"The Napoleonic ‘Dad’s Army’: The British Volunteer" Topic

…Movement, 1794-1814

"During the crisis year of 1792 when war against France was at its closest, a variety of societies and associations of ‘Loyal Britons' were set up throughout Britain. Their aim was to organise patriotic, anti-French forces in defence of king and country, and to help maintain the established order. The need to provide an internal defence force resulted in the Volunteer Act of 1794. It witnessed the formation of hundreds of volunteer regiments on the upswell in loyalist sentiment following the disorder and instability witnessed across the Channel in Revolutionary France. By 1798, there were 118,000 volunteers but, faced with the possibility of a French invasion of Southern England, William Pitt's government aimed to expand this number substantially. By 1804 there were an astonishing 380,000 volunteers under arms and the various Corps made up half to one third of all the home service forces. When we add in those volunteers who agreed to serve overseas, as garrison troops in India for example, the number grows to approximately 800,000 – meaning that around one in every five adult males participated in military activities. This amazing groundswell of patriotic fervour has seldom been investigated before. Using diaries and archive sources, this book seeks to explore the ‘Dad's Army' of the Napoleonic Wars. These men were far more than local bands of volunteers, they represented a militarisation of society not previously seen and which was repeated again when the world was thrown into war in the twentieth century…"

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Armand

Silly title

I agree with 42flanker; I don't like anachronistic or culturally inappropriate comparisons. I seem to remember there was once a book by Bruce Quarrie that called the Waffen SS 'Hitler's Samurai'. At least no one – as far as I know – ever published 'Samurai – the Shogun's Waffen SS'…

Perhaps the publishers insisted on the Dad's Army reference to make it – in their opinion – more appealing to general readers?

IMHO it just risks making a serious book, doubtless based on much archival research by Paul Dawson, sound rather superficial.

Glup!

Armand

CAMPAIGNS WITH THE 71ST REGIMENT: 1808-14 – THE RECOLLECTIONS OF A PRIVATE SCOTTISH SOLDIER DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR

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THE LETTERS OF A CAPTAIN OF THE THIRD FOOT GUARDS DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR, 1809-11

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A SURGEON OF HUSSARS

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Armand