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the Channel Islands Militia (Royal Alderney, Royal Guernsey,
Royal Jersey) claim to have been founded in the 13th-14th
centuries. Militia were a class of part-time soldiers
that was eventually superseded by the Territorial Army.
The terms of their liability for call-up varied over the
centuries. In the 1881 Army reorganization which paired
all regular infantry into two-battalion regiments, the
Militia became the 3rd (and sometimes 4th) Battalion of
these regiments. The Channel Islands Militia notably were
excluded from this scheme and kept their old titles. No
Militia were embodied after 1919, but government attempts
to disband them outright in 1920 met with stiff resistance.
The Militia remained dormant in W.W.II, and finally in
1953 they were disbanded, with the notable exception of
the "Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)"
which transferred to the Territorial Army while keeping
its Militia subtitle.
By 1902 Alderney had converted to artillery. The Royal
Guernsey Militia were designated "Light Infantry"
in 1814 with four battalions, which by 1902 had reduced
to two, and later were augmented by artillery and engineer
units.
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