Talk: Hampshire's Part-Time Soldiers

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ROSE, CASTLE AND CROWN: HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT’S CITIZEN SOLDIERS This talk, based on the book written by Colonel (Retd) Patrick Crowley MBE DL, explores a unique history of the part-time soldier of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, from the time of the militia, yeomanry and volunteer, through to the Territorial Army and today’s Army Reserve. This is all placed in the wider context of the British Army’s history.  The book tells the fascinating story of citizen soldiers woven through times of war and peace. It begins nearly 500 years ago with the raising of a militia that repulsed the French invasion of the Isle of Wight and continues with an examination of volunteers and the subsequent birth of the yeomanry in the late 18th century.  Drawn from towns, villages and hamlets across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, volunteers have served at home and in numerous territories abroad: including the former Ottoman Empire, Burma, Siberia, France, Belgium, the Balkans, as well as post-9/11 Afghanistan and Iraq. Rose, Castle and Crown underscores the challenge and sacrifice that all military volunteers, throughout history, have had to make balancing the needs of service with family demands and their main civilian employment.

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