by Nicholas Schofield (adapted from a talk)
In 1859 there was a French invasion scare and across the country units of Rifle Volunteers were established – the result of local initiative but with the approval of the Government (through the Lord Lieutenant). These grew also out of the popular rifle clubs of the period. By the summer of 1860 there were around 100,000 members of the Volunteer Force; about 1 in 12 adult men – so it was an important factor in Victorian society.
The 24th (Uxbridge) Middlesex Rifle Volunteers were officially set up on 22 February 1860, though there had been a meeting in the Public Rooms the previous May. The first members were officially enrolled on 8 May 1860 and at the celebratory lunch afterwards, Rev. C. P. Price, the honorary chaplain, expressed a hope that that day ‘might be celebrated as an annual holiday in Uxbridge.’
There were initially 93 ‘effective’ members, mostly drawn (initially) from the professional and middle classes – such as the solicitor Charles Woodbridge Jnr (who became a Lieutenant), the surgeon apothecary George Houseman MacNamara, and the grocer George Hetherington (of Fairfield Road). In addition, as was usual for the Rifle Volunteers up and down the country, there were honorary members, who paid 2 guineas a year to use the corps’ premises and join them in rifle practice but had no military function. These included Robert Crook Walford of Hillingdon Lodge, the Hon. Augustus Irby of Hillingdon Grove (son of Lord Boston) and the Rev. J. C. Hilliard of St Lawrence’s, Cowley, all of whom brought the unit respectability.
Drill and firing practice took place at different locations: the railway station on Vine Street (which at least had plenty of space!), the Militia Barracks, Willis’ Foundry, Pratt’s Foundry, and Mansfield Farm (on the road to Iver). A monthly muster was held on Uxbridge Common in the 1860s, Major Hilliard ‘being much obliged to those who usually play at cricket etc to allow him the use of the Common.’
Eventually in 1886 a Drill Hall was acquired just off New Windsor Street, where the almshouses were later built (now Ossultone Court).
In 1902 a new Drill Hall was opened on Whitehall Road, in part of the grounds of the vicarage – on the site of what is now Kendal Mews, just off the Mahjacks Roundabout. This was used not only for training and rifle practice but various social events, dances and fundraisers. On display were not only the Rifle Volunteers flag but the standard presented in 1834 to the Uxbridge Volunteers, with whom they claimed continuity.
The Rifle Volunteer Corps was seen as a sort of club, with an important social function and even their own Cricket XI. Their manoeuvres were followed by large crowds. In May 1888, for example, they marched from the Uxbridge Drill Hall to Gerrards Cross, accompanied by the band; a detachment took defensive positions on the common, near the church, while the rest of corps mounted an attack. The defenders, we read, offered ‘a stubborn resistance’ but ultimately retreated to the Bull Hotel, where ‘their ammunition was spent’ and the officers dined (the others pitched tents nearby until it was time to march back to Uxbridge).
They have been described as ’the military expression of the spirit of self-help.‘ It was, as we have seen, a sort of club for the middle and aspiring lower classes; it was hoped that the Volunteer Force would ‘impart upon the youth of the nation obedience, prompitude and self-respect, and provide a safe and salutary occupation for the increasing hours of leisure at men’s disposal. Drunkenness, prostitution, gambling and loitering would wane as Volunteering increased.‘ It is interesting that members of the Rifle Volunteers in the 1860s (when it was still predominantly middle class) were active in the Uxbridge Mutual Improvement Society.
Volunteer veterans kept in touch with each other and occasionally attended special events. A meeting at Westminster Hall in July 1899 concluded with an inspection by the future Edward VII at St James’s Park; at the head of the procession were the green colours of the Uxbridge Rifle Volunteers (carried by Bugler-Major Yates) alongside the older red and white flag of the Volunteer Infantry (carried by Quartermaster-Sergeant Leno). The final veteran of the original Rifle Volunteers only died in 1924, aged 93: Charles Woodbridge of Heath Lodge, Park Road, who was not only ‘the oldest practising solicitor in England’ (he had served Uxbridge in that capacity for some 73 years) but quite possibly ‘the oldest living Volunteer officer.’
Is this topic merely a picturesque footnote to our local history? After all, units such as this saw little active service and some might say their existence was slightly ridiculous. Nevertheless, they were symptoms of a real fear of invasion and threats to domestic security. The men who volunteered were not merely joining a club; they were ready for action, no matter how remote it may have sometimes seemed. The Rifle Volunteers were a very visible presence in Victorian society, promoting the values of patriotism and discipline, and offering members opportunity, comradeship and recreation. It is interesting just how many the volunteer movement touched: in 1877, for example, 3.6% of the entire population were serving in these units; by 1898 22% of British men had had some sort of military experience. Compare that to the mass conscription of the First World War, which also touched 22% of the male population. Victorian society was indeed highly militarised.
