From 1859 to 1908 the Rifle Volunteers played an essential role in Britain's national defence, yet their history has been sadly neglected. Little information is available on these dedicated, amateur soldiers who were recruited into the ranks of a military organization that flourished across the country. But now, in this invaluable book, Ray Westlake, a leading authority on the military history of Victorian and Edwardian Britain, provides a concise accessible introduction to the Rifle Volunteers and a comprehensive directory of the units raised in each county and each town. AUTHOR: Ray Westlake has an established reputation as a military historian specializing in the British army of late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He has made a particular study of the Great War. He has published many articles and books, among them Tracing British Battalions on the Somme, British Battalions on the Western Front January to June 1915, Voluntary Infantry, 1880-1908, Kitchener's Army, British Regiments at Gallipoli, British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914, English and Welsh Regiments, The Territorial Battalions and The British Army of August 1914: An Illustrated Directory. SELLING POINTS: ?Comprehensive guide to the Rifle Volunteer Corps, forerunner of the Territorial Army ?Features detailed accounts of Rifle Volunteer units in each county and town ?Describes the entire history of the corps from 1859 to 1908 ?Background information on the communities from which the Rifle Volunteers came ILLUSTRATIONS 40 images *
