for details of the Militia and what would they have been doing in Wales? More especially why would his wife be in Wales too?  Or am I being dense?? They didn't appear to stay long and were in Halberton the rest of their lives.

[km1971]

Men enlisted in the Militia for six years. During times of peace they did 7-8 weeks full-time training on enlistment, with annual training of about 4 to 6 weeks for six years. While he served he was paid the same as a regular soldier. I think the clue is in the date. This was during the Crimean war. I think with a bit of searching you will find that the Militia were embodied, ie called out to replace regular battalions who were sent to the Crimea. So if it was for extended periods it would not be unusual for some wives to go with them to do mending and cleaning.

While embodied they would be sent mainly to coastal areas, and in the days before a large police force, the army and militia were available to 'assist the civil powers'.

Here is a link to researching the Militia - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=26

Unfortunately I think that only attestation papers for the Devon Militia after 1860 are in WO96. There may be other records in Kew. The Militia came under the Lord Lt of the county then, so you should also look in the record offices for Monmouthshire and Devon.

BTW…Monmouthshire was part of England until the 1960s 


UPDATE:

Here is a section about the Monmouthshire Militia.. They were embodied in 1854

From 1816 until the 1850s, the Regiment, in common with other county militias, was for the most part inactive. In 1852, however, another Militia Act revived the militias. The Act abandoned the principle of conscription, which had fallen into disuse, in favour of voluntary recruitment. The Monmouthshire Militia was revived with the name the Royal Monmouthshire Light Infantry. The Regiment was embodied in 1854, at the time of the Crimean War, but only for home defence duties. It was posted to Pembroke Dock from January 1855 to July 1856.

Ken

[devonblue]

Thank you soooo much for all that. (Sorry I was late responding but I was away for 24 hours.)

That will give me loads to look up and I can look at Kew when I have to go and look out WO97 for something else.

Once again, Thanks.