We have grown accustomed to the men and women of our Territorial Regiments leaving home, family  and jobs to go to fight in the world's major battle zones. But how did the idea originate that amateurs should take part in war - how did it happen that the man (or, today, the woman in the street as well) should voluntarily put their lives is such jeopardy?

This reprint of a talk given in Totnes in 1888 by Lieutenant Colonel Amery explains the history of the Volunteer Movement in Devon which continues to this day when, instead of volunteering to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, men and women who volunteer to join Territorial Regiments must agree to go to wars wherever they may be; all part time soldiers being expected to do at least one tour of duty every six years. This is how their fine tradition began:

CAPTAIN WINDEATT presided over a good audience, and the lecture was much appreciated,
representations being also given of the old uniforms worn by the Volunteers and the old Devonshire Regiment in times gone by.
                                                                                                                                                                           
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL AMERY commenced his remarks by saying that nature has provided every animal with some means of self-defence, and the preservation of life in an individual may at any time depend on its ability to adapt this power to resist the danger of the moment. The same holds good for nations and communities whose very existence may at times depend on their power of combination and the application they can make of every means of resistance to an external foe. In the earlier ages of mankind the implements of agriculture, and the chase, which provided them sustenance and comforts in peace, became their weapons in war, when the most skilful hunter proved the most formidable champion. But as the arts of peace became developed on the one side, and those of war on the other, the implements and training of the one became unsuited and obsolete for the other ; men then continued to learn both in order to fulfil their two-fold duty of protecting their homes, and of subduing the land for the sustenance and comfort of the race.

The middle ages saw war made a profession by the great, and those whose wealth allowed them to obtain arms and armour, which rendered them invincible to non-professional soldiers. From the days of the Roman Legions to the Battle of Crecy, infantry was of little or no importance in war, and it was the use made of the English long bow in that famous field, which here- after placed the power of a nation in the hands of the middle classes, provided they could use with precision a projectile capable of piercing the armour of a man-at-arms or those of his horse, although they might know little or nothing of the use of other arms. The English have always been ready to come forward for the defence of their country, and the general arming at 'the time of the Spanish Armada, the Tercentenary of which will shortly be celebrated in our midst, showed how one and all could turn out in time of danger, each prepared to use that weapon with which he might be familiar. Should a similar occasion unfortunately occur, a like spirit would be exhibited, but the question arises what weapon of any real use do we, as a people, know how to wield with effect. On the answer to this simple question hangs the whole preamble of the Volunteer Movement of the present day. From Saxon times, the law esteems every man eligible to  be a soldier for defensive purposes, unless incapacitated by age or physical weakness, and his liability to be drawn in the Militia ballot of his Shire, for training in arms is remitted by Parliament yearly, for one year only, on its being shown that a sufficient number of men have come forward voluntarily for the service.

The Volunteer Movement offers an opportunity for persons to become efficient in the use of the best projectile weapon of the age at their own leisure, and in their own neighbourhood, arid so in time of peace to be trained with the least inconvenience, or I may say with the most pleasure to themselves in those simple military movements which will render them of real value for the defence of the country in time of peril.