The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) is the most senior regiment of the British Army Reserve. The regiment was formed in 1539 during the reign of by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, making it the second oldest regiment of the British Army (The Honorable Artillery Company was formed in formed in 1537). The R Mon RE (M) became a militia unit in 1660 and then became a part of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

in 1877.

History

Regt at pembroke 1855 Royal Monmouthshire L I Militia

The two 'Royals'

The regiment was formed as a ''

posse comitatus The ''posse comitatus'' (from the Latin for "power of the county/community/guard"), frequently shortened to posse, is in common law a group of people mobilized by the conservator of peace – typically a reeve, sheriff, chief, or another speci ...

'' in 1539 during the reign of by

; it went on to become a

trained band Trained Bands were companies of part-time militia in England and Wales. Organised by county, they were supposed to drill on a regular basis, although this was rarely the case in practice. The regular army was formed from the Trained Bands in the ...

and then a militia unit in 1660. It is unique in having the word 'Royal' appear twice in its name. It gained the first Royal in 1804 when it was the Monmouth and Brecon Militia. The second was acquired in 1877 when the regiment transferred from an infantry unit into a Special Reserve section of the expanding

. On 1 April 1967, the existing regiment absorbed 43rd Wessex Division RE (TA), 48th South Midland Division RE (TA) and

53rd Welsh Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

RE (TA).

Seniority dispute with the Honourable Artillery Company

The records of the Honorable Artillery Company (HAC) indicate that it was formed two years prior to the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia). However, in 1930 the Army Council (

Army Board The Army Board is the top single-service management committee of the British Army, and has always been staffed by senior politicians and soldiers. Until 1964 it was known as the Army Council. Membership of the Board The composition is as follo ...

from 1964) reviewed the Army's precedence table and King George V agreed that, on account of its status as a militia unit, the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) were the senior regiment. In 1957 the matter was investigated further and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

also agreed that the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) were the senior regiment:

''From:- Lieut.-Colonel The Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Adeane, K.C.B., K.C.V.O .'' ''Private Secretary to the Queen,'' ''Buckingham Palace, S.W.1.'' ''12th March, 1957.'' ''My dear Playfair,'' ''Thank you for your letter of 8th March which I have laid before The Queen and which Her Majesty has read with interest.'' ''I am to say that the recommendation of the Honours and Distinctions Committee with regard to the relative precedence of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers and the Honourable ArtiIlery Company meets with the Queen's approval.'' ''Yours sincerely,'' ''M. E. ADEANE''

The Royal Jersey Militia

Death of Major Peirson Jersey Museum 2012 16

The Jersey Militia were brought under the command of the R Mon RE (M) in 2007. The Jersey Militia was formed in 1337 when

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

ordered "all his faithful peoples of the islands" to be prepared - by forming a militia - for possible war with France. The militia defended the island against several pirate raids, and in 1549 against a French invasion attempt. The militia played a role in the

Battle of Jersey The Battle of Jersey took place on 6 January 1781 when French forces during the American Revolutionary War unsuccessfully invaded the British-ruled island of Jersey to remove the threat it posed to French and American shipping. Jersey provided ...

, for which its actions gained it the 'Royal' title.

Current organisation

The current organisation of the regiment is as follows: * Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, at

Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle ( cy, Castell Trefynwy) is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south east Wales. Once an important border castle, and birthplace of Henry V ...

* 100 (Militia) Field Squadron, at Chapman House, Cwmbran **1 Troop, at Artillery Grounds,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

**Cardiff Troop * 108 (Welsh) Field Squadron (Militia), at John Chard VC House,

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

* 225 (City of Birmingham) Field Squadron (Militia), at Gundolph House, Oldbury ** 1 Troop, at Baskeyfield House,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

** 2 Troop, in

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...

*Jersey Field Squadron ( Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey), in Saint Helier,

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

** Guernsey Troop, at Saint Peter Port,

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

Regimental museum

Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers colours

The regimental museum of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers is in

Notable Officers

Jules Hudson Julian Harold Hudson (born 9 January 1970) is an English archaeologist, television producer and presenter, best known for presenting the BBC series '' Escape to the Country.'' He also frequently presents sections of the environmental documenta ...

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

and

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

, best known for presenting the BBC series '' Escape to the Country.''

Order of precedence

References

External links

Regimental/Museum/Trust & Dining Club siteOfficial siteRegimental Museum
- Militia, Volunteers and Territorials (1757–1979) {{British Militia Regiments 1539 establishments in England History of Monmouthshire Regiments of the Royal Engineers Military units and formations in Monmouthshire Military units and formations in Wales

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...

Monmouth, Wales Military units and formations established in the 16th century 16th-century establishments in Wales