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British Colonial Forces

The British colonial forces proper were those raised and maintained by the colonies at their own expense, either for local purposes or as a voluntary contribution towards imperial defence. The relative prominence of these two objects necessarily depended mainly on the position and population of individual colonies or groups. Canada maintained a considerable land force for the defence of a long land frontier, while fortunately by the end of the 19th Century chance of hostilities with the United States was sufficiently remote to enable the empire to count on Canadian troops under other conditions. Newfoundland, being little liable to attack and having small financial resources, had not kept up any military force beyond a few armed police; advantage was, however, taken of the exceptional advantages the colony offered as a source of supply of men for the Royal Navy in war.

The Australian states, including New Zealand, derived security from their position against organized invasion so long as British naval supremacy was maintained in Far Eastern waters. Though in a maritime war their land forces would in part be required for protecting their ports against predatory raids, they would doubtless be largely available for offensive operations in aid of imperial strategy. In the West Indies the function of local troops, largely native, was looked upon as entirely local defence; in Bermuda and Jamaica they were auxiliary to imperial garrisons; in the Leeward Islands, Barbados, Trinidad, British Guiana, and British Honduras, they secured internal tranquillity in peace and guard against any possible raiding attack from a cruiser in war. A small white corps in the Falkland Islands had been raised to serve the latter purpose.

In West Africa considerable forces of armed natives were maintained to secure the peaceful administration of the more turbulent parts of Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, Lagos, and Northern and Southern Nigeria. In St Helena, the eastern colonies of Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, and Hong Kong, colonial volunteers, mainly European or of European descent, formed valuable auxiliaries to the regular garrisons of the imperial coaling stations in these colonies. There were also native armed police in the two last, and a Sikh force, maintained by the confederated Malay States, would in war furnish assistance to the Singapore garrison. Armed police in Labium and Fiji, assisted by white volunteers in the latter colony, maintained order in peace and would resist predatory attack in war. An armed constabulary of Papuans secures the internal quiet of British New Guinea.

In the self-governing colonies the colonial forces were administered by a defence department, which in Canada, Victona and New Zealand, was under a minister of defence, in Natal, under the minister of lands and works, and in the other colonies under the prime minister or the chief or colonial secretary. In Canada, West Australia, Queensland, and New Zealand, the forces were commanded by imperial officers lent to the colonial Governments; in South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania, by officers of the local forces. In Cape Colony and Natal their command in war devolved on the generals commanding the imperial troops. This was also the case in crown colonies where there were imperial troops permanently stationed. In the Leeward Islands, Trinidad, and British Guiana, the militia or volunteer forces were commanded by an officer who had also the armed police of the colony under him, and the same arrangement was proposed for the volunteer force raised for Barbados to replace the imperial troops withdrawn from that island. A few imperial officers, in addition to the commandant, were employed on the headquarters staffs of several of the self-governing colonies, and the frontier forces of West Africa are almost entirely officered from the imperial regular or militia service.

In Canada, Natal, West Australia, and Queensland, men enlisted in the permanent forces for three years, in Tasmania for five, in Cape Colony for five in the first instance, and afterwards with the option of re-engagement for fresh periods of three years. In South Australia it was two years in the active force, and three in the reserve. For the Cape and New Zealand it was not less than one year. For New South Wales, and for the colonies not mentioned above, where the local forces are entirely volunteers, no period of service has been laid down, men being allowed to cease serving on giving notice varying from fourteen days to three months.

There was considerable variation in the amount of annual training undergone by the various colonial auxiliary forces. As far as it is provided for by legislative enactment, the average number of days training in the year is about twelve. In Canada, Queensland, and Tasmania, eight days is laid down as the minimum, and sixteen as the maximum period, but in Queensland the maximum did not include eight days continuous training which may be ordered by tho governor. In South Australia the maximum for the active force was twenty-four days, and the minimum twelve of five hours; for the reserve twelve days' training is required. In New Zealand 163 hours is the maximum. In all the Australasian states tho partially paid troops frequently hold voluntary parades. The regulations for the unpaid volunteers in Caiie Colony require for efficiency twenty-seven drills in the first year's service, and eighteen in subsequent years; those for the paid volunteers in Natal lay down ten days in camp or twenty-four drills. In Jamaica the Militia Act provides for twelve ordinary drills, in addition to target practice and inspection parades, and in British Guiana for twelve days drill a year.

By the end of the 19th Century all the colonies had, or were acquiring, rifles of the same calibre as those used in the imperial army, and the greater number of these rifles were of Lee-Metford or Lee-Enfield pattern. In field artillery there was more diversity. With regard to fixed armaments, apart from those provided by the imperial Government at the imperial fortresses and coaling stations, the Governments of Natal, of the six Australian states, and of New Zealand, mounted powerful guns at their principal ports. British Guiana defended Georgetown, and Trinidad and Barbados seemed likely to follow suit when the state of their finances made it possible for them to do this in addition to maintaining defence forces. Canada contributed largely to the protection of Esquimalt; and Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, and Hong Kong, to the defended coaling stations in these colonies. For the supply of war material the colonies were still largely dependant on Great Britain, but Canada had a cartridgo factory, and shell foundry, and there were private ammunition factories in Australia aud New Zealand, capable of manufacturing ammunition for Government small arms.

Besides Colonial forces proper there are what are officially known as Colonial Corps, consisting of troops raised in the Colonies and India, and paid by the Imperial Government for garrison duty at the Imperial fortresses and coaling stations. The Colonial Corps by the end of the 19th Century comprised the West India regiment (three battalions), West African regiment, British Central African regiment, Hong Kong regiment, and Chinese regiment; the Royal Malta artillery, the West Indian, West African and East African companies of artillery, submarine miners, and fortress engineers; the Royal Malta militia, the Bermuda militia artillery; and the Bermuda volunteer rille corps. These corps numbered altogether some 10,000 regular, 2500 militia, and 300 volunteer troops, and were under the direct control of the War Office. In addition to these Colonial corps under the War Office there were certain other troops of the Empire which, not being properly Colonial forces, were the military forces of the British Central Africa, British East Africa, Uganda and Somaliland Protectorates. They numbered altogether some 4500 regular native soldiers, under Imperial officers lent by the War Office, and were administered by the Foreign Office.